Introduction
The Gambling Act 2005 (the Act) controls the way commercial gambling is licensed in Great Britain. We are the Licensing Authority for the East Lindsey District and work closely with the Gambling Commission who are the national gambling regulator.
A Summary of the Act
The Commission will be responsible for granting operating and personal licences for commercial gambling operators and personnel working in the gambling industry. The Council licence gambling premises in the district as well as issuing permits in relation to lower stake gaming machines.
The Act applies to casinos, bingo clubs, betting shops, amusement arcades, gaming machines, prize gaming and lotteries. It also applies to online gambling, which is being brought under the Gambling Commission’s jurisdiction for the first time. The Act contains three licensing objectives, which underpin the functions of the Commission and the Council. The 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; and
- Protecting children and other vulnerable people from being harmed or exploited by gambling.
It is important to note that there are no other licensing objectives.
Any person or business that wishes to operate a gambling business in East Lindsey such as a bookmakers or amusement arcade, must first apply for an operating licence and any relevant personal licences from the Gambling Commission. After this they can then apply to ourselves for a premises licence for each individual premises that they wish to licence in the East Lindsey area.
Guidance literature and application forms regarding the 2005 Act will be placed on this website as and when they become available. The following guidance literature is currently available:
Statement of Licensing Policy
The Act requires each Licensing Authority to produce a 'Statement of Licensing Policy'. A copy of the Council’s current Policy is available by following this link. The Council has worked in partnership with the other Councils in the county in preparing the policy, which is based on the draft policy issued by the Local Authorities Coordinators of Regulatory Services (LACORS).
Fees
The fee structure (including the maximum level of premises licence fees) is set by the Government and we work within this. This link will take you to a page detailing our gambling fees.
How are children and the vulnerable be protected?
With limited exceptions, the intention of the Gambling Act is that children and young persons should not be permitted to gamble and should be prevented from entering those gambling premises, which are adult-only environments. Children must be protected from being harmed or exploited by gambling. In practice this means preventing them from taking part in or being in close proximity to gambling and for there to be restrictions on advertising so that gambling products are not aimed at children or advertised in such a way that makes them particularly attractive to children. Vulnerable persons are not defined by the Act but the assumption is that this group includes people who gamble more than they want to, people who gamble beyond their means, and people who may not be able to make informed or balanced decisions about gambling due to a mental impairment, alcohol or drugs.
What can the Council do and what can it not do?
Moral objections to gambling are not a valid reason to reject applications for premises licences. This is because such objections do not relate to the licensing objectives. The Authority’s decision cannot be based on dislike of gambling, or a general notion that it is undesirable to allow gambling premises in an area. In deciding to reject an application, the Council will rely on reasons that demonstrate that the licensing objectives are not being met.
How will the suitability of licensees be checked?
Key staff such as managing and finance directors must be licensed by the Gambling Commission, as must casino employees such as dealers and cashiers. The application process for those licences is an important step to keeping crime out of gambling.
Casinos
The Act provides for one regional-sized casino, eight large and eight small casinos to be established in the UK under the new gaming regime. East Lindsey gained considerable support to become the location for a small casino because of the resort character of the coastal strip, away from current casino provision, and the Council’s vision of a casino as the means to revitalise economic prosperity. The Government set up a Casino Advisory Panel to decide the geographical location of the proposed casinos and the Council, like other prospective districts, made a case to be one of the chosen destinations. The Council has now had its bid for a small casino short-listed by the Casino Advisory Panel. If the bid is successful then the Council will be inviting applications for the casino licence in due course. Unfortunately we are still awaiting the regulations regarding how a licensing authority should accept casino premises licence applications and conduct a casino competition in order to determine those applications. Further information will be available on this website in due course.
Further Information
If you any questions regarding the Act please contact the Council's Licensing Team on 01507 601111 or by e-mail: licensing@e-lindsey.gov.uk.
Useful Links
Further information regarding gambling is available on the Gambling Commission's website: www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk or the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) website at www.culture.gov.uk.
