17 March 2010On the 1st September 2007 the Gambling Act 2005 (''The Act'') replaced most of the existing law about gambling in Great Britain and put in place an improved, more comprehensive structure of gambling regulation.
The Act introduced a unified regulator for gambling in Great Britain, the Gambling Commission, and a new licensing regime for commercial gambling (to be conducted by the Commission or by Licensing Authorities, depending on the matter to be licensed).
The Act removes from licensing justices all responsibility for granting gaming and betting permissions, which they had exercised previously. Instead, the Gambling commission and ourselves share between us responsibility for all those matters previously regulated by the licensing justices.
The Gambling Act 2005 changes the way in which gambling is regulated. For the purposes of the Act, ''gambling'' includes gaming, betting and lotteries. This Council can receive applications under the new Act for amusement arcades, betting offices, tracks and sporting sites, bingo halls and pubs/clubs wanting to have gaming machines.
The licensing authority's main functions under the Act are:
The Gambling Act requires all Licensing Authorities to prepare, consult on and publish a Statement of Gambling Policy, which will set out how the Authority will manage the licensing of local gambling premises over the next three years.
Sevenoaks District Council published its policy in January 2007 and is effective for a 3 year period.
We have now issued a review of the Statement of Gambling Policy in draft for consultation. This document has been sent out to over 250 consultees for comment and is available in the reception of the Council Offices and in all the local libraries. Consultees include District Councillors, town and parish councils, bodies representing the licensing trade, licensed premises, the Gambling Commission, neighbouring local authorities, services within the Council and residents of the District.
Please select the following link for the Draft Statement of Gambling Policy (
PDF File 320KB file details)
The consultation period is between 19th June 2009 and 31st August 2009. If you wish to comment on the policy please complete a feedback form by selecting the following link: Feedback Form ( PDF File 24KB file details)
Please email it to licensing@sevenoaks.gov.uk or send to:
The Licensing Team
Community and Planning Services
Sevenoaks District Council
P.O. Box 182
Argyle Road
Sevenoaks
Kent. TN13 1GP
