City of Doncaster Council – Review of the Statement of Licensing Policy – Gambling Act 2005

One of the key functions of each Licensing Authority is to prepare and publish a Statement of Licensing Policy which sets out the basis upon which the Authority will make its licence application decisions.

The duty to do this is contained within Section 349 of the Gambling Act 2005 which also provides for the Licensing Authority to keep its Policy Statement under review generally, but to determine its Policy every 3 years, including undertaking a period of consultation. The 3 year period, for the existing policy, ends in January 2025 and we are, therefore, entering the review period.

The function of the Statement is to reflect locally specific gambling concerns and circumstances, to reflect the Council’s wider strategic objectives and to provide a point of reference for gambling activity. The active and literate use of the Statement can play an important role in setting expectations about how gambling will be regulated locally.

In producing this draft statement, the Licensing Authority declares that it has had regard to the licensing objectives of the Gambling Act 2005, the Guidance to Licensing Authorities and the Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice (LCCP) issued by the Gambling Commission.

Whilst minor amendments of an administrative nature have been made to the document itself, the existing policy remains unchanged from the current version.

We are now seeking to consult with everyone who could be affected by this Policy.

The draft policy can be downloaded from this webpage.

You can take part in the consultation and provide your comments by emailing them to licensingconsultation@doncaster.gov.uk

Please note that the closing date for comments is midnight on 7 April 2024