Gambling Act 2005

The Gambling Act 2005 gives effect to the Government's proposals for reform of the law on gambling. The Act contains a new regulatory system to govern the provision of all gambling in Great Britain, other than the National Lottery and spread betting. It received Royal Assent on 7 April 2005.

The Act contains three licensing objectives which underpin the functions that the Gambling Commission and licensing authorities (including West Oxfordshire District Council) will perform. These objectives are central to the new regulatory regime created by the Act. They 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; and
protecting children and other vulnerable persons from being harmed or exploited by gambling;

The Gambling Act 2005 provides for three categories of licence:

Operating licences
Personal licences
Premises licences

Each type of licence may have conditions attached to it. Conditions may be attached in a number of ways:

They may attach automatically, having been set out on the face of the Act
They may attach through regulations made by the Secretary of State
They may be attached to operating and personal licences by the Commission
They may be attached to premises licences by licensing authorities

Conditions may sometimes be general in nature (i.e. they attach to all licences or all licences of a particular class) or they may be specific to a particular licence.

Premises licences will be granted by licensing authorities and may authorise the provision of facilities on:

Casino premises
Bingo premises
Betting premises, including tracks
Adult gaming centres
Family entertainment centres

In addition, licensing authorities are required to prepare, every three years, a statement of the principles which they propose to apply when exercising their functions, and they must publish the statement. The statement, which may also be referred to as a 'policy', can be reviewed and re-published during the three-year period in which it has effect. In preparing the statement, licensing authorities must follow the procedure set out in the Act, including whom they should consult.

Some existing functions of local authorities and licensing boards are abolished and reintroduced as functions of licensing authorities under the 2005 Act, these are: