Stockton-on-Tees Draft Gambling Statement of Principles

Introduction and scope

The Gambling Commission is the national gambling regulator and lead role in working with central government and local authorities to regulate gambling activity. Any operator wishing to provide gambling at a certain premises must have applied for a personal licence and an operator's licence with the Commission before they can approach the Licensing Authority for a premises licence. In this way the Commission can screen applicants and organisations to ensure they have the correct credentials to operate gambling premises.

The Local Authorities role is to ensure premises are suitable for providing gambling in line with the three licensing objectives and any codes of practice issued by the Commission. The Licensing Authority also issues various permits and notices to regulate smaller scale and or temporary gambling in various other locations such as pubs, clubs and hotels.

The Licensing Authority does not licence large society lotteries or remote gambling through websites. These areas fall to the Commission.

The Act requires the authority to publish a statement of the principles which it proposes to apply when exercising its functions. The statement must be reviewed and published at least every three years. The Act requires that the following parties are consulted:

• The Chief Officer of Police
• one or more persons who appear to the authority to represent the interests of persons carrying on gambling businesses in the authority's area
• one or more persons who appear to the authority to represent the interests of persons who are likely to be affected by the exercise of the authority's functions under the Act

Sharing information

The authority will share information with other bodies where it is legally required to do so and where it considers it necessary to do so. This may include the sharing of data with relevant public bodies and law enforcement agencies to help the authority perform its regulatory functions.

Details of those persons making representations will be made available to applicants to allow for negotiation and, in the event of a hearing being held, will form part of a public document. Anyone making representations or applying for the review of a premises licence will be informed that their details will be disclosed.

Declaration

This statement will not override the right of any person to make an application, make representations regarding an application, or apply for a review of an existing licence, as each will be considered on its own merits and according to the statutory requirements of the Act.

In producing the final statement, the authority declares that it has had regard to the licensing objectives of the Act, the Guidance, and any responses from those consulted on the statement.

The Borough of Stockton-on-Tees

200,000 people call the Borough of Stockton-on-Tees home in the thriving towns of Billingham, Ingleby Barwick, Norton, Stockton, Thornaby and Yarm - and rural villages, the population has increased by 2.8 percent over the last seven years.

5,000 businesses generate £4 billion for the local economy, a third of the Tees Valley economy overall. Inequality is a challenge in the Borough, with affluent areas alongside areas of deprivation. Nine of the 26 wards in the Borough are in the 10% most deprived wards in the country and there is a gap of 21 years in average life expectancy amongst men between the most and least deprived wards. The Councils vision published in 2023 to 2026 plan is summarised in a vision for the Borough:

• a place where people are healthy, safe and protected from harm
• a place that is clean, vibrant and attractive, and
• a place with a thriving economy where everyone has opportunities to succeed

Read the Council Plan 2023 to 2026.

Gambling Participation

The Gambling Commission carry out surveys and hold national data on gambling participation.

The Key Points in 2023 are:

• in year to March 2023, overall participation in any gambling activity (in the last four weeks) remained statistically stable at 44 percent (compared to year to March 2022)
• in year to March 2023, the in-person gambling participation rate remained statistically stable at 27 percent, although this figure remains below the pre-pandemic level of around 35 percent
• the online gambling participation rate remained statistically stable at 26 percent (compared to year to March 2022)
• the overall headline problem gambling rate as measured by the short form Problem Gambling Severity Index (PGSI) is statistically stable at 0.3 percent. The moderate risk rate and low risk rate also remain statistically stable at 1.2 percent and 1.8 percent respectively (compared to year to March 2022)

Read the statistics on participation and problem gambling for the year to March 2023 on the Gambling Commission website.

As a legitimate leisure activity that many people enjoy, gambling can generate income, employment and tax revenue for the local economy. Gambling can also generate harms such as working days lost through disordered gambling and the cost of treatment for ill-health caused by stress related to gambling debt. There are also less easily measured significant impacts such as the negative effects of some gambling on family relationships, and the psychological and social development of children.

Gambling Related Harms and Public Health

Gambling related harms are now recognised as a public health issue which requires a broad response. Public health can play a role due the complexity of harmful gambling and the many different interlinking factors. Gambling related harms are associated with high levels of comorbidity with mental health and the negative financial, health and relationship impacts of harmful gambling on the individual and those around them (LGA, 2023).

In England it is estimated that 3.8 percent of the population are classified as gambling at elevated risks which equates to approximately 7471 people in Stockton-on-Tees. In the North East, it is estimated that 4.9 percent of the population (aged 16 plus) are at-risk gamblers, where they experience some level of negative consequences due to gambling equating to approximately 7891 people in Stockton-on-Tees. This is the highest regional estimated prevalence of at-risk gambling in England (OHID, 2023). Further impacts on affected others can be challenging to measure, but they too experience gambling related harms.

An estimated 55,000 children aged 11 to 16 in the UK are addicted to gambling (House of Lords, 2021). 26 percent of 11 to 17 year olds had spent their own money on some form of gambling activity in 2023 (Gambling Commission, 2023). Early gambling exposure is a risk factor for being impacted by gambling harms. Playing games that combine gambling and gaming is associated with increased risk for youth (Stark, Reynolds and Wiebe, 2021). Approximately 80 percent of students have participated in gambling, with nearly half doing so to make money (YGAM, 2023).

A public health approach adopts a multi-agency approach across partners, with a particular focus on prevention. The core principles of the approach are: (LGA, 2023)

• understanding the problem at a population level 
• framing the problem as part of a complex and interdependent system 
• collating intelligence, data and evidence of what works 
• being prevention focused 
• protecting health and wellbeing
• encouraging multi-agency working
• addressing inequalities, social justice and human rights

A coordinated effort across different sectors is required to effectively reduce gambling related harms and support those affected.

The Statement takes the approach that gambling related harm is a public health issue, a successful strategy not only focuses on individual gamblers but also needs to include products, environments and marketing and the wider context in which gambling happens. Equal importance needs to be given to prevention and treatment of harm.

The Statement is underpinned by the Public Health England Local Area Health Profile for Stockton-on-Tees to ensure an awareness of local risks and to facilitate constructive engagement with licensees and a coordinated response to local risks. The profile will help to highlight specific risks that operators will need to address in their risk assessment. 

Visit the Office for Health Improvement website for further information.

Social Responsibility

The authority is aware of the extensive requirements set out for operators in the Commission's Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice (LCCP) regarding the social responsibility provisions for operators. In this document the Commission clearly describe the policies and procedures that operators should put in place regarding:

• combating problem gambling - operators will need to demonstrate increased levels of both induction and refresher training for staff, to ensure effective interaction with customers
• access to gambling by children and young persons - operators will need to consider for example the use of CCTV, mirrors, positioning of staff and counters to ensure staff can effectively monitor who is accessing their premises and have policies and procedures in place to deal with problems
• information on how to gamble responsibly and help for problem gamblers
• customer interaction
• self-exclusion - operators will be required to participate in self-exclusion schemes

All applicants should familiarise themselves with the Commission's Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice (LCCP) relating to this objective and determine if these policies and procedures are appropriate in their circumstances. The authority will communicate any concerns to the Commission about any absence of this required information. Contact details for specialised services who offer advice and counselling for problem gamblers are set out in Appendix 1.

Licensing Authority Functions

The licensing authority under the Act is responsible for processing and regulating the following authorisations:

• adult gaming centre premises licence
• betting premises licences (including at tracks)
• bingo premises licences
• casino premises licences
• family entertainment centre premises licences
• club gaming permits and club machine permits
• family entertainment centre gaming machine permits
• licensed premises gaming machine permits
• licensed premises gaming machine notifications
• small society lottery registrations
• prize gaming permits
• occasional and temporary use notices

The authority is also responsible for:

• the statutory annual provision of information to the Gambling Commission
• maintaining a register of the permits and licences that are issued

The Licensing Process

The licensing functions under the Act will be carried out by the Statutory Licensing Committee, supported by several sub-committees and by officers acting under the delegated authority of the committee.

Where there are no areas of contention it is considered that many of the functions will be largely administrative. In the interests of efficiency and effectiveness officers will, for the most part, carry these out.

Where there are relevant representations in respect of an application the matter will be determined by the Statutory Licensing Sub Committee, as will any application for the review of a licence.

This Statement is not intended to override the right of any person to make an application under the Act, and to have that application considered on its merits. Equally, the Statement is not intended to undermine the right of any person to make representations about an application or to seek a review of a licence where provision has been made for them to do.

The Licensing Objectives

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
• protecting children and other vulnerable persons from being harmed or exploited by gambling
• duty to pursue the licensing objectives and permit gambling

In exercising its duties under the Act, the authority should aim to permit the use of premises for gambling in so far as it thinks it is:

• in accordance with any relevant code of practice issued by the Gambling Commission
• in accordance with any relevant guidance issued by the Gambling Commission
• reasonably consistent with the licensing objectives found in the Gambling Act 2005
• in accordance with the Statement of Licensing Principals and Gambling safeguarding guidance for premises

Promoting the licensing objectives

The authority expects the principles previously set out to assist the pursuit of the statutory licensing objectives.

Preventing gambling from being a source of crime or disorder, being associated with crime or disorder or being used to support crime

The Gambling Commission takes a leading role in preventing gambling from being a source of crime by ensuring that operating licences are only granted to suitable applications. The authority will pay attention to the proposed location of gambling premises in terms of this licensing objective. Where an area has known high levels of organised crime the authority will consider carefully whether gambling premises are suitable to be located there and whether conditions may be suitable, such as the provision of door supervisors.

Ensuring that gambling is conducted in a fair and open way

Ensuring that gambling is conducted in a fair and open way is normally addressed by the Gambling Commission via operating and personal licences. There is, however, more of a role for licensing authorities about tracks which is explained in more detail later in this statement.

Protecting children and other vulnerable persons from being harmed or exploited by gambling

This objective generally means preventing children from taking part in gambling, as well as the restriction of advertising so that gambling products are not aimed at, or are particularly attractive to children. The authority will therefore consider whether specific measures are required at particular premises with regard to this licensing objective which may include the supervision of entrances and gaming machines and the effective segregation of areas within the premises.