The Gambling Act 2005 received Royal Assent on 7 April 2005. The Act repeals the Betting, Gaming and Lotteries Act 1963, the Gaming Act 1968 and the Lotteries and Amusements Act 1976.

The Gambling Act 2005 sets out that gambling will be unlawful in Great Britain unless permitted by the measures contained in the Act.

The Act contains three licensing objectives that underpin the entire legislation:

• Preventing gambling from being a source of crime and 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 people from being harmed or
  exploited by gambling

The Act created a unified regulator for gambling in Great Britain, the Gambling Commission, and a new licensing regime for commercial gambling. The Act transfers from licensing justices all responsibility for granting gaming and betting permissions, which they exercised previously, granting new powers to licensing authorities in relation to the licensing and regulation of gambling premises.

The Gambling Commission will regulate all commercial gambling in Great Britain, except the National Lottery and Spread Betting, which will continue to be the responsibility of the National Lottery Commission and the Financial Services Authority respectively.

Under the new regime there will be three types of licence:

1. Operating licences (issued to gambling businesses)
2. Personal licences (issued to those who are either in a senior managerial position, e.g. directors, or those who have an ability to affect the outcome of  the gambling, e.g. croupiers)
3. Premises licences (issued for gambling establishments)

The Commission is responsible for issuing operating and personal licences under the act. An operating licence will be required by anyone wishing to provide facilities for gambling and will be the main form of permission for commercial gambling. Operating licences will be issued for an unlimited period, a maintenance fee will be payable on an annual basis. The Commission also has the power to review a licence, amend licence conditions and, ultimately, revoke a licence if it has reason to do so.

Personal licences will fall into two categories: management and operational.

Management functions will include particular, legally defined roles, such as directors or partners of a company. They will also include roles commonly filled by compliance officers and managers or supervisors of those handling significant amounts of money. Operational functions will include posts where the individual has the ability to influence the outcome of gambling, for example bingo callers or croupiers.

The council as a Licensing Authority is responsible for issuing premises licences, a role previously undertaken in part by licensing justices. In addition to licences, there are other forms of authorisation that may permit gambling facilities to be provided on particular premises, for example, temporary and occasional use notices, and a number of different permits.

The council as a Licensing Authority for the Borough of Hinckley & Bosworth has been exercising the new powers from 01 September 2007.

Premises licence

A premises licence permits a person with a gambling operating licence (issued by the Gambling Commission) to use a premises to provide gambling facilities.

To apply for a premises licence a person must have an operating licence (issued by the Gambling Commission) or an application for an operating licence and the right to occupy the premises for which the application is being made.

The Licensing Authority in which the premises is wholly or partly situated is responsible for issuing premises licences. This will be Hinckley & Bosworth Borough Council. 

Provisional Statements

A person would apply for a provisional statement in the following circumstances:

• A gambling premises is going to be built 
• A premises is to be altered to use it for the provision of gambling facilities
• They are going to acquire the right to occupy a premises that they wish to use for the provision of gambling facilities

The granting of a provisional statement would give a person in the above situations a level of assurance of the likely outcome of a premises licence application, made in respect of the premises which they are in the process of, for example, building. This would enable them to determine whether the project was worth pursuing.

Unlike a premises licence application, a person can apply for a provisional statement without having an operating licence or a right to occupy the premises.

As well as providing a level of assurance as to the outcome of a subsequent premises licence application, a provisional statement also provides the holder with some protection against representations when they make an application for a premises licence in relation to the premises for which they hold a provisional statement.

Permits

These are required for premises where gambling facilities with very low stakes and prizes are provided, or premises where gambling is not the main function. Permits regulate gambling and the uses of gaming machines in a specific premises.

Temporary Use Notices

These allow a gambling operator to temporarily use a premises which has no gambling premises licence to provide facilities for gaming. For example, hotels, conference centres and sporting venues might be suitable for temporary use notices.

Three months and one day before an operator wishes to use a premises for the provision of gaming facilities they must give a Temporary Use Notice to the relevant licensing authority. Copies of the notice must also be given to the Gambling Commission, police and HMRC.

The licensing authority must send the operator an acknowledgement of notice as soon as possible after receiving it. If no objections are made within 14 days the licensing authority must endorse the notice, thereby giving permission for the premises to be used.

The Act stipulates that the licensing authority must complete proceedings on a notice within six weeks of receiving it – this includes holding a hearing in the case of objections. If objections are sustained at a hearing the authority can issue a counter notice to either prevent the operator’s notice from having effect, or to modify, limit or impose conditions upon it. 

There are limitations on Temporary Use Notices:-

Only an operator with a Casino Operators Licence will be permitted to carry on activities under a TUN for which they hold an operator licence.  This is because the Secretary of State has used his powers to limit the use of Temporary Use Notices, which means that only equal chance gaming can be provided in the form of a tournament with only one winner, i.e. poker, bridge, whist.

No bankers games are allowed.

A premises can only be subject to Temporary Use Notices for 21 days in a 12 month period.
Regulations may be made to limit the activities permitted by Temporary Use Notices.

Occasional Use Notices

Occasional Use Notices permit a track to be used for the purpose of betting without a premises licence, providing it is used for betting on no more than eight days in a calendar year. 

The meaning of “track” in the Gambling Act 2005 is not just limited to racecourses or greyhound tracks. This also comprises any other premises in which a race or sporting event takes place.

The person responsible for the administration of a track or an occupier of the track must serve notice to the Licensing Authority. A copy of notice must also be sent to the Chief of Police for the area in which the track is located. The notice must specify the day upon which the notice is to take effect. It can also cover consecutive days, providing they do not exceed eight days in a year. If the track has not been subject to Occasional Use Notices totalling eight days, there is no provision for objections or counter-notices – betting will be permitted.