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
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- 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
- Part 3: The Gambling Commission
- Part 4: Licensing authorities
- Part 5: Principles to be applied by licensing authorities
- Part 6: Licensing authority policy statement
- Part 7: Premises licences
- Part 8: Responsible authorities and interested parties definitions
- Part 9: Premises licence conditions
- Part 10: Review of premises licence by licensing authority
- Part 11: Provisional statements
- Part 12: Rights of appeal and judicial review
- Part 13: Information exchange
- Part 14: Temporary use notices
- Part 15: Occasional use notices
- Part 16: Gaming machines
- Part 17: Casinos
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- 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
- Part 19: Betting premises
- Part 20: Tracks
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- 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
- Part 22: Licensed family entertainment centres
- Part 23: Introduction to permits
- Part 24: Unlicensed family entertainment centres
- Part 25: Clubs
- Part 26: Premises licensed to sell alcohol
- Part 27: Prize gaming and prize gaming permits
- Part 28: Non-commercial and private gaming, betting and lotteries
- Part 29: Poker
- 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
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- 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
- 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
RTS 11 – Limiting collusion and cheating
Applies to:
Peer-to-peer gaming
RTS aim 11
To reduce the risk that cheating or collusion by players unfairly disadvantages another player and to inform customers about the risks posed.
RTS requirement 11A
Measures intended to deter, prevent, and detect collusion and cheating must be implemented. Gambling systems must retain a record of relevant activities to facilitate investigation and be capable of suspending or disabling player accounts or player sessions. Operators must monitor the effectiveness of their policies and procedures.
RTS implementation guidance 11A
- Relevant activities to be recorded will vary by game but may include:
- which players played at which tables
- the amounts won from and lost to accounts
- game activities to an individual bet/action level.
- Where appropriate, prevention measures may include:
- taking steps to prevent a player from occupying more than one seat at any individual table.
- Detection measures may include, detecting and investigating the following, where appropriate:
- players who frequently share the same tables
- players from same address who share the same table
- suspicious patterns of play (such as chip dumping)
- unusual gameplay statistics.
- Customer complaints about cheating should be investigated.
- Records should be kept of investigations which result in an account being closed including:
- player details (name, location, which licence the activity was in reliance on), scale of the offences (financial and number of players), time and date etc
- the reason for investigation (including whether it was initiated by customer contact) and the outcome
- any relevant evidence such as reports, screenshots, chat history etc. This information should be considered when updating the risks identified in relevant policies and procedures.
RTS requirement 11B
Information must be made available about the operator’s policies and procedures with regard to cheating, recovered player funds and about how to complain if a customer suspects other participants are cheating.
RTS implementation guidance 11B
- As a minimum deterrent, customers should be informed that accounts will be closed if the customer is found to have cheated.
- Information regarding funds that are recovered from accounts during integrity investigations is not expected to cover every scenario but should highlight the main aims of the policy.
- Relevant information should be included in terms and conditions or rules.
Last updated: 17 July 2023
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