mangaluru city police have made a licence mandatory for all clubs and skill games centres in its limits the move follows an increase in number of gambling dens which have mushroomed in the city under the guise of recreation clubs in a report published on october 26 gambling dens posing as game centre mushroom in city toi had reported that these gambling centres attract not only a large number of labourers and middleclass employees who spend thousands of rupees but also people from distant places who bet in games involving a turnover of lakhs of rupees per day police commissioner r hithendra issued a circular directing all public entertainment centres to register with police and obtain a valid licence the licensing and controlling of places of public entertainment and public amusement mangalore city order has been issued by hithendra under subsection 6 of section 31 of the karnataka police act 1963 as per the order a place of public amusement means any place where music singing dancing or any diversion or game or the means of carrying on the same is provided and to which the public are admitted and includes a race course circus theatre music hall billiards room bagatelle room gymnasium fencing school swimming pool or dancing hall police have come across many cases where in the name of providing amusement clubs etc indulge in activities like gaming gambling betting playing games of chance etc this resulted in the need to regulate such clubs etc by issuing guidelines hithendra said no person shall open or maintain a place of public entertainment like discotheque entertainment club public club video parlour or any other place of public amusement without obtaining licence from the licensing authority under this order however no such licence shall be necessary for places of public entertainment like refreshment room eating house coffee house boarding house lodging house hotel etc that have valid licence obtained under the relevant provisions yakshagana bharatanatyam folk art and other cultural programmes dont come under the order he said every person applying for a licence to maintain a place of public entertainment will file an application in form no 1 along with documents specified and three recent photographs