Gambling Act 2005 Consultations - Adur & Worthing Councils

Introduction

Below is a list of the applications under the Gambling Act 2005 that are outstanding and other gambling licensing policy documents that Adur District or Worthing Borough Councils are currently consulting on or awaiting hearings:

All the applications and policy documents can be viewed in full at the Licensing Unit. All licensing hearings are held, in public, at the Adur Civic Centre or Worthing Town Hall, whichever is the appropriate authority, unless otherwise noted.

For new premises licence applications, and variation applications to existing licences, that receive relevant representations from 'Responsible Authorities' and/or an interested party, and mediation is unsuccessful or impractical, a hearing is required.

For a review of a premises licence a hearing must be held.

When considering an application under the Gambling Act 2005 the Licensing Authority, must have regard to the licensing objectives as set out in section 1 of the Gambling Act 2005. The three licensing objectives are:

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 Licensing Authority when deciding an application will consider written representations regarding the above from:

a person who lives sufficiently close to the premises to be likely to be affected by the authorised activities
a person who has business interests that might be affected by the authorised activities
a person who represents someone in any of the above two categories

All relevant representations received regarding a Gambling Act 2005 application will be forwarded unredacted to the applicant as required by the legislation. This will include a representor's name, address and contact details. The Gambling Act 2005 encourages mediation and an applicant will be encouraged to contact representors directly to discuss the application and mediate.

It is an offence knowingly or recklessly to make a false statement in connection with an application made under the Gambling Act 2005.

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Applications - Adur

Any person who desires to make objection to the said grant should set out, in writing, a brief statement of the grounds of his/her objection and send to:

The Licensing Unit,
Adur & Worthing Councils,
Worthing Town Hall,
Chapel Road,
Worthing,
BN11 1HA

Or email:

licensing.unit@adur-worthing.gov.uk

Current applications:

There are currently no Gambling Act 2005 applications outstanding in Adur

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Policy - Adur

Gambling Act 2005: Adur District Council's Draft Statement of Gambling Licensing Policy & Principles - Consultation 2024

Under the Gambling Act 2005 the Gambling Commission is responsible for the administration and enforcement of the legislation including the issuing of gambling operator and personal licences. This includes online gambling.

However, the Act places the responsibility for the licensing of gambling premises and the issuing of gaming permits with the Local Licensing Authority - Adur District Council.

We are required by the act to publish a written Statement of Policy & Principles, setting out how the Licensing Authority intends to exercise the licensing and enforcement powers conveyed to us under the legislation.

This policy must be reviewed at least every three years, to ensure that it reflects current legislation, and is relevant to the issues arising in our area.

We are currently reviewing Adur's policy. We have compared the up-to-date guidance issued by the Gambling Commission with our existing policy statement and propose no fundamental changes to the policy. We have included minor amendments to reflect any changes to the guidance and any changes required to names and dates.

The draft policy can be found below and all the changes proposed to the existing policy are highlighted in yellow. The proposed changes include:

Updating dates, area profile and population figures.
Inclusion of new rules governing a Challenge 25 Initiative
Update to the rules regarding the Credit Facilities

A copy of the Draft Policy can be found here:

Adur District Council's Statement of Gambling Licensing Policy & Principles - 2024 (4,385KB)

Consultation on the draft has now been completed and we would like to thank those that have contributed.

What happens next?

The final decision to adopt or revise the Gambling Act 2005 Statement of Policy & Principles must be made by Full Council. Following consultation, the Adur Licensing Committee will be asked to resolve to recommend the adoption of the revised statement (with any additional revisions after considering the consultation responses) by the Council later this year. The revised Gambling Act 2005 Statement of Gambling Policy & Principles will replace the current policy on 31st January 2025.

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Applications - Worthing

Variation to the Bingo Premises Licence at:

Buzz Bingo

An application for a 'variation' to the Bingo premises licence at 'Buzz Bingo'. The bingo & social club is located at The Plaza, Rowlands Road, Worthing, BN11 3JS.

The Gambling Act 2005 Bingo premises licence authorises the provision of gambling facilities. The application sought to vary the existing licence to:

make alterations to the layout of the premises

No other changes were proposed.

Licence holder and applicant: Buzz Group Ltd

Consultation closed: Sunday 19th May 2024

Committee Hearing: Cancelled

No authority or public representations were received in relation to the application and therefore the application was approved as applied for as per the terms of the Gambling Act 2005

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Policy - Worthing

Gambling Act 2005: Worthing Borough Council's Draft Statement of Gambling Licensing Policy & Principles - Consultation 2024

Under the Gambling Act 2005 the Gambling Commission is responsible for the administration and enforcement of the legislation including the issuing of gambling operator and personal licences. This includes online gambling.

However, the Act places the responsibility for the licensing of gambling premises and the issuing of gaming permits with the Local Licensing Authority - Worthing Borough Council.

We are required by the act to publish a written Statement of Policy & Principles, setting out how the Licensing Authority intends to exercise the licensing and enforcement powers conveyed to us under the legislation.

This policy must be reviewed at least every three years, to ensure that it reflects current legislation, and is relevant to the issues arising in our area.

We are reviewing Worthing's policy. We have compared the up-to-date guidance issued by the Gambling Commission with our existing policy statement and propose no fundamental changes to the policy. We have included minor amendments to reflect any changes to the guidance and any changes required to names and dates.

The draft policy can be found below and all the changes proposed to the existing policy are highlighted in yellow. The proposed changes include:

Updating dates, area profile and population figures
Inclusion of new rules governing a Challenge 25 Initiative
Update to the rules regarding the Credit Facilities

A copy of the Draft Policy can be found here:

Worthing Borough Council's Statement of Gambling Policy & Principles - August 2024 (3,998KB)

Consultation on the draft has now been completed and we would like to thank those that have contributed.

What happens next?

The final decision to adopt or revise the Gambling Act 2005 Statement of Policy & Principles must be made by Full Council. Following consultation, the Worthing Licensing & Control Committee will be asked to resolve to recommend the adoption of the revised statement (with any additional revisions after considering the consultation responses) by the Council later this year. The revised Gambling Act 2005 Statement of Gambling Policy & Principles will replace the current policy on 31st January 2025.

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