The Gambling Act 2005 (this page opens in a new window) modernised the law on gambling and introduced the Gambling Commission (this page opens in a new window), a new regulator for gambling to replace the old Gaming Board for Great Britain.
Although the operator's licences and personal licences introduced by the Act are issued and regulated by the Gambling Commission, responsibility for the issue and regulation of premises licences lies with local authorities. These include premises licences for casinos, bingo halls, betting offices, adult gaming centres, licensed family entertainment centres and betting permits for gaming machines in pubs and other alcohol licensed premises. Following the casino consultation held in 2006, Guildford Borough has resolved to adopt a "no-casino" policy.
Licensing authorities are required, by the Act, to prepare and publish a statement of the principles that they propose to apply in exercising their functions under the Act (a gambling policy). This statement will last for three years, but may be reviewed from time to time. The Statement of Principles (Gambling Act 2005) [PDF] (289k) was published in 2010 and expires on 31 January 2013.
The last consultation was held from 14 August 2009 to 9 November 2009. The current Statement of Principles was approved by the full council on 3 December 2009 and came into force on 31 January 2010. As a result of the consultation the council once again adopted a "no-casino" policy. The results of the consultation are summarised below.
Summary of 2009 Consultation Responses [PDF] (35k)
The next consultation will be held in 2012. If you wish to be included in the next consultation, please send an email to licensing@guildford.gov.uk with your full name, address, and what your interest in the statement of principles is (e.g. resident of Guildford Borough, representative of an organisation based in Guildford Borough). It will be your responsibility to ensure that your details are kept up to date as we will use the email address supplied to send the consultation to. We will not be sending a hard copy in the post. If you do not supply the information in bold your details will not be added to the consultation list.
External links to other useful sources of information on the Gambling Act 2005
Note: we are not responsible for the content of external websites.
If you have any further questions please contact the licensing team.
Licensing
Guildford Borough Council
Millmead House
Millmead
Guildford
GU2 4BB
Tel: 01483 444371
Fax: 01483 444546
Email: licensing@guildford.gov.uk