Agenda item

Report from the Strategic Director of Regeneration and Environment.

Recommendation:

1.    That Cabinet recommend to Council that the proposed Gambling Act 2005 Statement of Licensing Policy 2023 (attached as Appendix 1) is adopted.

Consideration was given to the report which outlined the review process and presented an unamended but reviewed Gambling Act 2005 Statement of Policy. The Policy had been adopted in 2020 and was required by law to be reviewed every 3 years. The review process, which included a period of public consultation that commenced in July 2023, had concluded and the outcome of the review consultation had informed a finalised Statement of Licensing Policy.

The Gambling Act regulated arcades, betting, bingo, casinos, gambling software, gaming machines, lotteries and remote gambling. Licensing authorities were responsible for issuing gambling operators with premises licences; issuing gambling operators with permits (which allow low stakes gambling in venues which were not primarily for gambling); registering societies (enabling them to hold small lotteries); and compliance and enforcement of the Gambling Act 2005 locally.

Licensing authorities were required to review and publish a statement of the principles which they proposed to apply when exercising their licensing functions, every 3 years. The Council had undertaken a consultation process outlined in Section 4 of the report, with a particular focus on the appropriateness of the current requirements. In total, there were 34 responses to the consultation. Of these 34 responses, the overwhelming majority were in favour of maintaining the current Policy requirements. A full summary of the consultation responses was attached to the report as Appendix 2.

The current Policy had been reviewed by Licensing Officers and it had been determined that it complied with all relevant requirements and therefore required no amendment. The final unamended version of the Policy was now brought before Cabinet for consideration for recommendation to Council for adoption. The proposed Policy was attached to the report as Appendix 1.

Resolved:-

1.    That Cabinet recommend to Council that the proposed Gambling Act 2005 Statement of Licensing Policy 2023 (Appendix 1) be adopted.