Agenda item

To consider the Gambling Act 2005 Policy review draft policy (Statement of Principles) and the consultation responses.

The item was introduced by the Environmental and Regulation Service Manager who provided a brief overview of the report.

It was explained that the Gambling Act of 2005 required the Council to publish a Statement of Principles that must be reviewed every three years to ensure that it remains current and reflects any changes in legislation or statutory guidance.

The Gambling Act of 2005 set up the Gambling Commission who, Members heard, were responsible for the higher-level national impact of gambling as well as the policies on operating licenses, personal licenses and remote gambling.

The Committee were reminded that the Licensing Authority, as well as the licensing holder, were responsible for promoting and upholding the licensing objectives within the District. The objectives being the prevention of gambling being a source of crime or disorder, ensuring that gambling is conducted in a fair and open way, and protecting children and other vulnerable persons from being harmed or exploited from gambling.

The Council’s Statement of Principles acts as a local framework to guide gambling practices, to identify the licensing objectives, to state the aims, to list the consultees, and to tackle any occurrences of illegal gambling.

Members were informed that there had been 12 betting premises in the District at the time of the last review, however there were now only 10. Furthermore, there was now only one adult gaming centre in the District. A register of licensed gambling premises was available at all times to the public. It was acknowledged that changes in gambling formats and behaviours, with a general switch to online betting and gambling for many, explained that reduction in those using physical premises.

The Committee were informed that there had been no amendments to the policy and no legislative changes since the last review nor were there any substantial changes to local conditions. Only minor amendments had been proposed to factors such as location considerations, planning and building control signposting and enforcements measures.

It was explained that a consultation had been completed, with three responses, two of which were from local town councils and one from a solicitor acting on behalf of the Betting and Gaming Council. The responses were positive in their feedback and supportive of the Council’s Statement of Principles.

The proposed changes to the Statement of Principles was to provide further clarity on the policy and aid in understanding the document.

The Licensing Manager reported that the District’s gambling premises were very well regulated and that no complaints had been received since the last review and therefore the review was put to the Committee for their recommendation to Council.

The committee were positive in their views on the reviewed Statement of Principles and, following the Officers’ overview, members posed questions and made comments.

It was acknowledged that the implementation of safeguards for vulnerable people was imperative, and Officers reassured members that staff in physical premises were trained to help individuals that may be vulnerable by signposting them to support services.

Following a question on the efficacy of gambling machines, it was explained that the Gambling Commission and Trading Standards would regularly check machines in physical premises to make sure that they are performing as the regulations required. It was briefly explained that different machine types had different categorisations and thresholds for winning outputs and that each of these would require a requisite permit. The Local Authority were also able to check premises records for occurrences of individuals being turned away or complaints being registered. The Betting and Gaming Council also undertake research on prevention treatment and support for people prone to addictive gambling.

RESOLVED:

That the Committee recommend to Full Council that the Gambling Policy be approved.