Gambling Policy Consultation

The Licensing Board is consulting on the terms of its Gambling Policy Statement. The policy statement forms the basis upon which the Board considers applications for premises licenses for venues such as betting shops, bingo halls, gaming machines in entertainment centres and pubs, etc.

The policy does not cover matters which are the responsibility of the Gambling Commission, such as online gambling and the national lottery. In addition, the Licensing Board has a separate policy on alcohol licensing which does not form part of this consultation.

In preparing this policy and in exercising these functions, the Licensing Board must have regard to the statutory guidance issued by the Gambling Commission and to the licensing objectives set out in the Act, namely:

• Preventing gambling from being a source of crime and disorder, being associated with crime or disorder or being used to support crime.
• Ensuring that gambling is conducted in a fair and open way; and
• Protecting children and other vulnerable persons from being harmed or exploited by gambling.

The Gambling Act 2005 and the Gambling Commission Guidance can be found below.

Gambling Act 2005 Gambling Commission Guidance

The Board has made provisional changes to the policy and these are highlighted in yellow in the attached draft policy document that you van view and comment on.

Why your views matter

The Board must ensure that it reviews its gambling policy at least every three years. In doing so, it is important the Board can take account of the views of a range of potential consultees including trade representatives or their representatives, the wider public and statutory consultees such as Police Scotland. 

What happens next

The Board will consider the terms of responses received and decide upon the terms of its gambling policy for the next three years. The Board will continue to review the policy during that period.

The policy will be published in the Autumn of 2025

If you have any questions regarding this consultation please contact licensing@faklirk.gov.uk.