The Gambling Act 2005 (2005 c 19) is an Act of the

Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative suprem ...

. It mainly applies to

England and Wales England and Wales () is one of the three legal jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. It covers the constituent countries England and Wales and was formed by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. The substantive law of the jurisdiction is En ...

, and to

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...

, and is designed to control all forms of

gambling Gambling (also known as betting or gaming) is the wagering of something of value ("the stakes") on a random event with the intent of winning something else of value, where instances of strategy are discounted. Gambling thus requires three ele ...

. It transfers authority for licensing gambling from the

magistrates' court A magistrates' court is a lower court where, in several jurisdictions, all criminal proceedings start. Also some civil matters may be dealt with here, such as family proceedings. Courts * Magistrates' court (England and Wales) * Magistrate's Cou ...

s to local authorities (specifically unitary authorities, and the councils of metropolitan borough, non-metropolitan district and London boroughs), or to Scottish licensing boards. The Act also created the

Gambling Commission The Gambling Commission is an executive non-departmental public body of the Government of the United Kingdom responsible for regulating gambling and supervising gaming law in Great Britain. Its remit covers arcades, betting, bingo, casinos, ...

Provisions

The Act gives its objectives as Some provisions of the bill faced controversy, particularly in its original form, where it would have allowed eight so-called " super casinos" to be set up. With the Parliamentary session drawing to a close, a compromise was agreed to reduce this to one. Despite a lengthy bidding process, with

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The ...

being chosen as the single planned location, the development was cancelled soon after

Gordon Brown James Gordon Brown (born 20 February 1951) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 to 2010. He previously served as Chancellor of the Exchequer in Tony ...

became

Prime Minister of the United Kingdom The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government of the United Kingdom. The prime minister advises the sovereign on the exercise of much of the royal prerogative, chairs the Cabinet and selects its ministers. As modern p ...

. The Act also specifically regulates

Internet gambling Online gambling is any kind of gambling conducted on the internet The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and ...

for the first time. The law permits gambling companies to advertise on television and radio. The act is wide-ranging including regulation of lotteries. The "no purchase necessary" clause on on-product promotions and semi-legal competitions went, replaced with the so-called "New Zealand Model" where purchase may be a requirement, if the purchase is at the "normal selling price". The Act, together with regulations and specifications developed by the Gambling Commission, define and in some cases redefine, categories of gaming machines and where they are allowed to be placed.

2014 amendments

From 1 December 2014, the Gambling (Licensing & Advertising) Act 2014 contributed several updates to the Act, including a requirement that all off-shore gambling brands apply for a licence from the Gambling Commission and submit to a 15% point of consumption (POC) tax on gross profits.

2021 review

On 8 December 2020, the UK government announced a review of the act, to "make sure it is fit for the digital age". The announcement included a call for evidence, with a deadline at the end of March 2021.

Notes

External links

The Gambling Act 2005
as amended from the National Archives
The Gambling Act 2005
as originally enacted from the National Archives
Explanatory notes
to the Gambling Act 2005
Department of Culture note on the Act
{{UK legislation United Kingdom Acts of Parliament 2005 Gambling legislation in the United Kingdom

Provisions

2014 amendments

2021 review

See also

Notes

External links