Guide
One All-Ages Booking Is Enough to Rule a Venue Out
This is the disqualifier venues discover last, usually because nobody asked the person who takes the bookings.
The federal exception permits vending only where no person under 21 is present or permitted to enter at any time. A single private booking that admits under-21 guests — a family party, a wake, a corporate event with interns, a daytime hire — means under-21s are permitted to enter the facility, and the exception does not apply. The frequency is not the test.
Why occasional is not the same as never
Venues reasonably read the rule as being about their normal trade. It is not. “At any time” means the calendar counts, and a room that admits a fifteen-year-old to a wedding in March is a room that permits under-21s to enter. The machine does not have to be used by them, and they do not have to go near it.
The bookings that catch venues out
- Weddings and receptions.
- Wakes and memorials.
- Corporate events and staff parties where someone brings a younger colleague.
- Daytime hires — meetings, workshops, community groups.
- Early or all-ages shows at music venues.
- Charity and fundraising events.
- Family gatherings booked by a regular.
Ask whoever actually takes the bookings, not the duty manager. They are frequently different people and only one of them knows.
What the options actually are
| Stop taking all-ages bookings | Makes the venue eligible, and costs a revenue line. Rarely worth it for a secondary one. |
|---|---|
| Keep the bookings | The venue is not eligible under the current model. A clear no, at no cost. |
| Separable space | Where an all-ages function happens in a genuinely separate facility from the machine, this is a question worth reviewing rather than assuming. |
We will not encourage the first option. A venue that gives up event trade to host a vending machine has been sold something badly.
Before you apply
Pull the last twelve months of bookings
Not the policy — the bookings.
Ask whether any admitted under-21s
Including as guests of attendees.
Ask whether any are already in the diary
Forward bookings count the same.
Then check your venue
With a real answer rather than an assumed one.
The checker → runs in your browser and returns a no where a no is the answer.
Last reviewed . A person rechecks the sources before this date changes.
Common questions
What if we only do one or two a year?
The test is whether under-21s are permitted to enter at any time, not how often they do.
What if the event is in a separate room?
That turns on where the facility boundary falls and needs review rather than a yes.
Should we stop taking events to qualify?
Almost certainly not. Event trade is usually worth more than a secondary revenue line.
See whether your venue qualifies
The assessment applies everything on this page to your actual address.