West Lothian Licensing Board is responsible for the administration of the Gambling Act 2005 in West Lothian which includes issuing different categories of premises licences.
The Licensing Team is able to provide general guidance on the scheme but cannot assist you to complete your application form or provide legal advice on whether a licence is required. Applicants should consult the gambling licensing webpages for general guidance before making any application.
You can apply to the Board for a premises licence for any of the following kinds of premises:
adult entertainment centre
betting shop
bingo
family entertainment centre
track
Please note that, other than for tracks (see below), you can only apply for a premises licence if you hold an operating licence authorising you to carry out the activity in respect of which the premises licence is sought, or have applied to the Gambling Commission for such an operating licence, in which case your application for a premises licence cannot be determined until the Gambling Commission has issued the relevant operating licence to you.
You do not require to hold an operating licence if you are applying for a premises licence authorising a track to be used for accepting bets. However, if in relation to the track concerned you will be acting as betting operator or running pool betting, you do require to hold a relevant operating licence or have applied for such an operating licence (as per the above) in order to apply for a premises licence.
For family entertainment centres offering category D machines only, please note that a family entertainment centre gaming machine permit rather than a premises licence is required. You can find further information on applying for an unlicensed family entertainment centre permit on the following page: Gaming Permits
By law your application for a premises licence must be accompanied by a plan which complies with Regulation 4 of The Gambling Act 2005 (Premises Licences and Provisional Statements) (Scotland) Regulations 2007.
Please refer to the Board's statement for the period 2022-25 for further information regarding:
Premises Licences in General
Principles to be applied in relation to Premises Licences
Premises Licence Conditions
Door Supervision Condition
Specific Classes of Premises Licence
Premises Plans
Premises Licence Reviews
Determination of whether a person is an interested party in relation to a premises licence or an application for or in respect of a premises licence
Local Area Profile
From 6 April 2016 applicants for premises licences will require to share their local risk assessments with the Board when applying for a premises licence. Please refer to the following section of the Board's gambling statement of principles for the period 2022-25 for further details:
Section 16 Local Risk Assessments
An application for a premises licence can only be made by:
a person aged 18 or over
who has the right to occupy the premises and
who holds or has applied for an operators licence if required
By law it is your responsibility as applicant to:
Give notice of your application in the correct statutory form to the following responsible authorities, within 7 days beginning on the date on which your application is made:
West Lothian Licensing Board
The Gambling Commission
The Chief Constable, Police Scotland
The Local Senior Officer, Scottish Fire and Rescue Service
West Lothian Council Development Management Service
West Lothian Council Child Protection Committee
H.M. Revenue & Customs
The Chief Executive, West Lothian Council
Please see Appendix 5 of the Board's gambling statement of principles for the period 2022-25 for contact addresses.
Publish notice of your application in the correct statutory form in a local newspaper circulating with West Lothian on at least one occasion during the period of 10 working days starting with the day after the day on which your application is made.
Display a notice in the correct statutory form on the premises to which your application relates in a place where it can conveniently be read by members of the public from the exterior of the premises for a period of no less than 28 consecutive days starting on the day on which your application is made.
Should you fail to give proper notice, by law the council cannot grant your application until proper notice has been given and the relevant timescale has elapsed e.g. 28 consecutive days in the case of the notice to be displayed at the premises. Should it transpire that you have failed to give proper notice after a licence has been issued to you, by law that licence shall be of no effect.
Your application will be subject to a 28 day period in which representations regarding it can be made by an interested party or responsible authority. Should you fail to give proper notice of your application, this 28 day period will run from the date on which proper notice is received by the responsible authorities and/ or given in the form of the relevant notice.
All premises licences are subject to a range of conditions. The Board expects all premises licence holders to be familiar with the conditions applicable to their licence. Please refer to the Board's gambling statement of principles for the period 2022-25 for further information regarding premises licence conditions in the following sections:
Premises licences in General
Principles to be applied in relation to Premises Licences
Premises Licence Conditions
Door Supervision Condition
Specific Classes of Premises Licence
If you hold a premises licence you can apply to the Board to vary (make a change) to it by:
adding, amending or removing an authorised activity
amending another detail of the licence
amending or removing a condition attached to the licence by the Board
excluding a default condition
attaching a default condition excluded by the Board
It is your responsibility as applicant to give notice of your variation application to the responsible authorities in the same way as is required for a premises licence application. Please refer to the drop-down box "notice of application for a premises licence" above for further details. You must also publish notice of your application by displaying a site notice in the same manner as required for a premises licence application. Failure to give proper notice of your application will have the same legal consequences as failure to give proper notice of a premises licence application.
Please note that, if you are applying to vary the layout plan contained in your licence, you must provide a scale plan with your application which complies with Regulation 7(3) of The Gambling Act 2005 (Premises Licences and Provisional Statements) (Scotland) Regulations 2007.
Premises licences can be transferred to someone else holding a valid operating licence.
It is your responsibility as applicant to give notice of your transfer application to the responsible authorities in the same way as is required for a premises licence application. Please refer to the drop-down box "notice of application for a premises licence" above for further details. You must also publish notice of your application by displaying a site notice in the same manner as required for a premises licence application. Failure to give proper notice of your application will have the same legal consequences as failure to give proper notice of a premises licence application.
Part 4 of the Gambling Act 2005 concerns the protection of children and young persons. It includes a range of offences which can be committed on gambling premises concerning children and young persons. There are legal restrictions on the circumstances in which children and young persons may participate in gambling or be on premises where gambling is taking place. Please refer to the following sections of the Board's gambling statement of principles for the period 2022-25 for further information:
The Licensing Objectives - protecting children and other vulnerable persons from being harmed or exploited by gambling
Principles to be applied in relation to Premises Licences
Premises Licence Conditions
Door Supervision Condition
Specific Classes of Premises Licence
If a premises licence has lapsed i.e. its expiry date has passed, an application can be made to reinstate the licence within the period of six months beginning with the date on which it lapsed.
The application requirements which apply to applications for premises licences also apply to applications for reinstatement of premises licences, together with other specific requirements. Persons wishing to apply for reinstatement of a premises licence who are in any way unsure as to their position should take advice from a solicitor.
A person may make an application for a provisional statement in respect of premises that he or she expects to be constructed, altered or to acquire a right to occupy. Please refer to the following section of the Board's gambling statement of principles for the period 2022-25 for further information:
Provisional Statements
Once the premises are constructed, altered or acquired the holder of a provisional statement can make an application for a premises licence.
The application requirements which apply to applications for premises licences also apply to applications for provisional statements, together with other specific requirements. Persons wishing to apply for a provisional statement who are in any way unsure as to their position should take advice from a solicitor.
Under the Gambling Act 2005 a "responsible authority" or "interested party" may apply to the Board for review of a premises licence. Review of a premises licence by the Board may result in a premises licence being:
revoked
suspended for a period not exceeding three months or
the conditions of the licence being changed (including the addition, removal or amendment of condition(s)
For further information regarding the meaning of responsible authority and interested party and applications for review, please refer to the following sections of the Board's gambling statement of principles for the period 2022-25:
Premises Licences in General
Premises Licence Reviews
Determination of whether a person is an interested party in relation to a premises licence or an application for or in respect of a premises licence
