David Clifton

Please note from our website posting here that the business of Clifton Davies Consultancy Limited closed with effect from 30 September 2022

 

David Clifton is co-founder with Suzanne Davies of Clifton Davies Consultancy Limited, utilising their extensive past experience as partners at London law firm Joelson Wilson LLP to provide to clients of Clifton Davies a broad base of consulting, gambling, licensing & regulatory advice at competitive and flexible rates.

In terms of experience:

  • David is widely recognised as one of the UK’s most experienced specialists in gambling law and regulation (including licensing, advertising, anti-money laundering controls, consumer protection and social responsibility issues) in relation to both both land-based and online (B2C & B2B) gambling businesses
  • over a period of 35 years, he has advised:
    • international casino companies, bookmakers, bingo & AGC operators, gaming machine manufacturers, lottery operators & managers, prize competition promoters,
    • online betting & gaming operators and gambling software providers (both in Great Britain and overseas), social gaming and esports promoters, and
    • industry trade organisations
  • he has considerable experience as an advocate successfully handling heavily contested licensing applications and, over a longer sustained period than any other UK practitioner in this field, has built up an excellent working relationship with the Gambling Commission, including in the field of regulatory settlements
  • he regularly conducts AML and social responsibility reviews and audits for gambling operators and produces pre-transactional Licensing & Regulatory Due Diligence Reports; he also has experience in providing independent expert witness services in appropriate cases
  • he has been independently described as having “a meticulous eye for detail” and being “fantastically dedicated and client-oriented”, “hugely knowledgeable and skilled” and “a genuine expert in the field and an impressive advocate”.

Other specialist areas in which David has extensive experience include, in the licensed trade, representing operators of:

  • pubs, bars, nightclubs, hotels, restaurants, theatres and cinemas,
  • large-scale musical festivals and
  • sexual entertainment venues

An active long-time member of the International Association of Gaming Advisors, David is also very well-known as a speaker on gambling, licensing & associated regulatory matters at industry conferences throughout the world. He has been a contributing editor to three of the main sources of reference on UK licensing and gambling law:

  • Smith & Monkcom: Law of Betting, Gaming & Lotteries (2nd edition) & The Law of Gambling (3rd edition)
  • Kolvin: Licensed Premises Law & Practice (1st edition)
  • Halsbury’s Laws of England: Betting, Gaming & Lotteries (4th edition)

David is also a regular contributor to industry journals and magazines, including publications as diverse as SBC News (for whom he writes a monthly “Licensing Expert” article), Casino LifeiGaming Business, eGaming Review, iGaming Times, Online Gambling Lawyer and Pub & Bar Magazine (for whom David & Suzanne contribute a monthly “Legal Page”). His views and opinions are regularly quoted in Gambling Compliance and other media. All of these publications and relevant industry news items are posted in the Articles/News section of this website.

Please note that Clifton Davies Consultancy Limited is not a law firm and is not regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority and, in providing his services via Clifton Davies Consultancy Limited, David is not practising as a solicitor regulated by the SRA.