Guidance for applicants

The Gambling Act 2005

The Gambling Act 2005 (2005 Act) received Royal Assent on the 7th April 2005.  The 2005 Act created a single regulator, in the form of the Gambling Commission, transferred powers from the Court to the Local Authorities, creates three specific forms of licences (Personal, Premises and Operators) and a large number of permits and notifications for gambling activities.    

The 2005 Act empowers the local authority to:

• licence premises for gambling activities,
• consider notices given for the temporary use of premises for gambling,
• grant permits for gaming and gaming machines in clubs and miners' welfare institutes,
• regulate gaming and gaming machines in alcohol-licensed premises ,
• grant permits to family entertainment centres (FECs) for the use of certain lower stake gaming machines,
• grant permits for prize gaming,
• consider occasional use notices for betting at tracks, and,
• register small societies' lotteries.

The 2005 Act also creates three Licensing Objectives.  These are:

• preventing gambling from being a source of crime or disorder, being associated with crime or disorder, or being used to support crime.
• ensuring that gambling is conducted in a fair and open way.
• protecting children and other vulnerable persons from being harmed or exploited by gambling.

Section 25 of the 2005 Act requires the Gambling Commission to issue guidance for local authorities in exercising their functions under the Act.  A copy of the current Guidance can be viewed here.

Under section 349 of the 2005 Act the Licensing Authority has to prepare and publish a statement of the principles that it proposes to apply in excercising its functions under the Act.  This Statement of Principles last for a period of three years and must be reviewed prior to end of that period or at any point during where it is felt necessary.  You can view a copy of the current Statement of Principles by clicking here.

Operators and Personal Licences

The Gambling Commission is responsible for issuing operating and personal licences under the 2005 Act.  Operators licences are issued to organisations and individuals who are providing facilities for gambling.  Personal licences are issued to certain categories of people who work in the gambling industry.

For further information on Operators and Personal Licences please visit the Gambling Commissions website at www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk.

Premises Licences

As mentioned above the 2005 Act transffered the responsibility for licensing premises for gambling from the Courts to Local authorities.  The Act prescribed a transitional period for existing licensed premises to convert their licences under the Gaming Act 1968 to a Premises Licence under the 2005 Act.  Following this transitional period any premises that provide licensable gambling activities will require a premises licence.   If you wish to find out further information relating to Premises Licences or wish to apply for a licence please click here.

Temporary Use Notices

These notices allow the use of a premises for gambling where there is no premises licence but where a gambling operator wishes to use the premises temporarily for providing facilities for equal chance gaming, where the gaming is intended to produce a single overall winner.    Equal chance gaming is gaming which does not involve playing or staking against a bank and gives equally favourable chances to all participants.  Examples of equal chance gaming include games such as backgammon, mah-jong, rummy, kalooki, dominoes, cribbage, bingo and poker.  These Notices can only be granted to a person or company holding a relevant operating licence. 

Gaming and Gaming Machine Permits in Clubs and Miners' Welfare Institutes

The Licensing Authority may grant members' clubs and miners' welfare institutes (but not commercial clubs)club gaming permits which authorise the establishments to provide gaming machines (as well as equal chance gaming and games of chance, as prescribed by regulations).  The club gaming or club gaming machine permit can be issued in respect of a vessel or vehicle.

Gaming and Gaming Machine Notifications and Permits for Alcohol-Licensed Premises

Premises that are licensed under the Licensing Act 2003 to provide the licensable activity of the sale by retail of alcohol on the premises have an automatic right to two gaming machines of category C or D (click here to view the list of gaming machine categories).  However, the premises must have a bar at which alcohol is served, without a requirement that alcohol is served only with food.  Applicants must review the conditions of their Licensing Act 2003 Premises Licence to ascertain whether they have conditions restricting the service of alcohol to those eating food or by waiter to waitress service only.   Applicants must submit a notification to the Licensing Authority and pay the prescribed fee of £50 to enact this right. 

As with the notifications for 2 or less machines the same restrictions relating to off sales, bar serving and food apply to premises that wish to obtain an alcohol-licensed gaming machine permit.  The permit will allow an alcohol-licensed premises to provide 3 or more gaming machines of category C or D.   This permit will replace and not be in addition to the automatic entitlement to two machines. 

Unlicensed (no premises licence) Family Entertainment Centres Permits

Licensed Family Entertainment Centres cater for families, including unaccompanied children and young persons.  Unlicensed Family Entertainment Centres are able to offer only category D gaming machines in reliance on a gaming machine permit.  Any number of category D machines can be made available under the permit subject to other considerations, such as fire regulations and health and safety.  Permits cannot be issued in respect of vessels or vehicles.

Prize Gaming Permits

Prize gaming is defined as the nature and size of the prize is not determined by the number of people playing or the amount paid for or raised by the gaming.  normally the prizes are determined by the operator before play commences.  This permit will authorise the provision of facilities for gaming with prizes on specified premises.

Occasional Use Notices for Betting Tracks

Where there is betting on a track on eight days or less in a calendar year, betting may be permitted by an occasional use notice without the need for a full premises licence.  Tracks are normally thought of as a permanent racecourse.  However, the meaning of "track" in the 2005 Act covers not just horse racecourses or dog tracks, but also any other premises on any part of which a race or other sporting event takes place, or is intended to take place (section 353(1)).  This means that premises that have e.g. boxing on eight days or less could make an occasional use notice to permit betting during those events.  These notices are limited to no more than eight days in a calendar year (starting 1st January). 

Small Societies Lotteries (Non-Commercial)

The 2005 Act sets out a definition of a lottery and provides that promoting or facilitating a lottery is illegal, unless it falls into one or two categories of permitted lottery, namely:

Licensed lotteries:

• these are large society lotteries and lotteries run for the beneft of local authorities that are regulated by the Commission and require operating licences.

Exempt lotteries:

• there are four types of exempt lottery that are expressly permitted under Schedule 11 of the Act, including the small society lottery.

A registration from the Council is required for societies that wish to run a small lottery.  Those societies must be established and conducted for charitable purposes, for the purpose of enabling participation in, or of supporting, sport, athletics or a cultural activity, for any other non-commercial purpose other than that of private gain.  The ticket value of the single lottery on sale must be £20,000 or less, or the aggregate value of the tickets to be put on sale for all their lotteries in a calendar year must not exceed £250,000.  If the operator plans to exceed either of these limits then they may need to be licensed by the Gambling Commission to operate a large lottery.  The operator of a small lottery registered with the Council must supply returns relating to each lottery when they are concluded. 

If you wish to gain further information on lotteries or wish to make a registration application please click here.