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Legal Eagle

Licensing

Q: Casinos and entertainment

Can my casino feature live entertainment? I know the gaming laws have yet to be implemented completely but I heard that some elements have recently been altered to allow such shows.

A: What you have heard is correct. Live entertainment may now be permitted in casinos, but whether or not to give permission for it at the discretion of the licensing authority in each individual case.

Casinos operate as private members' clubs, licensed by the Magistrates' Courts' Gaming Committee under Part II of the Gaming Act 1968. Until 2002 the provision of live entertainment and alcohol on the gaming floor were both prohibited. However, this was changed in consequence of the government's acceptance of recommendations made by the Gambling Review Body as to the relaxation of these and other restrictions on certain activities in licensed gambling clubs, and as interim steps on the path to overall reform of the gambling laws in the UK.

Details of the changes are contained in the Gaming Board's Memorandum of Advice to Licensing Justices and Licensing Boards for the 2003 Licensing Sessions and subsequent years. The current version of this advice appears on the Gaming Board's website at www.gbgb.org.uk.

In a letter to licensing authorities dated June 12, 2002, the board announced that restrictions on alcohol on the gaming floor (including the table gaming area and in card rooms) would be lifted, thereby accepting one of the recommendations in the Gambling Review Body's Report (the Budd Report). The ban on alcohol had not been a statutory requirement but merely longstanding practice. The provision of alcohol in such areas will now be a matter of discretion for the individual licensing authorities to take into account on any application for the grant, renewal or variation of a casino's justices' licence.

Another recommendation accepted by the Gaming Board was the lifting of restrictions on live entertainment, as to which new regulations were implemented on August 12, 2002 in England and Wales, but not in Scotland (where the restriction on live entertainment remains). The new regulations removed the requirement that licensing authorities must prohibit casino premises from being used for dancing, live music or entertainment. However, the authorities can still use their discretion to ban live entertainment. Any application to remove or vary a pre-existing licence restriction must be made on renewal of the licence to the Magistrates' Gaming Committee. If the magistrates refuse an application to offer live entertainment, they should so advise the Gaming Board.

Casinos do not need a public entertainment licence from the local authority, since under the Gaming Act 1968 they can only operate as private members' clubs.

First published 12th May 2005