Occasional use - licensed betting operators permit

Occasional use notices permit licensed betting operators, with the appropriate permission from the Gambling Commission, to use tracks for short periods of betting at events which are temporary or infrequent.

Do I need a licence?

You can serve this kind of notice to the Council if you are the person responsible for the organisation of events on the track or an occupier of the track.

The notices can only be used for eight days or less in a calendar year.

What do I need to apply?

  1. Complete the application form

How do I apply?

The completed application and send to licensing@doncaster.gov.uk or post to:

Licensing
Civic Office
Waterdale
Doncaster
DN1 3BU

A copy must also be served to the chief officer of police: 

South Yorkshire Police
Sheffield Licensing Team
60 Attercliffe Common 
Sheffield 
S9 2AD
Tel: 0114 252 3948 / 0114 252 3617
Fax: 0114 252 3688
Email: don_licensing@southyorks.pnn.police.uk

Consecutive days can be specified on the notice but the overall limit of eight days per calendar year should not be exceeded. 

How much does it cost?

There is no fee.

How long does the process take?

If the criteria is met for the occasional use notice, there is then no need for a betting premises licence for the track and when the notice is served there is no opportunity for counter-notices or objections to be submitted.

Apply now

Occasional Use Notice Application
Download (196KB - PDF)

Additional Information

What the Gambling Act says

Section 37 - Use of premises
A person commits an offence if he uses premises, or causes or permits premises to be used, to provide facilities for betting (whether by making or accepting bets, by acting as a betting intermediary or by providing other facilities for the making or accepting of bets).

Does not apply in relation to the use of a track by a person for accepting bets if the use is authorised by a premises licence (whether or not held by him).

A person guilty of an offence under this section shall be liable on summary conviction to: 
(a) imprisonment for a term not exceeding 51 weeks,
(b) a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale, or
(c) both.

Section 39 – Occasional Use Notice
A person who accepts bets on a track, or who causes or permits premises to be used for the acceptance of bets, does not commit an offence under section 37 if:

(a) a notice has been given under this section in respect of the track, and
(b) the activity is carried on in accordance with the notice.

A notice under this section (an “occasional use notice”) in respect of a track may be given only by a person who is—
(a) responsible for the administration of events on the track, or
(b) an occupier of the track.

An occasional use notice must:
(a) be given in writing to the licensing authority for any area in which the track is wholly or partly situated, and
(b) be copied to either: 
(i) in England and Wales, the chief officer of police for any area in which the track is wholly or partly situated, or
(ii) in Scotland, the chief constable of the police force maintained for the police area comprising that area.

An occasional use notice must specify a day on which it has effect.

An occasional use notice may not be given in respect of a track for a day in a calendar year if eight occasional use notices have been given in respect of that track for days in that year.

In this section: 
(a) “chief officer of police” has the meaning given by section 101(1) of the Police Act 1996 (c.16) and
(b) a reference to a chief officer’s area is a reference to the area in respect of which he has responsibility under that Act.

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Last updated: 09 May 2024 09:24:10

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