To find out more about licensing for gambling visit the Gambling Commission website.
The Gambling Act 2005 came into force on 1 September 2007. The Act repealed the Betting, Gaming and Lotteries Act 1963, the Gaming Act 1968 and the Lotteries and Amusement Act 1976.
The Gambling Act 2005
The Act covers 2 main activities:
- Providing facilities for gambling
- Using premises for gambling
The 2005 Act contains 3 licensing objectives that underpin the legislation:
- Preventing gambling from being a source of crime and disorder, being associated with crime or disorder, or being used to support a crime
- Ensuring that gambling is conducted in a fair and open way
- Protecting children and other vulnerable people from being harmed or exploited by gambling
What does The Act do?
The Act transfers responsibility for granting gaming and betting permissions from licensing Justices and grants new powers to licensing authorities in relation to the licensing and regulation of the use of gambling premises.
The 2005 Act empowers the Licensing Authority to process, determine and enforce the following permissions/authorisations:
Premises Licences
- Casinos
- Betting Shops
- Adult Gaming Centres
- Family Entertainment Centres
- Track Betting
- Bingo
Permits
- Unlicensed Family Entertainment Centres
- Club gaming permits
- Club machine permits
- Alcohol licensed premises gaming machine permits
- Prize gaming permits
Lotteries
Notices
- Temporary Use Notices
- Occasional Use Notices
The Act requires the Council to publish a Statement of Gambling Principles (which must be revised at least three yearly and it is this Statement of Principles that will determine all applications given to the Licensing Authority to process. The revised Statement of Principles come into effect on 31 January 2010.
More details
The relevant documents, including application forms, for premises licenced under the Gambling Act 2005 can be found on our gambling premises applications page.
Further information can be obtained from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport website.
Gambling Act 2005
Notice of publication of Statement of Principles 2013-2016 Gambling Act 2005 (Licensing Authority Policy Statement) (England & Wales) Regulations 2006 Notice is hereby given that in pursuance of Section 349 of the Gambling Act 2005 and in accordance with The Gambling Act 2005 (Licensing Authority Policy Statement) (England and Wales) Regulations 2006, Wokingham Borough Council (the Council) will publish on 19 December 2012, a Statement of Principles that are proposed to be applied by the Council in the exercise of their licensing functions under the Act.
The said Statement shall come into effect on 31 January 2013. The Statement is available for download from this website and will be available for inspection between 9.00 hours and 17.00 hours at the Wokingham Borough Council Shute End Offices - Licensing Team:
Shute End
Wokingham
Berkshire
RG40 1WW
Copies of the document may also be requested by contacting the Licensing team on 0118 9746359 (Monday to Friday, 9.00 - 17.00).
