You’ll see on most UK casino staff advertisements the requirement for a PFL or PML – what does that mean ?

PFLs and PMLs

Every member of gaming staff in UK casinos has to hold a personal licence.  At staff level (dealer, inspector, cashier, pit boss) that means a Personal Functional Licence, or PFL.  Managers and exec level people need the next level up, a Personal Management Licence or PML.

It’s really important to remember these aren’t the same as the old licences – Red, Blue, Yellow, Green and Grey – they were under the old law, the 1968 Gaming Act.  We now operate under the 2005 Gambling Act, and it has all changed. The one thing that’s the same is there’s no technical skills test to get a licence, essentially the purpose of the process is to make sure you’re not a criminal.

What’s changed?

Under the old system, the casino used to apply for your licence.  That’s not the case now – anyone can apply for a PFL whenever they want. That’s why casino employers generally won’t be all that interested if you don’t have a PFL (or poker dealing experience – see below) as they know you can get a licence just by applying and paying the fee (currently £185).

Licences now also expire after five years, which is why if you’ve not renewed your licence, you might not get a reply from a prospective employer – they’ll check the licence register (here : https://secure.gamblingcommission.gov.uk/PublicRegister/PLSearch) and if it says your licence isn’t current – well  - they’ll hire someone who does have a current one.

But I have 20 years experience!

Well, operators love that, but most just aren’t prepared to do it for you – it is a personal licence after all.  If you have poker experience, you do have one option though.   Poker dealers don’t need a licence, so you can try to pick up a job in the card room and apply for your licence (maybe your employer will pay or help to pay the fee) later. You’ll still need to the right to work in the UK however.

Right to work

We get hundreds of applications from people who don’t have the right to work in the UK.  We aren’t employment lawyers, so we aren’t going to go into detail about from which countries people are allowed to work in the UK and from which they aren’t, but trust us, the casino operators know this stuff – and they will check.  There is no point applying if you don’t have the right to work in the UK, you’ll just be wasting people’s time, including your own.

Also, if you need sponsorship or similar for a visa, that’s just not going to work, at staff level no operator in the UK wants to get into that.

So if you want to work in a UK casino and you’re going to need a licence, get one! And if you think yours might have expired, check on the register and figure out where you stand. Every employer in the UK will be checking both your licence and your right to work, so you’ll need both before you apply.