BACKGROUND AND INTRODUCTION TO THE GAMBLING ACT
2005:
The Gambling Act 2005 received Royal Assent in April 2005, will
come fully implemented on 01 September 2007.
The Gambling Act will replace three existing Acts of Parliament
and sub-ordinate legislation including the Gaming Act 1968,
Lotteries and Amusements Act 1976 and Betting Gaming and Lotteries
Act 1963. This will not incorporate the National Lottery, which is
subject to separate legislation, but will include regulation of
such activities as Internet gambling, casinos and bingo.
THE ROLE OF
GAMBLING COMMISSION AND LICENSING AUTHORITIES
The responsibility for licensing gambling operators, individuals
and premises will be split between Local Licensing Authorities and
the newly formed independent body, the Gambling Commission. The
Gambling Commission will be responsible for the licensing of
gambling operators and individuals, whilst the Local Licensing
Authorities will assume responsibility for various regulatory
functions in relation to a number of gambling activities:
- The issuing of Premise Licences for the
provision of gambling activities;
- The issuing of Permits for Unlicensed
Family Entertainment Centres, Club Gaming, Club Machines, Licensed
Premises Gaming Machines and Prize Gaming;
- The issuing of Provisional
Statements;
- The receiving and endorsing of Temporary
Use Notices;
- The receiving of Occasional Use Notices;
and,
- The registering of Small
Lotteries
LICENSING
OBJECTIVES
There are three licensing objectives, which underpin the new
legislation. The licensing objectives are:
(1) Preventing gambling from
being a source of crime or disorder, being associated with crime or
disorder or being used to support crime;
(2) Ensuring that gambling is
conducted in a fair and open way; and
(3) Protecting children and other
vulnerable adults from being harmed or exploited by gambling.
PROCEDURES AND TRANSITIONAL
ARRANGEMENTS:
The Gambling Act 2005 regulates the
provision of facilities for gambling and the use of premises for
gambling. This includes:
- Betting (track and
non-track)
- Bingo
- Casinos
- Gaming machines in
Adult Gaming Centres (AGC) and Family Entertainment Centres
(FEC)
- Lotteries
- Permits for gaming
and machines in Clubs and Alcohol on-licensed premises, prize
gaming and unlicensed Family Entertainment Centres
(Note: There are some forms of ‘exempt’ gaming and ‘automatic’
entitlements provided for by the 2005 Act. Please refer to Gambling
Commission website for further information)
Transitional Leaflets
Existing
operators:
Existing gambling operators had
until 27 April 2007 to apply to the Gambling Commission for their
Operator and Personal Licences, and following their application(s)
to the Commission can now apply to the Licensing Authority from
21 May 2007 for the relevant Premises Licence to provide
gambling facilities in the Mid Suffolk District Council area
IMPORTANT: PLEASE NOTE.
Existing operators must apply to the Licensing Authority during
a transitional period that runs between 21 May 2007 and (no
later than) 30 July 2007 - in order to benefit from
‘continuation rights’, which will allow the operator to continue to
operate after 01 September 2007, subject to requirements of the
2005 Act including any relevant codes of practice issued by the
Gambling Commission, even if their new premises licence application
has not been determined or issued.
Existing operators can apply for a
streamlined ‘fast-track’ conversion application (accepting
default conditions relevant to that category of licence) or else
they can apply for a ‘non-fast track’ application to vary
the default conditions (for example, the default condition of a
betting premises licence concerns operating hours of 7am until
10pm). The procedures involved (serving notice and advertising of
the application, and fees etc) are not the same for fast track and
non-fast track applications, but the application form is the
same.
(Note: Existing Club registrations under Part II and Part III of
the Gaming Act 1968 will effectively run their course -
‘automatically’ converting to a Club Gaming Permit or Club Machine
Permit. Existing section 34 AWP gaming machine permits issued under
the Gaming Act 1968 will also run their course. Please refer to
Gambling Commission website and DCMS transitional guidance document
for further information. You will need to apply to the Licensing
Authority prior to the expiry of your existing registration or
permit for the relevant 2005 Act permit.)
Application forms and detailed
guidance:
Application forms and further detailed guidance for specific
premises/operators are available from the Gambling Commission
website (see ‘Further Information’ at bottom of this page). Please
ensure that you carefully read all notes and guidance with the
application form before you complete it.
Local information for applicants:
The Licensing Authority has produced various documents to assist
applicants with their application including local contact details
for responsible authorities and fees for applications:
Responsible Authorities Contact List
Further Information Leaflets:
Further information can be found at the following
links:
The
Gambling Commisssion Website
The Department for Culture Media and Sport (DCMS)
Website
You can also
contact the licensing department at Mid
Suffolk