Statements of gambling licensing policy

Gambling Act 2005

Under the Gambling Act 2005 Adur District Council and Worthing Borough Councils are local licensing authorities with a number of duties assigned to them.

The Act created a unified national regulator for gambling, the Gambling Commission. The commission grants operating licences, and personal licences, for commercial gambling operators, (including internet gambling) and personnel working within the industry.

Adur & Worthing Councils, as licensing authorities, have responsibility for licensing the actual premises within their areas used for commercial gambling, including bingo premises, betting premises, adult gaming centres, and family entertainment centres.

The Gambling Act contains three licensing objectives which underpin the functions that the commission and the licensing authorities perform:

• 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

The Act requires that licensing authorities publish their statements of licensing policy and review them at least every three years. Both Adur District and Worthing Borough Councils' current policies completed a public, authority and stakeholder consultation on 14th October 2024 and revised policies have been considered by both Licensing Committees and recommended to the respective full councils for adoption in the New Year. We would like to thank all those that contributed during the consultation.

Please refer to the:

Adur and Worthing statements of gambling policy & principles:

• Adur District Council's Statement of Gambling Policy & Principles - February 2022 (1,178KB)
• Worthing Borough Council's Statement of Gambling Policy & Principles - February 2022 (1,922KB)

Adur and Worthing Community Profile:

• The latest Local Insight summary reports for the Adur District and Worthing Borough, and interactive Census data maps

You may also be interested in:

• View our public register of licences

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