Guidance
Guidance to licensing authorities
The Gambling Commission's guidance for licensing authorities.
Contents
- Changes to the Guidance for Licensing Authorities
- Part 1: General guidance on the role and responsibilities of licensing authorities in gambling regulation
- Introduction
- Partnership working between the Commission and licensing authorities – shared regulation
- Co-ordination and contact
- Primary legislation
- Statutory aim to permit gambling
- The licensing objectives
- Codes of practice
- Licensing authority discretion (s.153 of the Act)
- Local risk assessments
- Licensing authority policy statement
- Limits on licensing authority discretion
- Other powers
- Part 2: The licensing framework
- Introduction
- Operating licences
- How operating licences are granted
- Operating licence conditions and codes
- Personal licences
- Premises licences
- Part 3: The Gambling Commission
- Introduction
- Main functions of the Commission
- Relationship between the Commission and licensing authorities
- Part 4: Licensing authorities
- Part 5: Principles to be applied by licensing authorities
- Licensing objectives
- Section 153 principles
- Codes of practice
- Good practice in regulation
- Human Rights Act 1998
- Other considerations
- Part 6: Licensing authority policy statement
- Introduction
- Fundamental principles
- Form and content
- Other matters to be considered
- Local risk assessments
- Local area profile
- Declaration by licensing authority
- Consultation
- Reviewing and updating the policy statement
- Advertisement and publication
- Additional information to be made available
- Part 7: Premises licences
- Introduction
- Premises
- Access to premises
- Multiple activity premises – layout and access
- Applications
- Application for premises variation (s.187): ‘material change’
- Consideration of planning permission and building regulations
- Part 8: Responsible authorities and interested parties definitions
- Part 9: Premises licence conditions
- Introduction
- Conditions and authorisations by virtue of the Act
- Conditions attached through regulations made by the Secretary of State or Scottish Ministers – all premises
- Conditions that may not be attached to premises licences by licensing authorities
- Part 10: Review of premises licence by licensing authority
- Introduction
- Initiation of review by licensing authority
- Application for a review
- Carrying out a review
- Part 11: Provisional statements
- Part 12: Rights of appeal and judicial review
- Part 13: Information exchange
- Underlying principles
- Information licensing authorities provide to the Commission
- Other licensing authority information requirements
- Part 14: Temporary use notices
- Part 15: Occasional use notices
- Part 16: Gaming machines
- Introduction
- Categories of gaming machine
- Age restrictions
- Maximum number of machines by premises type
- Multiple activity premises
- The meaning of ‘available for use’
- Machines other than gaming machines in gambling premises
- Part 17: Casinos
- Casino premises
- Casino games
- Protection of children and young persons
- The process for issuing casino premises licences
- Resolutions not to issue casino licences
- Converted casinos (with preserved rights under Schedule 18 of the Act)
- Casino premises licence conditions
- Mandatory conditions – small casino premises licences
- Mandatory conditions – converted casino premises licences
- Default conditions attaching to all casino premises licences
- Self-exclusion
- Part 18: Bingo
- Introduction
- Protection of children and young persons
- Gaming machines
- Self-exclusion
- Bingo in clubs and alcohol-licensed premises
- Bingo premises licence conditions
- Part 19: Betting premises
- Introduction
- Protection of children and young persons
- Gaming machines
- Self-exclusion
- Self-service betting terminals (SSBTs)
- Betting premises licence conditions
- Industry codes
- Part 20: Tracks
- Definition of a track
- Track premises licences – differences from other premises licences
- Betting on tracks
- Licences and other permissions for the provision of betting facilities
- Betting on event and non-event days
- Social responsibility considerations for tracks
- Gaming machines
- Self-service betting terminals (SSBTs)
- Applications
- Licence conditions and requirements
- Part 21: Adult gaming centres
- Introduction
- Protection of children and young persons
- Self-exclusion
- Gaming machines
- AGC premises licence conditions
- Part 22: Licensed family entertainment centres
- Introduction
- Protection of children and young persons
- Meaning of premises
- Licensed FEC premises licence conditions
- Part 23: Introduction to permits
- Part 24: Unlicensed family entertainment centres
- Introduction
- Applying for a permit
- Granting or refusing a permit
- Lapse, surrender and forfeiture
- Renewal
- Maintenance
- Part 25: Clubs
- Defining clubs
- Bingo in clubs
- Betting in clubs
- Exempt gaming
- Protection of children and young persons
- Permits
- Appeals
- Part 26: Premises licensed to sell alcohol
- Introduction
- Automatic entitlement to two machines
- Licensed premises gaming machine permits
- Exempt gaming
- Bingo
- Betting
- Commission codes of practice
- Scotland
- Protection of children and young persons
- Prohibited gaming
- Part 27: Prize gaming and prize gaming permits
- Part 28: Non-commercial and private gaming, betting and lotteries
- Introduction
- Non-commercial gaming
- Private gaming
- Private betting
- Incidental lotteries
- Non-commercial ‘casino night’
- Non-commercial race night
- Part 29: Poker
- Introduction
- Poker in casinos
- Poker as exempt gaming in clubs and alcohol licensed premises
- Poker as non-commercial gaming
- Poker as private gaming
- Advertising
- Part 30: Travelling fairs
- Part 31: Crown immunity and excluded premises
- Part 32: Territorial application of the Gambling Act 2005
- Part 33: Door supervision
- Part 34: Small society lotteries
- Small society lotteries
- The status of lotteries under the Act
- Licensing authority guidance
- Social responsibility
- External lottery managers’ licence status
- Lottery tickets
- Prizes
- Specific offences in relation to lotteries
- Application and registration process for small society lotteries
- Administration and returns
- Part 35: Chain gift schemes
- Part 36: Compliance and enforcement matters
- Fees
- Enforcement officers and authorised persons
- Powers of entry – England and Wales
- Powers of entry in Scotland
- Illegal gambling
- Test purchasing and age verification
- Primary Authority
- Prosecutions
- Other powers
- Case law, templates and case studies
- Appendix A: Summary of machine provisions by premises
- Appendix B: Summary of gaming machine categories and entitlements
- Appendix C: Summary of gaming entitlements for clubs and alcohol-licensed premises
- Appendix D: Summary of offences under the Gambling Act 2005
- Appendix E: Summary of statutory application forms and notices
- Appendix F: Inspection powers
- Appendix G: Licensing authority delegations
- Appendix H: Poker games and prizes
- Appendix I: Glossary of terms
3 - Electronic device and server based system requirements - Casino equipment technical requirements
General requirements
3.1 The following must apply:
a. any server used in the gaming process must be housed securely
b. an audit trail for all financial transactions, errors and significant events must be maintained either on the electronic device, on the server, or by some other secure means, such that it can be accessed for compliance audit purposes
c. data must be regularly backed-up and the back-up stored in a secure location.
Service interruption and resumption
3.2 Operators must take all reasonable steps to ensure that their policies for dealing with service interruptions are fair and do not systematically disadvantage customers.
The system must not be adversely affected by the simultaneous or sequential activation of any inputs and outputs, such as 'play buttons', which might, whether intentionally or not, cause malfunctions or invalid results.
Where a peripheral device such as a note acceptor (accepting a note) or printer (printing a ticket or credit note) is in operation during a power failure it must, where practicable, on resumption of the power either complete or restart the task successfully or display an error message indicating that such a fault has occurred. The error message must remain until the fault has been resolved by either the automatic operation of the device or by the operator. In all circumstances the metering or audit controls must be able to identify any accounting anomalies for dispute resolution purposes.
Previous game recall on electronic gaming devices
3.3 Information about the current game and previous games played must always be available to view for dispute and, or as well as, complaint resolution purposes on the operation of a suitable external key-switch, or other secure method that is not available to the player. Last play information must provide all information required to fully reconstruct the game play. All values must be displayed, including the initial credits, credits bet, credits won, and credits paid.
Historic game data must be stored such that it can be called upon for evidential purposes in the event of a dispute and, or as well as, complaint. If the data is required to resolve a continuing dispute or complaint and the system is incapable of continuing to operate without overwriting or losing that historic data, then the pertinent data must be stored ‘offline’ until the dispute and, or as well as, complaint is satisfactorily resolved.
System clocks
3.4 The following must apply:
a. gambling devices or systems used in a casino which incorporate an internal clock must use the time to provide an accurate time stamp of all financial transactions, errors and significant events
b.all clocks or clock systems related to gambling within a casino that can be adjusted shall be set to the correct time.
Cashless play
3.5 Where a gaming device has the facility to accept a stake or participation fee from, and make payment of a prize to, the same medium of cashless payment, for example a smart card (‘the medium’), then the requirements of this section must be complied with. For the avoidance of doubt, neither ticket in and out (TITO) systems nor tokens are required to comply with this section. For the purposes of this section a 'token' is an object with a fixed monetary value (whether or not exchangeable for cash) that may be used for the purpose of paying a stake or participation fee or crediting a gaming device.
The following will also apply:
a. a secure player account database must be held within the system
b. the system must allow the player to retrieve their funds at any reasonable time when the venue is open
c. a facility must be available on the premises which will show the player their current monetary balance held on the medium without the requirement to transfer funds or a game having to be played. Such a facility must not offer any inducements to the player to commit money for play or further play
d. a gaming device must have the facility to enable it to be rendered incapable of accepting funds from the medium at any time when the account holder has entered a self-exclusion agreement in respect of the premises where the device is sited. Activation and de-activation of such facility must require action by the site operator
e. the players must have the facility to track and, or as well as, limit the amount of money they are able to deposit into the medium over a given period of time. The limit that the individual chooses to impose may only be set or modified once in any 24 hour period.
Printers
3.6 If a gaming device is equipped with a printer that is used to make payments, it must be located in a locked or otherwise secure area of the gaming device (for example, require opening of the main door to access).
The printed ticket, voucher or hand pay receipt (‘the ticket’) must display sufficient information to allow the following to be determined:
a. details of where and when the ticket originated
b. details of the transaction type, for example, cash out ticket, hand pay receipt
c. value of the ticket
d. unique ticket identifier, for example barcode and validation number.
Ticket validation
3.7 Payment by ticket printer as a method of credit redemption is only permissible when there is an independent means to validate the printed ticket, voucher or hand pay receipt prior to any credit or other type of redemption. The validation system must be able to identify duplicate tickets to prevent fraud by reprinting and redeeming a ticket that was previously issued.
Last updated: 27 July 2023
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