Gambling Act 2005
The gambling laws in Great Britain are being updated and a new
regime for the regulation of commercial gambling is being
established. The new laws came into force on 1 September 2007 and
replaces the provisions of three existing Acts of Parliament:
Acts replaced by the Gambling Act 2005
The Act gives licensing authorities a number of important
regulatory functions in relation to gambling, including:
- The issuing of premises licences for casinos, bingo halls, betting offices, adult gaming centres and licensed family entertainment centres.
- The granting of permits for gaming and gaming machines in clubs, unlicensed family entertainment centres, and gaming machines in pubs and other alcohol licensed premises.
From 1 September 2007, in order for gambling activity to take
place in any public premises within the council boundary, the
following licences will be required:
- An Operating Licence
- A Personal Licence (subject to circumstance)
- A Premises Licence
Further information for existing operators can be accessed
using the links below:
- Information for arcade operators
- Information for betting shop operators
- Information for bingo operators
- Information for clubs
- Information for pubs
- Stake, prize and machine allowances
The Gambling Commission
The Gambling Commission was created by the Gambling Act 2005
and came into existence on 1 October 2005, they have taken over the
work of the Gaming Board, in regulating bingo, casinos, society
lotteries and gaming machines.
From September 2007 the Commission will also regulate betting
and remote gambling. In due course, their remit will cover all
commercial gambling except the National Lottery (which has its own
dedicated regulator, the National Lottery Commission) and spread
betting (which is regulated by the Financial Services
Agency).
The Commission's main functions under the new Act will be
to:
- issue operating licences to authorise the licensee to provide facilities for gambling, and personal licences to authorise the licensee to perform particular functions;
- monitor licensed operators to ensure that they comply with the regulations;
- keep the regulations under review and make changes to reflect changes in the industry and in technology;
- advise the Secretary of State on the incidence of gambling and how it is carried out and regulated;
- issue guidance to local authorities on their functions under the Act; and
- investigate and prosecute illegal gambling and other offences under the Act.
Further information is available from the Gambling
Commission.
Peterborough City Council's Statement of Principles
The Gambling Act 2005 requires all licensing authorities to
prepare, consult and publish a three-year licensing policy known as
a Statement of Principles. The Statement
underlines the principles the council will apply in exercising
their functions under the Gambling Act.
Following public consultation the city council has developed
its Statement of Principles having received approval by Full
Council on 13 December 2006. This is available for download
using the link below. The Statement of Principles will come
into effect 31 January 2007 (first appointed day for the three-year
policy as laid by regulations).
Copies of the Statement can be obtained from the link below
and can be inspected at the office of the Licensing Section at
Bridge House, Town Bridge, Peterborough PE1 1HU, the Central
Library, Broadway, Peterborough PE1 1RX or via the link
below.
The document below appears in Adobe® Acrobat® (PDF) format. In order to view it you will need to have Acrobat Reader installed. (Those with visual impairments may wish to investigate Access Adobe, which provides tools and information to help make PDF files more accessible.) 
(730 KB, 31 pages)
Further information
Further information on the Gambling Act 2005 is available from
the Department for Culture
Media and Sport.
For further information concerning the Gambling Act 2005,
please contact the Licensing Team.