Nick Arron
Nick is the lead Partner in the Betting & Gaming team, having responsibility for Operating, Personal and Premises Licences under the Gambling Act 2005.
Nick acts for a wide variety of leisure operators from large international corporations to single-site operators, including casinos, bookmakers, bingo operators, family entertainment centres, adult gaming centre arcades, clubs and gaming machine and software manufacturers and suppliers. His clients are from both the terrestrial land-based sector and online gambling world.
Some of Nick’s major leisure clients include; MERKUR.com AG, Blueprint Gaming Ltd, Blueprint Operations Ltd, Regal Amusement Machine Sale Ltd, MERKUR Slots, Palatial Leisure Ltd, Bede Gaming, Haven Leisure Limited, Namco, Bandai Amusements Europe Ltd, Paddy Power, Parkdean Resorts Uk Ltd, and Tenpin.
He successfully acted for Nikolas Shaw Ltd in the first appeal relating to the new casinos under the Gambling Act 2005.
He is retained as a legal advisor by the Bingo Association and sits on the a number of client compliance committees. He has written gambling law qualifications and regularly delivers training to local authority officers, councillors, the police, operators, staff and Personal Management Licence Holders.
Nick regularly contributes to the trade press, including the Institute of Licensing Journal and he writes for Lexis-Nexis.
The Chambers & Partners Guide regards Nick as “very personable, well informed and widely connected and respected throughout our industry.” The Legal 500 Guide describes him as “the stand out partner.”
Practice Area
Panel
- Contributing Author
Qualified Year
- 2006
Experience
- Poppleston Allen (1997 - Present)
Membership
- The Law Society
Qualifications
- Communications and Law (LLB) (1996)
- Post Diploma in Law (1997)
- Legal Practice Course (2005)
Education
- Leeds University (1993-1996)
- Leeds Beckett University (1996-1997)
- Nottingham Law School (2003-2005)
4 Contributions by Nick Arron
PRACTICE NOTES
Gambling Act 2005 (Great Britain): Gaming Machine Definitions, Categories and Authorisations; Lottery Promotion, Exemptions and Offences
This Practice Note
This Practice Note examines what falls within the meaning of a gaming machine under the Gambling Act 2005 (GA 2005) and the offences that may arise where contraventions occur. It further addresses the operation of lotteries, including the distinction between simple and complex lotteries, the rules on lottery promotion, exempt lotteries, and offences resulting from breaches of the statutory provisions. Under GA 2005, a gaming machine is a device designed or adapted for individuals to gamble, whether or not it also serves other purposes. The High Court has held that poker terminals available in public houses are gaming machines because they enable play of a game of chance for a prize; they were recognisably capable of generating a chance on which a prize might be awarded. By contrast, equipment not designed or adapted for gambling—such as skill machines where the outcome depends on skill rather than chance—does not constitute a gaming machine for GA 2005 and is therefore outside its regulation. Accordingly, devices based on skill alone are excluded from GA 2005 and remain entirely unregulated by that framework altogether. GA 2025 states that:
a domestic or dual‑use computer is not a gaming machine solely by reason of...
Local Government
PRACTICE NOTES
Gambling Commission in Great Britain: Compliance, Investigations, Enforcement Powers, Criminal Prosecutions and Appeals under the Gambling Act 2005
This Practice Note outlines the Gambling Commission’s regulatory remit and its investigative and enforcement powers, deployed to ensure the three licensing objectives are upheld.
Gambling Commission investigations
The Commission supervises the commercial gambling industry throughout Great Britain.
Under section 23 of the Gambling Act 2005 (GA 2005), it must prepare a statement setting out the principles to be applied when exercising its functions under that Act.
It has published a policy statement on Licensing, compliance and enforcement under the Gambling Act 2005, which sets out its regulatory policies for undertaking compliance activities.
This policy is reviewed regularly and was updated on 12 September 2023.
In performing its functions, the Commission is under a duty to pursue and have regard to the licensing objectives in GA 2005, s 1:
preventing gambling from being a source of crime or disorder, being associated with crime or disorder, or being used to facilitate crime
ensuring gambling is carried out in a fair and transparent way
safeguarding children and other vulnerable people from being harmed or exploited by gambling
Where concerns have arisen about...
Local Government
PRACTICE NOTES
Gambling premises licences in Great Britain: eligibility, applications, advertising, local risk assessments, conditions, hearings, provisional statements and appeals
This Practice Note sets out when a premises licence is needed to authorise gambling activities. It outlines the categories of premises licences for each activity, the eligibility criteria, and the route to the licensing authority from submission and advertisement through to any hearing. It details the mandatory conditions attached to a premises licence, as well as discretionary conditions. It also addresses provisional statements and appeals against decisions of the licensing authority.
A premises licence is required to provide gambling facilities at:
casino premises
bingo premises
betting premises, including tracks and premises used by betting intermediaries
adult gaming centres
family entertainment centres
Other than for a track, a premises licence cannot be granted if a premises licence already has effect for the same premises.
A track includes:
a horse-race course
a dog track
other premises where races or sports events take place or are intended to take place
Each licence must relate to a defined area of the track, and only one premises licence may apply to any particular area of the track.
Eligibility for premises licence
An applicant for a premises licence must possess, or have...
Local Government
PRACTICE NOTES
Gaming and Machines in Clubs, Alcohol-licensed Premises and Travelling Fairs: Exemptions, Permits, Applications and Appeals under the Gambling Act 2005 (Great Britain)
This Practice Note outlines the situations in which the various types of club (members’, commercial and miners’ welfare clubs) may provide gaming and gaming machines without a permit. It describes the limits of these exemptions, when a permit is needed by a club, how to apply, and how decisions are reached. It also sets out when alcohol licensed premises may provide gaming and gaming machines by relying on the alcohol licence where certain conditions are met and appropriate notice is given, when exemptions can be removed, and how determinations can be challenged. It looks at rules on bingo in pubs and clubs and when a travelling fair can provide gaming without specific authorisation.
Clubs
There are distinct provisions controlling gaming and gaming machines supplied by clubs, alcohol licensed premises and travelling fairs, in addition to the framework that permits gambling facilities under operating and premises licences. Under the gambling legislation, clubs fall into three categories:
members’ clubs
commercial clubs
miners’ welfare institutes
Members’ clubs and commercial clubs are subject to some similar requirements:
they must...
Local Government
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