In terms of the Gambling Act 2005 the West Dunbartonshire Licensing Board has a number of important regulatory functions in relation to gambling activity in West Dunbartonshire. This includes licensing premises such as betting shops, adult gaming centres and bingo halls, regulating gaming and gaming machines in clubs and alcohol licensed premises, granting permits for prize gaming, and registering small society lotteries. The Gambling Commission is responsible for the regulation of online gambling and the National Lottery.
In accordance with the Act, the Licensing Board must prepare, consult on and publish a policy which it proposes to apply when exercising relevant gambling related functions. In preparing this policy and in exercising these functions, the Licensing Board must have regard to the statutory guidance issued by the Gambling Commission and to the licensing objectives set out in the Act, namely:
This Statement of Principles must be reviewed at least every three years. The Licensing Board last reviewed the Statement in January 2022 and therefore, a new Statement must be published by January 2025.
As of this process, officers of the Licensing Service will engage with various stakeholders to prepare a local area profile. This profile will help inform specific risks that gambling businesses will need to address in their risk assessments. As part of this local area profile the Licensing Board will consider:
The Licensing Board is now seeking views on its amended Statement of Principles.
It is important that the noted amendments are read in conjunction with the document itself.
You can complete the questionnaire or send any views and comments to licensing@west-dunbarton.gov.uk with the subject "Response to Gambling consultation". For the avoidance of doubt, the link is https://arcg.is/10G8LW0.
The deadline for responses is 25 September 2024.
The outcome of this consultation will be reported to a future meeting of the Licensing Board. The report will be published via the Council's Committee Management System.
