The General Entertainment Authority (GEA) issued a regulation organizing licenses for entertainment activities and associated suppliers services. The regulation outlines the specifications and the documents required for obtaining entertainment licenses, the types of licenses that are issued by GEA and fall within the scope of this regulation, as well as the obligations of license holders and the penalties against violators.

The regulation includes 19 articles across five sections, and identifies ten types of licenses classified into three categories: Entertainment Venues, which includes theme parks, entertainment centers and entertainment events venues; Entertainment Events, which includes Entertainment Event Permit, Entertainment Show Permit, and Restaurants and Cafés Live Shows Permit; and Suppliers Services which includes Artists and Talent Management License, Entertainment Venue Operator License, Crowd Management and Organization Accreditation, and Entertainment Activities Ticketing Accreditation.

Once an investor submits a license or permit request via the Entertainment Portal, GEA inspects the application then issues the license and provides post-licensing services.

Through the regulation, GEA stipulates the guidelines and laws that the license holder must abide by, most notably in terms of observing Islamic values and the cultural considerations of the Kingdom’s society, refraining from offending individuals or government authorities, implementing all security and safety standards within the entertainment venues or event sites, and implementing all guidelines and instructions issued by GEA.

GEA also identifies the penalties in the event of violations of the regulation, which range from issuing a warning, shutting down the facility, or suspending the activity, to withdrawing the license completely, or even including the violator on the “banned list”. Conversely, a license holder is entitled to object to GEA’s decisions at the Complaints Department, which shall inspect the objection and take the appropriate action or raise the file to the Grievance Committee.

The new regulation is the updated version of a regulation GEA issued back in 2018 to organize entertainment activities. Throughout its role as the legislator and regulator of the entertainment sector, GEA is committed to ensure excellence across the industry, aiming to promote Saudi entertainment in line with world-class standards.