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Gambling Act 2005: Consultation on Draft Regulations for Pubs and Clubs Gaming Permits
Introduction
1. This consultation paper covers regulations under the Gambling Act 2005 dealing with licensed premises gaming machine permits and club gaming and club machine permits in Scotland. It sets out the background to such permits, the Executive's proposals for the procedures that will apply to the permit system, attaches the draft regulations setting out the procedures and invites comments on them.
General
2. The Gambling Act contains a sizeable number of regulation-making powers for Scottish Ministers. Section 285 of the Act enables Scottish Ministers to make equivalent provisions to those contained in Schedules 12 and 13 to the Act. Those schedules respectively set out the procedures for club gaming and club machine permits, and licensed premises gaming machine permits in England and Wales. Basically, clubs are allowed up to 3 gaming machines and, in certain cases, can offer some other gaming facilities; pubs are allowed up to 2 gaming machines and can apply to licensing authorities (Licensing Boards in Scotland) to increase that number.
Original Proposal
3. When consulting over the Scottish provisions to be included in the then Gambling Bill, the Executive intended that gaming permissions for Scottish pubs and clubs (with alcohol licences) would be applied for as part of the conditions of the premises liquor licence. However, the Scottish provisions had to be secured in the Gambling Bill before the Licensing (Scotland) Bill had even been introduced to the Scottish Parliament. The Executive therefore sought the maximum flexibility in the scope of section 285 of the Act to allow for future developments which might affect the Scottish gaming permissions proposal.
4. The original proposal that gaming permissions for Scottish pubs and clubs should be applied for as part of the conditions of the premises liquor licence was purely an administrative device: the Licensing Board's decision on the gambling aspects would still have been governed by the Gambling Act's licensing objectives. In other words, the exact same gaming permissions would have applied north and south of the border, as would the principles on which they were determined. The proposal also assumed that the new Scottish liquor licensing regime would be implemented within a short period of implementing the Gambling Act.
Revised Proposal
5. In the event, the Gambling Act is aiming for full implementation by September 2007, whereas the Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005 will not be implemented until autumn 2009. It was considered more appropriate therefore that the Scottish regulations should simply provide for broadly equivalent administrative procedures to those in England and Wales, but there was insufficient time to draft, consult on and lay the appropriate regulations before the General Election.
6. The revised proposal for dealing with pubs and clubs would avoid having to operate some interim system until autumn 2009 when the Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005 will be fully implemented. This will also provide a more consistent approach across Britain to this small sector of the gambling industry.
Licensed Premises Gaming Machine Permits
7. Section 282 of the Gambling Act automatically entitles (subject to notification and payment of the appropriate fee) the holders of a "relevant Scottish licence" to 2 gaming machines of category C or D. The Act defines such licences as those granted under section 9(1) of the Licensing (Scotland) Act 1976, provided it is not an off-sale licence. A licensed premises gaming machine permit applies where such licence holders wish to make available further category C or D gaming machines on the premises.
8. No limit is imposed on the number of the category C or D gaming machines that can be made available under a licensed premises gaming machine permit. The permit will specify in each case the number of machines that it authorises. Licensing authorities have no discretion to add conditions to such permits, which are of unlimited duration.
9. The draft regulations annexed to this paper seek to take a light-touch approach to the procedures governing the issue and monitoring of licensed premises gaming machine permits. The regulations prescribe:
- the form and content of the permit;
- the fees to be paid for issue, annual maintenance, transfer, variation, and obtaining a copy, of a permit; and
- the period within which the first annual fee must be paid.
Club Gaming and Club Machine Permits
10. Club gaming permits apply to members' clubs (but not commercial clubs) and miners' welfare institutes. Such permits authorise the provision of:
- up to 3 gaming machines, each of which must be category B, C or D (in any combination);
- equal chance gaming which must be in accordance with the rules set out in section 269 of the Act; and
- prescribed games of chance.
11. A licensing authority has no discretion to add additional conditions to a club gaming permit, but the following conditions will automatically apply:
- only members or guests of members may participate in the gaming;
- nobody under the age of 18 has access to a category B or C gaming machine; and
- the club complies with any codes of practice issued by the Gambling Commission (the GB-wide regulatory body) about the location and operation of its gaming machines.
12. A club gaming permit will allow these clubs to offer the gaming facilities set out above in addition to those they are allowed to offer under their exempt gaming allowance (which is explained in sections 269 and 270 of the Act). Such permits will be issued by licensing authorities and will last for 10 years, and can then be renewed for a further 10 years.
13. Club Machine Permits apply to a members' club, a miners' welfare institute or a commercial club and only authorise:
- the provision, on their club premises, of up to 3 gaming machines, each of which must be of category B, C or D (in any combination).
14. A licensing authority has no discretion to add additional conditions to a club machine permit, but 3 conditions will automatically apply:
- (except in commercial clubs) only members or guests of members may make use of the gaming machines;
- nobody under the age of 18 has access to a category B or C gaming machine; and
- the club complies with any codes of practice issued by the Gambling Commission about the location and operation of its gaming machines.
15. Club gaming machine permits will be issued by licensing authorities and will last for 10 years, and can then be renewed for a further 10 years.
16. The draft regulations annexed to this paper seek to take a light-touch approach to the procedures governing the issue and monitoring of club gaming and club machine permits. The regulations prescribe:
- the form and manner of permit application;
- the time limits within which copies of permit applications must be forwarded to the Gambling Commission and the Police;
- the time within which the Gambling Commission and the Police may object to a permit application, and the manner in which their objections must be made;
- the form and content of the permit; and
- the fees to be paid for issue, annual maintenance, variation, and obtaining a copy, of a permit.
General
17. The draft regulations will need to be agreed by the Secretary of State at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and will be subject to the affirmative procedure in the Scottish Parliament, thus requiring a debate.
Fees Payable
18. The draft regulations set out the fees payable for the various activities prescribed under the regulations. Those fees were the subject of widespread consultation (the Executive's paper dated 6 December 2006 refers) and reflect the outcome of that exercise and are in line with the equivalent ones applying in England and Wales. This paper does not therefore seek further views on the fees, which will appear in the final version of the regulations to be laid before the Scottish Parliament.
Transitional Arrangements
19. The transitional arrangements for implementation of the Gambling Act dealing with pubs and clubs provide that existing permissions under the current gambling legislation will continue to have effect under the Act without any need for conversion by the owners. This means that existing permissions would continue as at present from 1 September 2007, and any renewals prior to this date would be applied for in the normal way, i.e. to Licensing Boards for pubs and to Sheriff Courts for clubs.
20. Alcohol licensed premises and clubs with existing permissions that do not expire until after September 2007 will therefore be treated as though they have an equivalent permit under the Gambling Act, until such time as their existing permission expires. In such circumstances, the operators will however have to abide by the new regulatory regime created by the Act.
21. Existing alcohol licensed premises whose permissions under the Gaming Act 1968 expire on or after 1 September 2007 will be required prior to their current permit expiring either to:
- notify the Licensing Board of their intention to use the automatic entitlement for 2 machines (if they only wish to make 2 machines available); or
- apply for a licensed premises gaming machine permit, if they wish to make more than 2 machines available.
22. Existing clubs whose permissions under the Gaming Act 1968 expire on or after 1 September 2007 will be required prior to their current permit expiring either to apply for a:
- club gaming permit in the case of a Part 2 registration under the 1968 Act; or
- club machine permit in the case of a Part 3 registration under the 1968 Act.
23. For both pubs and clubs where existing permissions expire on or after 1 September 2007, the general GB-wide transitional arrangements provide for the appropriate application under the Gambling Act to be made one month before the expiry date. However, recognising the delays mentioned in paragraph 5 above, paragraphs 29 and 85 of SI 2006/3272 (as amended by SI 2007/1157) effectively extend the period for applying for 'grandfathered' permits given that the section 285 regulations will not be in force on 1 August 2007.
Conclusion
24. The policy intention is to put in place consistent, light-touch and user-friendly procedures to enable businesses to obtain licensed premises/club gaming machine and club gaming permits. It is also intended that the procedures should not place unnecessary burdens on businesses, licensing authorities or the Gambling Commission.
25. The Executive's aim has been to draft regulations that strike a proper balance between the need: (a) to be prescriptive, to provide consistency and clarity to licensing authorities, enforcement agencies, the gambling industry and the public; and (b) for flexibility and proportionate regulation required by those same groups. The Executive would welcome views of consultees on whether that aim has been achieved and on any comments generally on the draft regulations/proposed permit system.
Criminal Law & Licensing Division
Criminal Justice Directorate
11 June 2007
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