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Licence activities

Family entertainment centre

This licence is for Family Entertainment Centres (FEC), often called arcades.

This licence allows you to offer an unlimited number of category C and D gaming machines in a premises which is open to all ages. Category C machines must, however, be in a segregated part of the premises that is supervised to prevent children and young people accessing those machines.

If you apply for one of these licences you can also apply for linked licences if you intend to maintain the gaming machines on the Family Entertainment Centre (FEC) premises yourself.

If you just want to make category D gaming machines or bingo prize gaming machines available to play in your arcade you don’t need a licence from us, but you do need a permit from your local licensing authority.

You do not need a licence from us if you have machines that do not offer a prize, or the prize is worth the same or less than the money paid to play the machine.

Current application fees

Fee category Annual gross gambling yield Application Fee
A1 Less than £200,000 £1,406
A2 £200,000 or greater, up to but excluding £750,000 £1,406
A3 £750,000 or greater, up to but excluding £1.25 million £1,406
B1 £1.25 million or greater, up to but excluding £2 million £1,406
B2 £2 million or greater, up to but excluding £4 million £1,406
B3 £4 million or greater, up to but excluding £7.5 million £1,406
C1 £7.5 million or greater, up to but excluding £14 million £2,342
D1 £14 million or greater, up to but excluding £30 million £7,030
E1 £30 million or greater £23,435

Current annual fees

Your first annual fee is due 30 days after your licence is issued and is reduced by 25 percent (ancillary and linked licence annual fees are not subject to this reduction).

After this, fees are due every year before the anniversary of the day your licence was issued.

Fee category Annual gross gambling yield Annual Fee
A1 Less than £200,000 £1,150
A2 £200,000 or greater, up to but excluding £750,000 £1,173
A3 £750,000 or greater, up to but excluding £1.25 million £1,926
B1 £1.25 million or greater, up to but excluding £2 million £3,082
B2 £2 million or greater, up to but excluding £4 million £3,360
B3 £4 million or greater, up to but excluding £7.5 million £3,833
C1 £7.5 million or greater, up to but excluding £14 million £11,236
D1 £14 million or greater, up to but excluding £30 million £22,072
E1 £30 million or greater £41,840

Related activities


Last updated: 9 February 2023

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