The Gambling Act 2005 legislation came into force in September 2007. The Central Government Department with responsibility for the legislation is the Department of Culture, Media and Sport.
The Act comprehensively updates existing gambling laws that are several decades old, providing new powers and protections for both new and old forms of gambling. The Act has three clear objectives:
The Act covers two main activities:
In either case, you must hold the appropriate permission. Permission may come from a licence, permit, or registration granted according to the Act, or from an exemption given by the Act.
Local Authorities licence gambling premises within their area, as well as undertaking functions in relation to lower stake gaming machines and clubs and miners' welfare institutes.
Premises which require a Premises Licence include:
Licensing Authorities will undertake inspections and enforce the conditions on these issued licenses, permits and notices.
The Gambling Commission shares the responsibility for granting gaming and betting permissions with local Licensing Authorities. You will need to contact them for information on Operating and Personal Licence requirements.
Licensing Authorities are required by the Gambling Act to publish a Statement of Principles which they propose to apply when exercising their functions. This statement must be reviewed and published at least every three years and ours came into effect on 1st February 2019.
We issue licences for:
We issue permits for:
Any society that wishes to promote small lotteries, raffles, prize draws or similar, in order to raise funds for a purpose of a society, must be registered with the local authority for the area in which the principal offices of the society are situated. You can apply online for this registration.
Find out more about Small Society Lotteries.
Gambling in which persons, participate by the use of remote communication, including the internet, telephone, television, radio or any other kind of electronic or other technology for facilitating communication is regulated by the Act. Further guidance can be obtained from the Gambling Commission.
Gaming machines have not been permitted in takeaway food outlets and taxi offices since the 1 August 2007. If you have seen a gaming machine in a takeaway or taxi office please contact us.
Requests for a review of a Premises Licence can be made by interested parties or Responsible Authorities. However, it is for the Licensing Authority to decide whether the review is to be carried out. This decision will be made on the basis of whether the request for the review is relevant to the matters listed below:
Requests for reviews will not be considered by the Licensing Authority where:
The Licensing Authority can also initiate a review of a licence if it feels it appropriate.
Want to hold a race, poker, bingo or casino night, or require general information on gambling in alcohol licensed premises or clubs? The Gambling Commission issue advice leaflets which can be found on their website www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk.
Details about our licence fees can be found online.
Licensing and Enforcement,
Ipswich Borough Council,
3W Grafton House,
15-17 Russell Road,
Ipswich,
IP1 2DE
01473 432063
