A premises that promotes gambling must have a premises licence, issued under the Gambling Act 2005. They are regulated by the Gambling Commission nationally and by Plymouth City Council as the local licensing authority.
You must get a gambling premises licence if you want to run:
- betting offices
- race tracks
- casinos
- bingo halls
- adult gaming centres
- family entertainment centre
Who can apply
To apply you must:
- be over the age of 18 years
- have the right to occupy the premises you want the licence for
- hold an operating licence or applied for one which allows the proposed activity to be carried out
You can apply for an operating licence or personal licence on the gamblining
A premises licence can only be granted once an operators licence has been issued by the gambling commission.
You can apply for a provisional statement without an operating licence from the gambling commission. You can do this if the premises is to be built, alerted or you expect to acquire a right to occupy.
Premises Licence application forms
Premises licence application forms are on the Gambling Commission website
Application process
Complete the premises licence application form and send to us (the licensing authority) with:
- a plan of the premises
- a local risk assessment
- the application fee
Then you will need to:
- send the application to all responsible authorities within 7 days
- publish a public notice in a local newspaper within 10 working days
- publish a public notice on the premises to which the application relates for 28 days
A responsible authority or interested party may make representation to a gambling premises application. This will require a written statement outlining opinion and actions believed to be appropriate.
Interested parties definition
Interested parties are defined in the Gambling Act 2005 as follows:
- lives sufficiently close to the premises to be likely to be affected by the authorised activities,
- has business interests that might be affected by the authorised activities, or
- represents persons who satisfy the above
Advice and guidance
Regulations state that the plan of the premises must be in standard scale, though do not specify what scale that has to be. We would prefer the scale to be either Standard Scale 1 to 50 or 1 to 100 on either an A4 or A3 sheet. However, if this causes a difficulty please do not hesitate to speak to us.
The regulations specify the plan must show in all premises:
- The extent of the boundary or perimeter of the building
- Where the premises include, or consist of, one or more buildings, the location of any external and internal walls of each such building
- Where the premises form part of a building, the location of any external and internal walls of the building which are included in the premises
- Where the premises are a vessel or part of a vessel, the location of any part of the sides of the vessel, and of any internal walls of the vessel, which are included in the premises
- The location of each point of entry to and exit from the premises, including in each case a description of the place from which entry is made or to which the exit leads
- Any other matter required in accordance with the following provisions Application for casino premises licence, the plan must show:
- The principal entrance to the premises of those identified in accordance with paragraph (5) above;
- The location and extent of any part of the premises which will be a table gaming area
- The location and extent of any other part of the premises which will be used for providing facilities for gambling in reliance on the licence; and
- The location and extent of any part of the premises which will be a non-gambling area
Application for bingo premises licence, in respect of a premises to which children or young persons will be permitted to have access, the plan must show:
- The location and extent of any part of the premises which will be used to provide facilities for gaming in reliance on the licence (other than those parts which include category B or C gaming machines)
- The location and extent of any part of the premises in which category B or C gaming machines will be made available for use in reliance on the licence; and
- The nature or location of any barrier or other thing separating any part of the premises in which category B or C gaming machines will be made available for use from any other part of the premises
Application for adult gaming centre premises licence, the plan must show the location and extent of any part of the premises in which gaming machines will be made available for use in reliance on the licence.
Application for family entertainment centre premises licence, the plan must show:
- The location and extent of any part of the premises in which category C gaming machines will be made available for use in reliance on the licence;
- The location and extent of any part of the premises in which category D gaming machines will be made available for use in reliance on the licence; and
- The nature or location of any barrier or other thing separating any part of the premises in which category C gaming machines will be made available for use from any other part of the premises
Application for betting premises licence, other than in respect of a track, the plan must show the location and extent of any part of the premises which will be used to provide facilities for gambling in reliance on the licence.
Application for betting premises licence, in respect of a track, the plan must show:
- The location and extent of any part of the premises which is a five times rule betting area
- The location and extent of any part of the premises which will be used for providing facilities for betting in reliance on the licence
- The location and extent of any part of the premises in which category B or C gaming machines will be made available for use in reliance on the licence
- The nature or location of any barrier or other thing separating any part of the premises in which category B or C gaming machines will be made available for use from any other part of the premises
The Act and Regulations made under the Act require that in the case of an application under section 159 for a premises licence, under section 187 to vary a premises licence, or under section 204 for a provisional statement, the applicant must publish notice of the application, notify the responsible authorities and other persons about the application.
Notice must be given in the prescribed form in three ways:
- To all responsible authorities within seven days of the application being made to the Licensing Authority.
- In the ‘public notice’ section of a local newspaper (The Herald or Weston Morning News) on at least one occasion during the period of ten working days starting with the day after the day on which the application is made to the relevant licensing authority
- By displaying a notice at the premises to which the application relates in a place at which it can conveniently be read by members of the public from the exterior of the premises for a period not less than 28 consecutive days starting on the day on which the application is made to the licensing authority. If your premises are more than 50 metres square, a further copy or copies of the notice must be displayed every 50 metres along the perimeter of your premises, again where they can be read. For a provisional statement application where the premises have not been constructed or the applicant does not have the right to occupy the premises on the date the application is made, the notice must be displayed at a place as near as reasonably practicable to the proposed premises where it can conveniently be read by members of the public.
Note: A licence application, and any licence subsequently issued, is not valid if the relevant notifications have not been made.
Licensing Authority
Office of The Director of Public Health
Licensing Department Public Protection Service
Plymouth City Council
Ballard House
West Hoe Road
Plymouth
PL1 3BJ
Tel: 01752 304141
Email: [email protected]
The Gambling Commission
Victoria Square House
Victoria Square
Birmingham
B2 4BP
Tel: 0121 230 6666
Email: - [email protected]
Devon & Cornwall Police
Licensing Department
Launceston Police Station
Moorland Road
Launceston
Cornwall
PL15 7HY
Tel: 01566 770500
Email: [email protected]
Child Protection
Plymouth City Council
Safeguarding Team
Children, Young People and Families
Ballard House
West Hoe Road
Plymouth
PL1 3BJ
Tel: 01752 306340
Email: [email protected]
HM Revenue & Customs
Excise Processing Teams
BX9 1GL
United Kingdom
Tel: 03000 322 7072 Option 7
Email: [email protected]
Devon & Somerset Fire and Rescue Service
West Devon Headquarters
Glen Road
Plympton
Plymouth
PL7 3XT
Tel: 01752 333600
Email: [email protected]
Trading Standards Authority
County Hall
Topsham Road
Exeter
EX2 4QD
Tel: 01392 383853
Email: [email protected]
Planning Authority
Plymouth City Council
Development Consents Manager
Level 2 West Wing
Ballard House
Plymouth
PL1 3BJ
Tel: 01752 304471
Email: [email protected]
Maritime & Coastguard Agency (where applicable)
Plymouth Marine Office
Suite 5
Endeavour House
Oceansgate
Vivid Approach
Plymouth
PL1 3HQ
Tel: 020 390 85245
Email: [email protected]
Notices
You can find the notice forms on the Gambling Commission website
Replacement licence
You can ask us for a copy of your gambling premises licence if it's been stolen or destroyed. You can only apply for a copy if you're the holder of the premises licence. Email: [email protected]
There is a fee of £25.