Gambling Act 2005 - Statement of Licensing Principals January 2022

The regime for the licensing and regulation of gambling activities and businesses was introduced by the Gambling Act 2005. The Act transferred the responsibility for granting licences for betting and gaming premises or participating in a lottery, from the courts to local authorities whilst the responsibility for granting operating and personal licences remained with the Gambling Commission.

This Statement of Gambling Policy is reviewed regularly and amended where necessary. In addition to this guidance for local authorities, licence conditions and codes of practice are published and reviewed regularly by the Gambling Commission.

In an attempt to tackle the potential harmful aspects of gambling the codes of practice include strengthened social responsibility provisions which are a condition of premise licences that operators must comply with.  They also include provisions for:

• ensuring children cannot access gambling
• improvement for staff to help them interact better with customers and identify potential problem gamblers
• participation in the development and effective implementation of multi-operator self-exclusions schemes with the aim of making available to customers the ability to self-exclude from facilities for gambling provided by other licensed operators within their local area(s)
• the requirement for operators of gambling premises to produce a local risk assessment evidencing that they have policies and procedures in place to mitigate these local risks

Historically, in Stockton, we have worked towards maintaining a balance between the interests of our businesses and our residents. We want to ensure that the provisions of the Act are used to provide a positive and beneficial environment for businesses, residents and visitors alike.

Councillor Steven Nelson

Cabinet Member for Access, Communities & Community Safety

Stockton Borough Council