Gambling licensing policy

Club Gaming Permit (CGP)

A Club Gaming Permit is available to members’ clubs, miners’ welfare institutes, but not commercial clubs. It allows the club to offer:

• equal chance gaming such as poker and bingo
• up to three gaming machines in total of categories B3A, B4, C or D, and by agreement, only one machine can be of category B3A.

The Permit also allows games of chance which are specified as Pontoon and Chemin de Fer only. These games are seldom played and were specified in previous Gambling legislation.

Restrictions on Club Gaming Permits are:

• no limits on stakes and prizes, except bingo where there is a stakes and prizes limit of £2,000 in any seven-day period
• limit on participation fees per person per day; £20 for bridge and / or whist (if played on a day on which no facilities of any kinds of gaming (other than bridge or whist) are provided by the relevant club on that day), £3 for other gaming (including poker) in any other circumstances

Club Machine Permit (CMP)

A Club Machine Permit is available to members’ clubs, miners’ welfare institutes, and commercial clubs. It allows the club to offer:

• equal chance gaming such as poker and bingo
• up to three gaming machines in total of categories B3A, B4, C or D, but by agreement, only one machine can be of category B3A (B3A not permitted for commercial clubs).

Restrictions on the gaming are:

• limit on stakes and prizes for bingo; £2,000 in any seven-day period
• limit on stakes for poker; £10 per person per game, within a premises limit of £250 in stakes per day and £1,000 per week
• limit on prizes for poker; £250 per game
• limit on participation fees per person per day; £18 for bridge/whist (if played on a day on which no facilities of any kind of gaming (other than bridge or whist) are provided by the relevant club on that day), £1 for other gaming (including poker), £3 where it’s a commercial club.

The provision of equal chance gaming must comply with the Gambling Commission’s code of practice for equal chance gaming in clubs and premises with an alcohol licence. The provision of gaming machines must comply with the code of practice for gaming machines in clubs and premises with an alcohol licence issued by the Gambling Commission.

In considering applications for permits under these provisions, the Licensing Authority will have regard to Part 25 of the national guidance issued by the Gambling Commission.