Gambling and lottery licences

Statement of Principles under the Gambling Act 2005

The Council is required by the Gambling Act 2005 to publish a Statement of the principles that it proposes to apply when exercising its functions under the Act. This statement must be published every three years and the first period started on 31 January 2007.

Review of the Gambling Policy

The Statement of Principles under the Gambling Act 2005 for the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames has been reviewed in accordance with requirements of the Gambling Act 2005 and was adopted at the Full Council meeting on 26 February 2013. The revised Gambling Statement of Principles, (our policy statement) sets out our policy for dealing with applications and regulating gambling premises within the Borough.  

Where to view the Policy

Please see the revised and current Statement of Principles under the Gambling Act 2005(pdf, 305KB) as of February 2013.

You can also review the previous Policy(pdf, 296KB).

A paper copy of the revised Policy can be obtained from the Licensing Authority offices (contact details are below).

Scope of the Statement

The statement of principles has been prepared bearing in mind the limitations on the discretion of the Council imposed by the Act. This gives predominance to the Gambling Commission's codes and guidance.

Under the provisions of the Act, the Council must aim to permit the use of premises for gambling in so far as it thinks it is:

• (a) In accordance with any relevant code of practice issued by the Gambling Commission,
• (b) In accordance with any relevant guidance issued by the Gambling Commission,
• (c) Reasonably consistent with the 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
• (d) In accordance with the Council's statement of licensing principles subject to (a) to (c) above.

Application Forms

Various application forms under the Gambling Act 2005 can be downloaded from the Department of Culture, Media and Sport website.

Contact details for all responsible authorities can be found at page 39 of the Council’s Statement of Principals under the Gambling Act 2005.

Lotteries

A lottery is any arrangement in which people pay to take part and prizes are allocated by a process that relies on chance. Examples would include:

• A raffle
• A Tombola
• 100 club draws
• Scratch cards

Further information and guidance on lotteries can be found on the Gambling Commission website or by contacting the Licensing Team.