The Gambling Act

The Gambling Act 2005 came into effect from early 2007 and:

• Repealed most of the existing laws relating to gambling in Great Britain
• Replaced them with an improved, more comprehensive structure of gambling regulation
• Transferred the responsibility for the licensing of gaming premises from the Magistrates to Licensing Authorities
• Introduced a unified regulator for gambling, the Gambling Commission

Licensing Objectives

The Act contains three licensing objectives:

• 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.

Licences

Three types of licence are required by the new Act:

• An operator licence concerned with the management and conduct of gambling
• A personal licence for persons with key operational functions connected with the gambling business
• A premises licence for the property where the gambling takes place

Operator's licences and personal licences are issued and regulated by the Gambling Commission, whilst responsibility for the issue and regulation of premises licences will rest with local authorities.

Lotteries

Information on running a lottery can be found on our dedicated page.

Other Application Forms

The forms to apply for a premises licence are available to download from the Department for Culture Media and Sport (external link) website.

Fees

For information on the Gambling Act Licensing fees that are set by Wealden, please visit  The Gambling Act Fees page.

For information on the statutory fees for gaming and machine permits, please visit the Gaming Permit Fees page.

Statement of Principles

Licensing authorities are required to prepare and publish a statement of the principles that they propose to apply when exercising their functions. Wealden's original Statement of Principles was revised in December 2012.

Further Information

Publications and other materials related to the Gambling Act 2005, are available from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (external link) website or the Gambling Commission (external link) website.