Gambling in Alcohol Licensed

Gaming machines in licensed premises

Premises such as pubs that are licensed under the Licensing Act 2003 for sale of alcohol for consumption on the premises, are automatically allowed to provide up to two category C or D gaming machines under the Gambling Act 2005.

Information on the different categories of gaming machine are provided on the Gambling Commission's website.

Notifications and permit applications

In order to benefit from this automatic entitlement, the holder of the relevant premises licence must tell us in writing that they intend to provide the machines and pay a fee of £50.

If you are the holder of the alcohol premises licence and you want to make available more than two category C or D machines you must apply for an alcohol licensed premises gaming machine permit.

If you want to notify us of your intention to make gaming machines available in licensed premises, or want to apply for a gaming machine permit, you can do so using the form below:

Notification/Application form

The form and relevant fee should be returned to:

Licensing, Redditch Borough Council, Town Hall, Walter Stranz Square, Redditch, B98 8AH

The fees we currently charge under the Gambling Act 2005 can be found on our licensing fees and charges page.

If you are making gaming machines available in licensed premises, you are required to comply with a code of practice, which has been drawn up by the Gambling Commission on the location and operation of machines. The code of practice can be found on the Gambling Commission website.

Exempt Gaming in Licensed Premises

Exempt gaming is equal chance gaming which is generally allowed in any club or alcohol licensed premises. Such gaming should be ancillary to the purposes of the premises. Such premises are automatically allowed to provide this type of gaming, as long as certain Government rules relating to stakes and prize limits are followed.

Equal chance gaming is gaming that does not involve staking against a bank and the chances of winning are equally favourable to all participants. It includes games such as Backgammon, Mah-jong, Rummy, Kalooki, Dominoes, Cribbage, Bingo and Poker.

The Government has set both daily and weekly prize limits for exempt gaming in alcohol licensed premises, which are set out in the Gambling Commission's advice on gaming in clubs and alcohol licensed premises can be downloaded here:

Gambling Commission - Advise on gaming in clubs and alcohol licensed premises

Specific advice on allowing poker in alcohol licensed premises is provided below:

Gambling Commission - Poker in pubs

If you are allowing exempt gaming in your premises, this should be supervised by a nominated gaming supervisor and you must comply with the code of practice issued by the Gambling Commission, which can be downloaded from the Gambling Commission website.