Premises Licence (Gambling)

Licence Summary

The licensing authority is responsible for licensing premises that offer facilities for gambling.  These gambling facilities are broken down into six premises licence types.  These premises licence types are:

• Casino premises* (converted, small and large)
• Bingo premises
• Betting tracks premises
• Betting (other) premises (e.g. betting shops)
• Adult gaming centres (AGC's)
• Family entertainment centres (FEC's)

*The Gambling Act 2005 prevents Westminster City Council from accepting any applications for new Casino premises licences.  The City of Westminster was not named as an authority that could issue small or large casino premises licences under the Act.  The Council has converted a number of casino premises from the previous licensing regime to this one.  These licences are called Converted Casinos.

When a licence is issued to a premises it permits that premises to be used for that primary gambling activity.  For further information on primary gambling activity please click here.

The Gambling Commission are an independent non-department public body who are sponsored by the government Department for Culture Media and Sport (DCMS).  The Gambling Commission were set up under the Gambling Act 2005 to regulate commercial gambling in the Great Britain.  The Commission are responsible for issuing and enforcing operators and personal licences that are issued by them.  They are also responsible for providing advice and guidance to the trade, local authorities and government on commercial gambling. 

As a requirement of the Gambling Act 2005 the Commission must provide Guidance to local authorities.  The local authority will consider applications after having regard to this guidance.  Applicants should read the relevant parts of the guidance before submitting an application.  The current Gambling Commission Guidance is available here.

Eligibility Criteria

To apply for a premises licence you must

• be 18 years old or older,
• if applying on behalf of a company or partnership be authorised to make such an application, and

• hold or has applied for an Operators licence from the Gambling Commission for that gambling activity (unless that occupier of the track who gets the premises licence may not be the person who actually offers the gambling),

Application Evaluation Process

Applications must be made using the statutory form.  The form must be completed in full and contain all of the relevant information requested in the form.  For new applications, provisional statements and variations to change the layout of an existing premises licence plans must also accompany the application. 

Applicants must also serve a notice of their application on each responsible authority.  A list of these responsible authorities along with their addresses and contact information is available here (coming soon).

Applications for new, provisional statements or variations of existing licences must be advertised and are open to responsible authorities and the public to make representations.  The consultation period for these application types are 28 calendar days from the day the application is received by the Licensing Authority.  Applicants must place a public notice on the premises in a place so it can be clear read by members of the public if the premises is open or not.  The notice must be displayed for a period of 28 consecutive days.  If the premises has not been constructed then the notice must be placed on the site of the proposed premises.  The public notice must meet the requirements of the regulations and stated the last date for representations.  If the premises has a frontage of more than 50 meters a notice must be displayed every 50 meters around the premises frontage.  A template for each licence application is available to download and complete below.

• New gambling premises licence application public notice template (coming soon).
• Provisional statement application public notice template (coming soon).
• Application to vary an existing gambling premises licence public notice template (coming soon).

An application must be accompanied by the correct fee.   The fees list contains the current fee payable for each application type. 

Each premises licence that is issued by the authority will be subject to the Mandatory or Default conditions associated with that gambling activity.  The Mandatory and Default conditions are as set out in the Gambling Act 2005 (Mandatory and Default Conditions) (England and Wales) Regulations 2007.  You can view these regulations by clicking on the link below.

• The Gambling Act 2005 (Mandatory and Default Conditions) (England and Wales) Regulations 2007.

Mandatory conditions can not be varied or removed in any way.  However, applicants for new licences can request in their application to have the default conditions either removed from the licence or amended.  For existing licensees a variation application is required to make changes or remove these default conditions.

Regulation Summary

The legislation relating to this licenisng regime is available here.

Apply

To apply for a gambling premises licence please download and complete the relevant form below:

• Application for a new premises licence under the Gambling Act 2005
• Application for a new premises licence under the Gambling Act 2005 (vessel)
• Application for a provisional statement under the Gambling Act 2005
• Application for a provisional statement under the Gambling Act 2005 (vessel)

Once the form has been completed please send it to the following address with the required fee and documents.

Licensing Service, 4th Floor,  Westminster City Hall, 64 Victoria Street, London SW1E 6QP

NOTE: At present the council does not accept online applications for this licensing regime. 

If you require further advice or guidance relating to gambling applications please contact the Licenisng Service on 020 7641 8549 or email gambling@westminster.gov.uk.