Where an individual or company uses premises, or causes or permits premises to be used to offer gambling, a premises licence is required under the Gambling Act 2005.

In accordance with section 150 of the Gambling Act, premises licences can authorise the provision of facilities on:

  • Betting Shops
  • Bingo Halls
  • Casinos
  • Adult Gaming Centres (ACG) premises (for category B3, B4, C and D machines)
  • family entertainment centre (FEC) premises (for category C and D machines). The licensing authority may also issue a FEC machine permit, which authorises the use of category D machines only.

New premises licence

The Act states that an application must be made to a licensing authority in whose area the premises are wholly or partly situated. In circumstances where the premises lie in more than one licensing authority’s area, the operator should make their application to just one of these authorities.

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

  • who are aged 18 or over, and
  • who have the right to occupy the premises, and
  • who have an operating licence which allows them to carry out the proposed activity.
  • who have applied for an operating licence to allow them to carry out the proposed activity. The premises licence cannot be determined until an operating licence has been issued.

The applicant must publish a notice of their application at the premises for a minimum of 28 consecutive days. A notice must also be published in a newspaper or newsletter or local relevance, on at least one occasion within ten days of the application being made. Templates for these notices are available to download on the right-hand side of this page.

The applicant must give notice of the application to all responsible authorities within seven days of the application being made. Responsible authorities are public bodies that are entitled to make representations to the licensing authority in relation to applications for, and in relation to, premises licences.

Apply via post*: 

Variation

A premises licence holder may apply to vary the licence.

Variations could, for example, include:

  • adding, amending or removing a licensable activity
  • changing a default condition
  • changing permitted times for opening hours
  • changing another part of the licence such as the plan

Apply via post*: 

Transfer

When control of an existing licensed gambling premise is to change to a different operator, it is necessary to apply to the licensing authority for the transfer of the licence.

An applicant for the transfer of a premises licence must have a legal right to occupy and utilise the licensed premises before they make an application. A premises licence cannot be issued before an appropriate operating licence, from the Gambling Commission, has been confirmed as granted.

Apply via post*:

Provisional statement

Provisional statements are effectively provisional licences. These allow an operator to assess the likelihood of obtaining a full licence before committing to the costs of developing a site. They can be obtained in situations where the premises have not yet been constructed, extended, or altered for use for licensable activities. We do not currently have the facility to accept these applications online. 

Apply via post*:

Re-instatement 

Reinstatement allows another operator to take over a premises licence that has lapsed, and continue operating a gambling business from the premises. Section 195 of the Act stipulates that for 6 months following a licence lapse a person may apply for the licence to be reinstated in their name.

Apply via post*:

Change of name or address 

A licence holder is required to ensure that the details on the premises licence are current, including the name of the premises, the name and address of the licence holder, and the name and address of the designated premises supervisor. Notifications of these changes must be completed by emailing licensing@havant.gov.uk with details of the premises licence and the relevant changes to be made. 

Fees

Please refer to the Council's list of fees. 

An annual fee is due for all licences and permits. The fee is due on the anniversary of the licence or permit issue date. 

Responsible Authorities

Applications must be sent to relevant Responsible Authorities, either via post or email, by the applicant.