THE GAMBLING ACT 2005
The Act | Premises Licence |
Application Forms
| Unlicensed
FEC | Club
Permits | Licensed Premises GM
Permits | Prize Gaming Permits
| Provisional
Statements | TUN | OUN | Lotteries
The Act
The Gambling Act 2005 is new legislation which will controll
gambling activities. The Gambling Act received Royal Assent
on 7 April 2005 and became an Act of Parliament.
The new Gambling Act modernises gambling laws and will be
regulated by the Gambling Commission. The Commission will
issue Personal Management Licences, Personal Functional Licences
and Operating licences and will be responsible for compliance and
enforcement of these licences and the associated Codes of
Practice. Applications for these licences can be made to the
Gambling Commission from 2 January 2007.
The Act gives responsibility for the licensing of
the Gambling Premises to the Local Authorities. It is a
requirement of the legislation that each Licensing Authority
prepare and publish a Statement
of Licensing Principles that sets out the criteria
the Licensing Authority propose to apply in exercising their
functions under the Gambling Act 2005. The Statement of
Licensing Principles was adopted by the Council on 13 December
2006.
Notice
of Policy Declaration
GAMBLING ACT 2005 – STATEMENT OF PRINCIPLES FOR
UNLICENSED FAMILY ENTERTAINMENT CENTRES, GAMING MACHINE PERMITS AND
PRIZE GAMING PERMITS
This consultation is to invite your views by the 2 November 2007
on the Council’s Draft Statement of Principles which has been
prepared in accordance with paragraph 7 of schedule 10 and
paragraph 8 of schedule 14 of the Gambling Act 2005.
This document should be read in conjunction with the Council’s
Statement of Licensing Principles Gambling Act 2005. This Act
created a new system of licensing and regulation for a variety of
sensors and permits.
-
Statement of Principles for Unlicensed Family Entertainment
Centres, Gaming Machine Permits and Prize Gaming Permits.
-
Draft Statement of Principles for Unlicensed Family
Entertainment Centres, Gaming Machine Permits and Prize Gaming
Permits.
Applications can be made to the licensing authority from 21
May 2007 and the new laws will come into effect from 1
September 2007.
The three licensing objectives 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.
Changing from the Gaming Act 1968 to the Gambling Act
2005
The transitional arrangements page tells you what you
must do if you hold a current licence or permit and want to
continue operating beyond 1 September 2007, when the Gambling Act
2005 comes into force.
Premises Licence
A Premises Licence is required for any premises where it is
intended to provide gambling facilities.
The types of licences available from 1 September 2007 will be
-
- Casino Premises Licence - enabling games to be played/staked
against a bank and/or where each players' chances of winning are
not equal
- Bingo Premises Licence - enabling the provision of bingo
equipment
- Adult Gaming Centre Premises Licence - enabling category B
gaming machines to be used at the premises
- Family Entertaninment Centre Premises Licence - enabling
category C gaming machines to be used at the premises
- Betting Premises Licence - enabling the provision of equipment
for betting, by making or accepting bets or by acting as a betting
intermediary
The different categories of gaming machines, stakes and prizes
can be found on the machine categories page.
An application for a Premises Licence may only be made by
somebody over the age of 18 who has the right to occupy the
premises. The applicant must have an Operating Licence, which
allows him/her to carry out the proposed activity, or have at least
applied for an Operating Licence from the Gambling Commission.
Except in the case of a dog or horse racing track, premises
cannot have more than one of the gambling activities listed above
eg a family entertainment centre cannot have betting too.
Application Forms
You will need to give notice of your application to the
Responsible Authorities and to the public for certain applications.
Information is given on the List of Responsible Authorities listed
below with the forms to be used.
Family Entertainment Centre Gaming Machine Permit (Unlicensed
FEC)
A Family Entertainment Centre (FEC) gaming maching permit is
needed where a property owner wishes to make only category D gaming
machines available. It is also know as an unlicensed FEC.
When an application for an unlicensed FEC is submitted to us, we
may grant the application only if we are happy that -
- you occupy or propose to occupy the property
- you intend to use the property as an unlicensed family
entertainment centre
- the property does not hold a gambling premise licence or an
alcohol licence
If you want to have machines with higher stakes and prizes as
well as having some lowest stakes and prize machines, you will
first need to apply for an Operating Licence from the Gambling
Commission and then for a licensed Family Entertainment Centre
Premises Licence from us.
Once a licence has been granted by us, it will normally last for
10 years. The different types of gaming machines, stakes and
prizes can be found on the machine categories page.
GAMBLING ACT 2005 – STATEMENT OF PRINCIPLES FOR
UNLICENSED FAMILY ENTERTAINMENT CENTRES, GAMING MACHINE PERMITS AND
PRIZE GAMING PERMITS
This consultation is to invite your views by the 2 November 2007
on the Council’s Draft Statement of Principles which has been
prepared in accordance with paragraph 7 of schedule 10 and
paragraph 8 of schedule 14 of the Gambling Act 2005.
This document should be read in conjunction with the Council’s
Statement of Licensing Principles Gambling Act 2005. This Act
created a new system of licensing and regulation for a variety of
sensors and permits.
Club Permits
The following information is relevant to people who currently
hold either Part II or Part III registration with the Magistrates
Court or who are thinking of setting up a club offering gaming or
gaming machines to its members.
Club Gaming Permit
Club gaming permits applications are most likely to be made by
members' clubs and miners' welfare institutes (but not commercial
clubs, such as snooker club chains).
Club gaming permits will allow a club to provide gambling
facilities, such as games of chance, but the type of gambling will
have to meet certain conditions. It will also allow each club
to have no more than three gaming machines.
Club Machine Permits
Commercial clubs, as well as members' clubs and miners' welfare
institutes that just want to have gaming machines under a gaming
permit, may apply for a club machine permit.
The holder of a club machine permit will be allowed gaming
machines but will not be allowed to have other types of gaming on
the premises. If a club machine permit is granted the club
will have to meet certain conditions.
Licensed Premises Gaming Machine Permits
The following information is relevant to those who currently
hold either an amusement Gaming Machine Permit from the Magistrates
Court, a Section 34 Permit with us, or if you are thinking of
making category C or D gaming machines available for use on an
alcohol licensed premises.
All alcohol licensed premises, such as pub and cafe bars, will
have an automatic entitlement to have two gaming machines (of
categories C or D). However, the holder of the alcohol
licence must tell us whether they wish to take up this
entitlement.
The holder of an alcohol premises licence can also apply for a
Gaming Machine Permit for any number of categrory C or D
machines on the premises if they want to.
The different types of gaming machines, stakes and prizes can be
found on the machine categories page.
GAMBLING ACT 2005 – STATEMENT OF PRINCIPLES FOR
UNLICENSED FAMILY ENTERTAINMENT CENTRES, GAMING MACHINE PERMITS AND
PRIZE GAMING PERMITS
This consultation is to invite your views by the 2 November 2007
on the Council’s Draft Statement of Principles which has been
prepared in accordance with paragraph 7 of schedule 10 and
paragraph 8 of schedule 14 of the Gambling Act 2005.
This document should be read in conjunction with the Council’s
Statement of Licensing Principles Gambling Act 2005. This Act
created a new system of licensing and regulation for a variety of
sensors and permits.
Prize Gaming and Prize Gaming Permits
If the nature and size of a prize is not decided by the number
of people playing or the amount paid for or raised by gaming - such
as playing bingo at the seaside for instance - then a prize gaming
permit is required.
Certain premises can offer prize gaming without needing a prize
gaming permit -
- casinos
- bingo premises
- adult gaming centres
- licensed family entertainment centres
- unlicensed family entertainment centres that offer equal chance
gaming under a gaming machine permit - children and young persons
can take part in equal chance prize gaming but not on category C
machines, which are intended for over 18s use only
- travelling fairs
You can apply for a permit if you are aged 18 or over and if you
occupy, or plan to occupy, the relevant premises. You can
only apply as an inPidual and not as a business.
Holders of premises licences and club gaming permits may not
apply for prize gaming permits.
GAMBLING ACT 2005 – STATEMENT OF PRINCIPLES FOR
UNLICENSED FAMILY ENTERTAINMENT CENTRES, GAMING MACHINE PERMITS AND
PRIZE GAMING PERMITS
This consultation is to invite your views by the 2 November 2007
on the Council’s Draft Statement of Principles which has been
prepared in accordance with paragraph 7 of schedule 10 and
paragraph 8 of schedule 14 of the Gambling Act 2005.
This document should be read in conjunction with the Council’s
Statement of Licensing Principles Gambling Act 2005. This Act
created a new system of licensing and regulation for a variety of
sensors and permits.
Provisional Statements
You can apply for a Provisional Statement for a gambling
premises that has not yet been built, or for an existing building
that is going to be altered, or if you are waiting for rights to
occupy the premises.
The purpose of a Provisional Statement is to allow you to make
an application and find out whether residents or other interested
parties are happy or not with a premises being licensed for
gambling. If there are problems or issues which can be
resolved informally or formally, through a hearing being held, a
Provisional Statement will be issued. There will possible be
some conditions attached to it.
Before a Provisional Statement expires, you should apply for an
identical premises licence. A premises licence will be
granted, so long as no issued are raised that could have been
raised and resolved as part of the Provisional Statement.
You can apply for a Provisional Statement without holding an
operating licence from the Gambling Commission. But when you
make an application for a Provisional Statement you should apply
for an Operating Licence.
Temporary Use Notice (TUN)
A Temporary Use Notice (TUN) can be issued for the temporary use
of premises for gambling where there is no premises laicence in
place. Premises that might be suitable for a TUN might
include hotels, conference centres and sporting venues.
A TUN may only be granted to a person or company that holds a
relevant Operating Licence issued by the Gambling Commission.
For example, the holder of a betting operating licence could apply
to provide betting facilities at a snooker tournament.
There is a limit to how many temporary use days can be applied
for in any 12 month period. More than one TUN application can
be made for a premise, but the total number of days combined cannot
go over 21 days in any 12 month period. If it does, we will
issue a counter-notice with will stop the gambling. It will
be an offence for the applicant to continue offering gambling for
more than the allowed 21 days.
You can obtain an application form
here.
Occasional Use Notice (OUN)
In any calendar year where there is betting on a track for eight
days or less, betting may be permitted by way of an Occasional Use
Notice, without the need for a full track premises licence.
The use of these notices will be for where the betting event
taking place is of a temporary or very rare nature.
Anyone actually taking and handling bets must have the
appropriate Operating Licence from the Gambling Commission.
You can obtain an application form here.
Lotteries
Small Society Lotteries
From 1 September 2007 the Gambling Act 2005 replaced the
provisions of the Lotteries and Amusement Act 1976. There are
still important conditions which must be followed when
carrying out lottery activities. Please see our
Guidance Booklet for more information. An application
form for registration can be obtained
here.
Large Lotteries
If it is likely that the amounts raised will be more than
£20,000, the organisation is classed as a large lottery and it
will have to get a lottery Operating Licence from the Gambling
Commission.