Department for Culture Media and Sport
Under the Gambling Act 2005 local authorities, and licensing boards in Scotland, are responsible for issuing permissions, permits and notices relating to the use of premises for gambling activities.
Please note: although all licensing authorities are local authorities, not all local authorities are licensing authorities.
Licensing authorities issue licences for:
Licensing authorities issue permits for:
Licensing authorities issue:
Local authorities set fees for premises licences, within fee bands prescribed by DCMS. Each premises type has separate fee bands. We decided the maximum fees for each type of premises and each type of application for which a fee is payable after extensive consultation with licensing authorities and the gambling industry.
There is an initial fee to cover the cost of application and an annual maintenance fee. The fee selected must be limited to cost recovery. This approach ensures fairness and value for money, while allowing licensing authorities to fully recover costs associated with premises licensing.
Guidance for licensing authorities is produced by the Gambling Commission.
In addition, a range of training materials were produced for licensing officers and councillors during the implementation of the Gambling Act 2005 to help them understand their roles and responsibilities under the Act. These materials are still available for download:
These contain interactive elements and case studies.