Francis Taylor Building

LicensingGambling

Gerald’s practice embraces the full range of licensing regulation, with recent emphasis on gambling, alcohol and entertainment, and taxi licensing. He is widely recognised as “the doyen of the [KCs] in this field”: Chambers and Partners, 2022.

He is General Editor of ‘Patersons Licensing Acts’ and of ‘Smith & Monkcom: The Law of Gambling’. As a known expert in his field, he was invited to give evidence before the House of Lords Select Committee on the Licensing Act 2003 (2017), and before the House of Lords Select Committee on Gambling Harm (2020).

Gerald’s list of clients includes: The Royal Opera House; The Albert Hall; John Lewis; Waitrose; The Dorchester Hotel; Tottenham Hotspur Football Club; The Football Pools Ltd; Trust Inns Ltd; Mitchells & Butlers; The British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA); Caesar's Palace (Las Vegas); Cashino Gaming Ltd; Paddy Power; Ladbrokes; Corals; and William Hill. He was successful in obtaining gaming licences for the last of the great 1968 Act Casinos in Liverpool, Middlesbrough, Birmingham and Huddersfield; climaxing with the grant, on appeal, of the Hippodrome Casino in Leicester Square.

General Editor,  Paterson’s Licensing Acts General Editor, Smith & Monkcom: the Law of Gambling