Betting Premises Licence

Introduction

If you’re going to provide betting facilities, you’ll need:

• an operating licence from the Gambling Commission
• a betting premises licence from us
• a personal licence from the Gambling Commission, unless you’re a small scale operator

Eligibility

You can apply for a betting premises licence for any premises or vessel which is in a fixed location when you’re providing the activities the licence covers, including:

• vessels designed or adapted for use in, on or over water
• hovercrafts, as defined under the Hovercraft Act 1968

You can’t apply for a betting premises licence for a vehicle.

Gaming machines

A betting premises licence also allows you to provide:

• up to four gaming machines of Category B, C or D
• betting on a virtual game, race, competition, event or process

Conditions

Your licence may have certain conditions, including:

• providing door supervision
• making sure children and young people don’t play on any gaming or gambling machines you may have available

You’ll need to keep your licence on the premises and present it to the police, an enforcement officer or authorised Council officer if they ask for it. If you don’t, you could receive a fine.

Duration

A betting premises licence lasts until you either:

• die
• become incapable of carrying on licensed activities, in our opinion
• declare yourself bankrupt, go into liquidation or you’ve applied for debt relief order under Part 7A of the Insolvency Act 1986

If your licence lapses, you may apply to reinstate it within six months of it lapsing.

Fee

You must  pay:

• a fee to apply for a betting premises licence
• an annual administration fee

Other considerations

You may also need to pay General Betting Duty (GBD), Pool Betting Duty (PBD) or Remote Gaming Duty (RGD) taxes.

Visit GOV.UK for more information about gambling duties.