Gambling Commission publishes revised guidance for licensing authorities

The Gambling Commission has published the fifth edition of its guidance to licensing authorities on the exercise of their functions.

The watchdog said the edition (GLA5) sought “to reinforce the importance of partnership working between licensing authorities and local businesses to mitigate risks to the licensing objectives”.

GLA5 is intended also to reflect improved understanding of the powers afforded to local authorities under the Gambling Act 2005.

The Commission said the document would provide authorities with further guidance on the requirement for operators to conduct a local risk assessment in order to understand the risks associated with the areas in which they have, or wish to have, a gambling premises. 

The new requirement will come into force in April 2016. “[This] provides operators with sufficient time to align their own risk assessment with the priorities set out in the licensing authority’s revised policy statement, due to be published in January 2016,” the Commission said.

The watchdog has also provided supplementary materials, including case studies, letter templates and sample conditions. “These will be regularly updated to illustrate how local authorities have used their powers to address the local regulation of gambling,” the Commission said.