Appendix 2 Consultation on the Draft Statement of Gambling Policy September 2006 Executive Summary This report details the findings of the consultation on Leeds’ Draft Statement of Gambling Policy as put out to public consultation between the 19th June 2006 and the 3rd September 2006. The consultation exercise used a standard consultation questionnaire which was made available at libraries and leisure centres throughout the district as well as on the council’s website. A large mail shot was also undertaken to contact an extensive list of identified stakeholders such as gambling businesses in the area, national trade associations, responsible authorities, organisations concerned with the social impact of gambling, MPs, parish councils, and faith groups etc. In total 112 items of correspondence were received related to the consultation (mostly consultation questionnaires returned by organisations) and while this could be viewed as on the low side it does compare very favourably to the consultations undertaken by other local authorities. In principal the questionnaire returns showed that the public were fairly happy with the tone and scope of the draft policy. A handful of replies took a sceptical view of the policy although further examination of the qualitative comments throughout the questionnaires showed a fairly negative view with regards to gambling generally and it appears such replies have been a means to vent this viewpoint. The consultation process did however flag up some concerns regarding the suggested controls related to the protection of vulnerable persons. For example concerns were raised that that if vulnerable persons can not make informed or balanced decisions, the provision of guidance material about problem gambling on posters and websites would be ineffective. Also respondents offered suggestions as to other categories of persons that the authority should consider as potentially vulnerable such as the elderly, ethnic minorities, the families and the children of those who may have a gambling addiction, or people with learning disabilities. Other recurring themes running through the consultation included concern about cash machines and the availability of credit on gambling premises while strong concerns were also raised about children being permitted to play any form of gaming machine whether low stake or otherwise. In this regard it is important to note that Leeds City Council has no power to restrict children playing Category D gaming machines, where the operator has the correct permit/licence, as this allowance is permitted by the Act. Contents Executive summary 1. Introduction 2. Background information 2.1 The Gambling Act 2005 2.2 The licensing objectives 2.3 Purpose of the Statement of Gambling Policy 3. Purpose of the consultation 4. Consultation methodology 5. Breakdown of consultation replies 6. Questionnaire Analysis – prevention of crime and disorder licensing objective 6.1 Statistical analysis 6.2 Overall analysis 7. Questionnaire Analysis – ensuring gambling is conducted in a fair and open way 7.1 Statistical analysis 7.2 Overall analysis 8. Questionnaire Analysis – protecting children and the vulnerable from harm 8.1 Statistical analysis 8.2 Overall analysis 9. Questionnaire Analysis – open ended comments 10. Analysis of detailed written replies 10.1 Trade replies 10.2 Other replies 11. Conclusions 12. Recommendations Appendices Appendix 1 – Consultation questionnaire Appendix 2 – Consultation poster Appendix 3 – Sample of press adverts Appendix 4 – About Leeds – news article Appendix 5 – Statement of Gambling Policy Consultees List 1. Introduction 1.1 The Gambling Act 2005 (the Act) creates a new system of licensing and regulation for commercial gambling in Great Britain other than the National Lottery and spread betting. Within this new regime local councils are appointed as licensing authorities and are responsible for issuing premises licences to gambling premises such as casinos, bookmakers and amusement arcades. Under the Act each licensing authority must publish a Statement of Gambling Policy showing how it will exercise its functions under the Act. The Act also requires licensing authorities to consult certain statutory agencies and other interested parties before publishing a statement. This report contains the results of the consultation on Leeds’ first draft statement of Gambling Policy. The consultation ran for a period of 11 weeks ending on the 3rd September 2006. 2. Background Information 2.1 The Gambling Act 2005 2.1.1 The Gambling Act 2005 completely overhauls the regulation of commercial gambling in Great Britain and gives effect to the governments proposals to reform and modernise the law on gambling. Within the new regime the Gambling Commission becomes the national gambling regulator taking over from the Gaming Board For Great Britain. From 2007 the commission will be responsible for granting operating and personal licences for commercial gambling operators and personnel working in the industry. The Act sets out different types of operating licence that cover the full range of commercial gambling activities conducted in Great Britain. It also makes provision for the Commission to have powers of entry and inspection to regulate gambling, with safeguards for those subject to the powers. 2.1.2 On the other side of this new licensing framework are licensing authorities that will have new powers to license gambling premises within their area, as well as undertaking functions in relation to lower stake gaming machines and clubs and miners’ welfare institutes. The Act also provides for a new system of temporary use notices. These will authorise premises that are not licensed generally for gambling purposes to be used for certain types of gambling, for limited periods. This would for example allow a gambling operator to set up a temporary casino in a hotel. 2.1.3 One of the key control measures within this framework is that if an operator wishes to provide gambling at a certain premises they must first apply for the requisite operators licence and personal licences from the Gambling Commission before they can approach the council for a premises licence. In this way the Gambling Commission is able to screen applicants and organisations to ensure they have the correct credentials to operate gambling premises. Local authorities can only determine licensing applications once they are notified that the applicant has secured the necessary licences from the Gambling Commission. 2.2 The licensing objectives 2.2.1 The Act sets out three licensing objectives which underpin the Act: • 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 • protecting children and other vulnerable persons from being harmed or exploited by gambling. 2.3 Purpose of the Statement of Gambling Policy 2.3.1 Under the Act each licensing authority must prepare a Statement of Gambling Policy which outlines how the authority will seek to promote the licensing objectives and on what basis the authority will arrive at its decision making. This allows gambling businesses to prepare applications in a manner which reflects the requirements of the policy and also helps the public to clarify how the authority is approaching its licensing duties. The gambling policy fulfils a similar role to that of the Statement of Licensing Policy. A policy must be published at least every three years however amendments can be made during this time as long as those elements which are being changed are consulted upon. 3. Purpose of the consultation 3.1 The consultation was designed to survey a wide selection of the Leeds population to clarify the general consensus among Leeds residents about the content and suggested control measures detailed in the draft policy. In addition similar thoughts were sought from the responsible authorities as well as a list of identified stakeholders such as organisations concerned with the social impact of gambling, faith groups, national bodies representing the gambling trade, plus representatives of local businesses. 3.2 The use of a structured consultation questionnaire broken down to cover each of the licensing objectives was an attempt to focus consultee responses so that any redrafting of the policy could be done in an effective manner. The questionnaire and mail drops also encouraged any general comments on both the Gambling Act and gambling in general to allow people to express themselves as freely as possible. Attached at Appendix 1 to this report is a copy of the consultation questionnaire. 4. Consultation methodology 4.1 The following activities were undertaken to support the consultation exercise: • The consultation began on Monday the 19th June. The draft policy and consultation questionnaire were loaded onto a specially prepared consultation webpage on the internet and a news items was arranged to appear on the homepage on the first day of the consultation. This news item remained on the homepage for the first two weeks of the consultation and was also reposted to the website for the latter stages of the consultation. • An electronic version of the questionnaire which could be filled in and submitted online was also used. • two versions of a full colour poster were sent, (along with copies of the consultation documents) to all libraries, one stop centres and leisure centres in the district. (see Appendix 2) • Members were sent a copy of the policy along with the questionnaire, a short briefing letter as well as a copy of the report which was sent to the Licensing Committee on the 6th June regarding the new Act. • A mailshot was sent out to an extensive list of identified stakeholders. This included existing licence holders, national trade associations, responsible authorities, organisations concerned with the social impact of gambling, MPs, parish councils, and faith groups to name just a few. (see Appendix 5) • A full colour advert appeared in the Yorkshire Evening Post on the 22/06/06 (page 26) advertising the consultation.