Great Britain Gambling Commission announces overhaul of licensing process

Great Britain’s Gambling Commission on Monday announced an overhaul to its licensing process, which marks an end to the dedicated account manager model.

This means that operators will no longer have a single point of contact. Instead, licensing will be made up of four sub-groups, each responsible for different segments of work.

The four sub-groups are:

1. The Operating Licence New Group - responsible for processing applications for new operator licences,
2. The Change of Corporate Control Group – responsible for processing applications relating to changes of ownership and control for existing operators,
3. The Operating Licence Vary Group - responsible for processing applications relating to changes to existing operator licences, and
4. The Personal Licence group - responsible for processing all applications relating to personal licences.

The Gambling Commission said that it is changing up the process “to make the best use” of resources, while “hoping” to “be able to process applications more quickly.”

“We also hope to be able to resolve queries more efficiently and effectively.”

The Commission confirmed there are no changes to the way in which applications should be submitted.

A shake up to the licensing process comes as the Commission awaits the publication of the Gambling Act white paper, intended as a comprehensive review of the 2005 Gambling Act.