A premises licence is required for any premises where an individual or company wants to offer premises-based gambling. The licences are issued in respect of specific premises.

What licences are there?

The types of licence are:

• casino premises licence
• bingo premises licence
• adult gaming centre premises licence, enabling Category B gaming machines to be made available for use at the premises
• family entertainment centre premises licence, enabling Category C gaming machines to be made available for use at the premises
• betting premises licence, enabling the provision of facilities for betting, by making or accepting bets or by acting as a betting intermediary.

Download premises licence forms and guidance

Who can apply?

An application for a premises licence may only be made by persons who (this includes companies or partnerships):

• have the right to occupy the premises
• have an operating licence which allows she or he to carry out the proposed activity, or have applied for an operating licence (the premises licence may only be issued once the operating licence has been issued) from the Gambling Commission.

Applicants for a premises licence must be over the age of 18.

Except in the case of a track, a premises licence may not authorise the use of premises for activities of more than one of the types listed above. A licence may not be issued in respect of premises if those premises already have a premises licence in effect.

Provisional statements

A person can make an application to us for a provisional statement in respect of premises that she or he:

• expects to be constructed
• expects to be altered
• expects to acquire a right to occupy.

Unlike a premises licence application, a person can apply for a provisional statement without having an operating licence from the Gambling Commission or a right to occupy the premises.

As well as providing a level of assurance to the outcome of a subsequent premises licence application, a provisional statement also provides the holder with some protection against representations when they make an application for a premises licence in relation to the premises.

Fees

There are fees for both premises licences and provisional statements.

Compulsory advertisement

Please note that if you are applying for the grant, variation or non fast-track conversion of a premises licence, or for a provisional statement, you must advertise your application.

You can download forms for display of a public notice at the premises, and a list of acceptable newspapers for advertising your application.