This meeting was about approving a new Statement of Gambling Principles for the council. The meeting was also scheduled to include the confirmation of the minutes from the meeting held on 19 March 2024.

The Gambling Act 2005

The main item on the agenda was to consider and approve a new draft Statement of Gambling Principles.

The current Statement of Gambling Principles was due to expire in May 2025. However, guidance from the Gambling Commission¹ indicated that the reviewed statement needed to be adopted by the end of January 2025.

The report pack included a proposed revised version of the statement which was included for approval. This would then be referred to the full council for final approval and implementation.

The report pack explained that the council has a statutory duty under the Gambling Act 2005 to review and publish a Statement of Gambling Principles at least every three years. The document sets out how the council will approach requests for licences and permits for gambling premises in the borough.

The report pack provided a summary of the responses to a public consultation that had taken place between 03 April 2024 and 29 May 2024, as well as a summary of the changes that were proposed to be made to the Statement of Gambling Principles in response to the consultation.

The updated Statement of Gambling Principles offers residents and businesses who wish to set up a gambling business, or who currently operate one within the borough, or who themselves are licensees, increased clarity about what the Council expects in relation to regulated gambling activity.

The report pack explained that:

The Statement of Gambling Principles strengthens the link between gambling and other Council policies. It provides additional information for applicants, residents, and members about how the Gambling Act will be dealt with in Hounslow.

The revised statement also included an updated Local Area Profile, which is an assessment of the risks associated with gambling in different parts of the borough.

The statement sought to clarify the council's duties under The Gambling Act 2005 to address potential risks to the three licensing objectives:

• 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; and
• protecting children and other vulnerable persons from being harmed or exploited by gambling

The document stated that:

The Statement addresses the functions that the Council exercises when dealing with permits and licences for premises where the Gambling Act applies e.g. bingo premises, betting shops, adult gaming centres and family entertainment centres. The scope of the Council’s functions does not cover online gambling, gambling advertisements on television or other media, or the National Lottery.

The report included a copy of the proposed statement, the proposed changes to the statement, the Local Area Profile, and an Equality Impact Assessment for the proposed new Statement of Gambling Principles.

If the proposed new Statement of Gambling Principles was approved by the committee, it would then be referred to the full council for final approval.

Minutes

The committee was scheduled to confirm the minutes of the meeting held on 19 March 2024. These minutes recorded that the committee had previously approved a draft version of the new Statement of Gambling Principles for public consultation.