The Court of Appeal has handed down judgment in the first case it has considered under the Gambling Act 2005: Greene King v Gambling Commission [2017] EWCA Civ 372.
The case concerned a decision of the Commission to refuse to issue Greene King an operating licence which would entitle it to offer high-stakes bingo in their pubs, along with the associated gaming machine entitlements. The Commission considered that allowing such an operation would imperil the licensing objectives.
The First-tier Tribunal held that the Commission had no power to refuse the operating licence because the concerns it had were about what would occur in the premises, and the premises were a matter for local licensing authorities.
The Commission successfully appealed to the Upper Tribunal: [2016] UKUT 150 (AAC). Greene King’s further appeal to the Court of Appeal was unanimously rejected, with the leading judgment being given by Hickinbottom LJ. The judgment contains an important discussion of the scope of the Commission’s powers, and recognises the overarching regulatory jurisdiction it has in respect of gambling.
Christopher Knight appeared for the Gambling Commission, led by Philip Kolvin KC.
The judgment can be read here.
