Review of the Gambling Act 2005 Statement of Principles
Method
Online
Opening and closing dates
4 December to 14 January
Consultation information
The Statement of Principles is the Council’s policy on how it determines applications of licences for Gambling Premises and how licence requirements are enforced.
The Gambling Act 2005 requires the Council to review its Statement of Principles every 3 years.
Surrey Heath Borough Council’s current statement expires on 22 March 2025.
The Council licences a small number of gambling premises, small society lotteries and pubs and clubs with gaming machines and there have been no complaints, licence breaches or reported issues in relation to them. (Other non-premises-based gambling e.g. online gambling, is regulated by the Gambling Commission and not by the Council).
The draft statement is broadly similar to the previous one with the addition of a Local Area Profile, as recommended by the Gambling Commission, to assist licence applicants in carrying out the required gambling harm risk assessments.
The Council would like to consult you on its updated draft Statement of Principles and the results of the consultation will be considered by the Council’s Licensing Committee in February 2025, with a view to the updated policy being adopted in March 2025 for a 3-year period until 2028. The Council will continue to monitor the statement during this time and may initiate a review at any point.
The Council would welcome your comments on the draft Statement (2025-2028).
Consultation document
How to make a comment
Comments about the draft policy should be emailed to licensing@surreyheath.gov.uk (link sends email) or posted to Licensing, Surrey Heath Borough Council, Surrey Heath House, Knoll Road, Camberley GU15 3HD.
Results
Once the consultation ends, we will consider all the responses and amend the proposed policy as appropriate. The updated policy will then be considered by the Licensing Committee and by full Council in February 2025.
It should be noted that the Gambling Commission Guidance advises that demand for gambling premises and morality issues are not considerations under this legislation. Therefore, the authority will not be in a position to consider comments of this nature.