Consultation - Review of Gambling Policy

The Aberdeenshire Licensing Board is required by the Gambling Act 2005 to publish a Statement of Principles which they propose to apply when exercising their licensing functions. This must be published every 3 years and also be reviewed from time to time with any amendments first being consulted upon.

The Board has undertaken a review of their current Statement of Principles and is interested in receiving your views in respect of the proposed amendments summarised below:

• Further clarification provided in terms of the requirement on applicants to complete a 'local area risk assessment' as part of the licensing application process.
• Further clarification in terms of the use and publication of the accompanying 'local area profile' aimed at assisting applicants with the completion of the required 'local area risk assessment'.
• Further clarification provided in terms of how we will share / exchange information with other regulatory bodies.
• Addition of statistics confirming the number of licensed premises within Aberdeenshire.
• Further clarification provided in terms of what the Board deems to be a 'bingo premises' and the use of gambling machines therein.
• Further clarification provided in respect of our licensing register and how to access this.
• Updated tables covering the following: (a) summary of gaming machine categories and entitlements (b) summary of machine provisions by premises and (c) gaming entitlements for pubs and clubs.
• Updated dates and information throughout.

These amendments have largely been made to reflect the changes within legislation and Gambling Commission guidance since the adoption of our last policy.

Please Note: A copy of the Board's 'Proposed Statement of Principles' which shows the proposed changes in 'red' is available within the 'Documents' section.

The Board is interested in receiving your views in respect of their 'Proposed Statement of Principles'.

Alongside this the Board has also prepared a Local Area Profile which is aimed at assisting applicants with the completion of their own 'local area risk assessment' which is now required in terms of the licensing process. This document is not part of the Statement of Principles and is instead a living document which will evolve over time.

The Board are however interested in receiving your views in respect of the Local Area Profile with a view to helping shape this as time moves on.

In order to take your views we have created a short survey which can be accessed below.

All the responses which we receive will be considered by the Board on the 9th of February 2022 as part of their decision making process.