Licensing for Gambling

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The Gambling Act

The Gambling Act came into force on the 1 September 2007 regulating all forms of Gambling including Lotteries, (except the National Lottery).

The Role of the Gambling Commission and the Council in The Gambling Act

The Gambling Commission are responsible for the granting / transfer / review of:

• Operating Licenses
• Personal Licenses

They have also set the conditions and codes of practice that all operators in the gambling industry must follow if they want to run a gambling business in Britain from 1 September 2007. A link to their Web site is provided below in which you will find a wealth of information.

The Local Council will be responsible for:

• Publishing a three- year Gambling Policy, (published on the 31 January 2007)
• Premise licences for Betting Shops, Arcades, Bingo Halls.
• Premise permits
• Occasional Use Licenses
• Club Gaming Permits
• Club Gaming Machine Permits
• Licensed Premises Gaming Machine Permits
• Prize Gaming Permits
• Registration of small Society Lotteries, (other wise known as Raffles)

When exercising its functions under this Act the council will take into consideration our statement of Gambling Policy , the guidance and codes of practice issued by the Gambling Commission,and the three Licensing Objectives:

• Preventing gambling from being a source of crime and disorder, being associated with crime and disorder, or being used to support crime;
• Ensuring Gambling is conducted in a fair and open way;
• Protecting children and other vulnerable people from being harmed or exploited by gambling.

With New or Variation applications the following people are permitted to make representations:

• Those living sufficiently close to the premises to be likely to be affected by the authorised activites
• Those who have a business interest that might be affected by the authorised activites
• Those who represent either of these groups.

Representations must be focused on one of the three objectives, or a breach of The Gambling Commision codes of practise, or our Gambling Policy.

Under this Act premises will only be permitted a certain number, and type, of gaming machine according to the type of premise. All of this guidance can be found at the end of this page.

Contact us

If you require further information or any application forms please contact Kingston Council’s Licensing Team:

In Writing:
The Licensing Office
Guildhall
Kingston upon Thames
KT1 1EU.

Telephone 020 8547 5079./.78
Fax 020 8547 5568
Email: licensing@rbk.kingston.gov.uk