Anna Mathias

Anna was called to the Bar in 1994 and practised as a barrister in chambers for ten years, specialising in public and regulatory law, planning and licensing. She was recruited by the legal team at the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in 2003 to assist the Borough in taking on its new role as Licensing Authority under the Licensing Act 2003. Anna moved from RBKC to join Joelson Wilson in summer 2005.

Expertise

Anna specialises in all aspects of alcohol and entertainment licensing and the law of betting, gaming & lotteries, both land-based and remote. She also has expertise in the regulatory and criminal law spheres insofar as they affect the gambling and leisure industries. She has experience of advising and representing clients in health and safety and food safety matters and in cases involving environmental and consumer protection issues, trading standards and weights and measures.

Over the years she has advised and represented a wide range of private and public sector clients and in her role at Joelson Wilson she acts for clients in the pub, bar, restaurant, nightclub, off-licence and catering trades and operators in the remote and land-based casino, bingo, betting, spread betting and gaming machine sectors, and tracks.

Anna is a frequent contributor to trade publications such as Betting Business, Casino Review and The Publican and has been quoted in the national press on matters relating to licensing law. She has spoken at national level on licensing and gambling law at a great many seminars aimed at lawyers, the trade and regulatory authorities.

Anna has extensive experience of appearing before courts and tribunals at all levels and before local authority panels across the country. Recent successful outcomes for clients have included persuading Westminster City Council to depart from their usual policy by granting a 2am alcohol licence right in the heart of their “stress area”, and securing variations to the premises licences of several major gambling operators to enable them to maximise their gaming machine entitlement and consequent revenue.

Outside Interests:

Travel, photography, scuba diving, gardening, rugby (the last as a spectator). Anna is fluent in French.