In March 2022, the City of Edinburgh Council voted to set the appropriate number of sexual entertainment venues in the capital at zero — a nil cap that would have closed every strip club in the city. It never took effect. On 10 February 2023, in the Outer House of the Court of Session, Lord Richardson ruled in Kaagobot Limited and others v City of Edinburgh Council ([2023] CSOH 10) that the council’s resolution was unlawful and reduced it. The United Sex Workers union, which had fought to be admitted to the judicial review as an additional party alongside the club operators and a venue employee, had argued the council misdirected itself in law by taking irrelevant factors into account. The court agreed.
That judgment is the single most important thing to understand about strip clubs in Scotland, because it settled how far a Scottish council can go — and because Scotland’s rules are not England’s.
How Scottish licensing actually works
Scotland does not use the English sexual entertainment venue provisions. Section 76 of the Air Weapons and Licensing (Scotland) Act 2015 inserted new sections 45A to 45C into the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982, creating a discretionary licensing regime for sexual entertainment venues (SEVs). It was fully commenced by a 2019 commencement order, and councils have been free to adopt it since.
Key points:
- Adoption is optional. Each of Scotland’s 32 councils decides for itself whether to license SEVs at all. Where no resolution has been passed, venues operate under other licensing regimes instead.
- A SEV is defined by content, not by name. The 1982 Act covers any premises providing live sexual entertainment before a live audience for financial gain — lap dancing, pole dancing, table dancing, strip shows, peep shows. What the venue calls itself is irrelevant.
- Councils set an “appropriate number” of venues for their area or for a defined locality, and that number may be set at zero. The Edinburgh ruling did not remove that power; it held that this particular council reached its decision unlawfully.
- Four statutory objectives govern the regime: preventing public nuisance, crime and disorder; securing public safety; protecting children and young people from harm; and reducing violence against women.
- Occasional events are exempt where sexual entertainment is provided only a small number of times in a 12-month period.
Where the four main cities stand
Edinburgh went back and redid the exercise. Its current SEV policy, dated 5 February 2024, sets the appropriate maximum number of venues at three. The policy is explicit about why: the council accepted the argument that a zero cap risked pushing the activity into an illicit, unregulated setting, causing greater harm to performers. It also restricts SEVs to city centre Ward 11 — no other ward in Edinburgh is considered appropriate. Licences run for a maximum of one year.
Glasgow adopted the regime earlier and more cleanly. Since 24 September 2022, every SEV in Glasgow has required a SEV licence, with existing operators required to apply by July 2022 so the Licensing and Regulatory Committee could determine applications in time. Every application goes to committee, and consultees include Police Scotland, the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service and the Glasgow Violence Against Women Partnership.
Aberdeen has also adopted licensing and was consulting again on its SEV policy in 2025. Dundee has consulted on the question, but its position has been less settled than Glasgow’s or Edinburgh’s. In both cities, check the council’s current licensing pages before assuming a venue is trading.
Aberdeen
- Mask — 52 Bridge St, Aberdeen AB11 6JN
- Silhouettes Behind Kristals — 48 Bridge Street, Aberdeen AB11 6JN
- Private Eyes Aberdeen — 74 Chapel Street, Aberdeen AB10 1SN
- Number 7 Club — 7 Crown Street, Aberdeen AB11 6HA
Glasgow
Glasgow has its own dedicated guide; the directory entries are:
- Diamond Dolls Glasgow — 39 Mitchell Street, Glasgow G1 3LN
- Platinum Lace Glasgow — 24 Drury Street, Glasgow G2 5AA
- Seventh Heaven Glasgow — 15 Elmbank Gardens, Glasgow G2 4NQ
Edinburgh
- Baby Dolls Edinburgh — 2/4 Laurieston Street, Edinburgh EH3 9DJ
- Fantasy Palace — 12 Shandwick Place, Edinburgh EH2 4RN
Dundee
- Private Eyes Dundee — 1a Rattray St, Dundee DD1 1NA
What to check before you go
- Check the venue is still licensed. Edinburgh’s cap of three means the city cannot support more than three licensed SEVs at once, and licences last a maximum of one year. A listing is not proof of a current licence — ring ahead or check the council’s licensing register.
- Know the standard conditions. Under Edinburgh’s conditions, no physical contact between performers and customers is permitted, the audience may not participate, photography and recording are banned, private booths cannot have doors or curtains and must be CCTV-monitored, and a price list must be displayed prominently. Similar conditions apply elsewhere. Disputes over cost are largely avoidable if you read the price list first.
- Bring photo ID. Challenge 25 applies: anyone who looks under 25 must produce a passport, photocard driving licence or PASS-logo proof of age. Under-18s cannot enter at all.