The Gambling Act 2005 (Commencement and Transitional Provisions) (Amendment) Order 2007

This Order amends the Gambling Act 2005 (Transitional Provisions) (No. 2) Order 2006 (S.I. 2006/1758) and the Gambling Act 2005 (Commencement No. 6 and Transitional Provisions) Order 2006 (S.I. 2006/3272).

Article 2 amends article 6 of the Gambling Act 2005 (Transitional Provisions) (No. 2) Order 2006 (“the Transitional Provisions Order”). Article 6 of that Order makes provision about the grant and renewal of certain kinds of permit granted under section 34 of the Gaming Act 1968. The permits affected are those issued by an authority mentioned in paragraph 1(b) or (d) of Schedule 9 to that Act (local authorities in England and Wales and councils in Scotland). Such permits may be granted in respect of any kind of premises other than the kinds of alcohol licensed premises referred to in paragraph 1(a) or (c) of Schedule 9. Article 6 of the Transitional Provisions Order prohibits the grant of an application for the grant or renewal of such a permit where the application is made on or after 1st August 2006, unless the application relates to amusement machine premises.

Article 2 amends article 6 of the Transitional Provisions Order so that this restriction does not apply to applications for the grant or renewal of permits in respect of premises subject to a relevant Scottish licence (as defined in the amended provision). Whilst the relevant type of permit under section 34 of the Gaming Act 1968 cannot be granted in respect of premises in Scotland which hold a public house licence or a hotel licence, such permits may be granted in respect of premises which have the benefit of other types of licence under section 9(1) of the Licensing (Scotland) Act 1976.

Article 3 amends article 2 of the Gambling Act 2005 (Commencement No. 6 and Transitional Provisions) Order 2006 (“the Principal Commencement Order”). Article 2 of the Principal Commencement Order specifies the commencement dates for provisions of the Gambling Act 2005. Article 3 amends that article:

• To provide for section 182(4) of the Gambling Act 2005 (which allows the Secretary of State by order to amend the exception provided for in that section relating to the exclusion of children from track areas used for betting) to come into force on 30th April 2007 instead of 1st September 2007.

• To provide for the provisions listed in Schedule 2 (as amended by article 4) to come into force on 21st May 2007 instead of 30th April 2007.

• To provide for the provisions listed in Schedule 3A (as inserted by article 6) to come into force on 1st August 2007.

Article 3 also amends article 2 of the Principal Commencement Order so that paragraph 17 of Schedule 16 to the Gambling Act 2005 no longer comes into force on 1st September 2007. That provision amends paragraph 8(3)(e) of Schedule 2 to the Private Security Industry Act 2001. The amendment cannot however be made in the form set out in paragraph 17 of Schedule 16 to the Gambling Act 2005 because it does not take account of an amendment to paragraph 8(3) made by paragraph 118(3) of Schedule 6 to the Licensing Act 2003.

Article 4 amends Schedule 2 to the Principal Commencement Order. The amendment to the heading of the Schedule is consequential on the amendment made by article 3. Article 4 removes the reference to section 7(5) to (7) which relates to categories of casino. The reference is included instead in Schedule 3 which lists the provisions coming into force on 1st June 2007. Article 4 also removes the reference to section 235 (definition of gaming machine) and section 236 (categories of gaming machine) with the effect that those sections will instead come into force (in the case of section 235 for all remaining purposes) on 1st September 2007. Article 4 amends the entry in Schedule 2 which specifies the purposes for which sections 159 to 165 are to come into force on 21st May 2007. Schedule 2 is further amended to insert a reference to section 347 (which makes provision as to the time for prosecution for offences under the 2005 Act). The entries in Schedule 2 relating to Schedules 10 and 14 are amended to ensure that the provisions applying sections 154 and 155 to the exercise of functions by licensing authorities under those Schedules are not limited to the authorities’ functions relating to the determination of applications for the grant of permits.

Article 5 substitutes a new Schedule 3 to the Principal Commencement Order (which lists the provisions which are to come into force on 1st June 2007). It removes certain provisions which were previously listed in that Schedule. The relevant provisions appear instead in Schedule 3A to the Principal Commencement Order which is inserted by article 6. By virtue of the amendment made to article 2 of the Principal Commencement Order, the provisions listed in Schedule 3A will come into force on 1st August 2007.

Article 7 amends paragraph 2 of Schedule 4 to the Principal Commencement Order which prevents applications for the grant of certain permissions under the Betting, Gaming and Lotteries Act 1963 from being granted where made on or after 28th April 2007. Article 7 amends that paragraph so that the restriction does not apply where the application is for the grant of a bookmaker’s permit and is made by the company nominated by the Secretary of State for the purposes of section 2 of the Horserace Betting and Olympic Lottery Act 2004.

Article 8 amends Part 3 of Schedule 4 to the Principal Commencement Order which, amongst other things, contains transitional provisions for certain permits under section 34 of the Gaming Act 1968 to continue to have effect on and after 1st September 2007, and for converting such permits into licensed premises gaming machine permits under the Gambling Act 2005. There are two strands to the amendments made by Article 8:

• It amends the provisions relating to the duration of permits under section 34 of the Gaming Act 1968 (“section 34 permits”) which continue to have effect on and after 1st September 2007. Under those provisions the permit is to continue in force after it would otherwise have expired, if an application for a licensed premises gaming machine permit is made at least two months before the expiry date and the application has not been determined by that date. Article 8 amends this provision so that instead the application for the licensed premises gaming machine permit is only required to be made before the expiry of the section 34 permit. A similar change is made to the provisions relating to applications to convert a section 34 permit into a licensed premises gaming machine permit. The licensing authority are only required to grant such an application where it is made at least 2 months before the expiry of the section 34 permit. This is amended so as to require instead the application to be made before the expiry of the section 34 permit. Connected amendments are made to paragraph 29 of Schedule 4 to the Principal Amendment Order which makes special provision in relation to Scotland. All of these changes are consequential on the change of commencement date from 1st June 2007 to 1st August 2007 for the provisions listed in Schedule 3A to the Principal Commencement Order.

• Article 8 amends the provisions relating to applications to convert a section 34 permit into a licensed premises gaming machine permit so that such applications may also be made where the section 34 permit was granted by the authority mentioned in paragraph 1(d) of Schedule 9 to the Gaming Act 1968 in respect of premises subject to a relevant Scottish alcohol licence. This amendment is connected to the amendment made by article 2 to article 6 of the Transitional Provisions Order.

Article 8 also amends paragraph 27(1) of Schedule 4 to the Principal Commencement Order. Paragraph 27(1) specifies the conditions which must be met for an application for a licensed premises gaming machine permit to fall within paragraph 27. Where an application falls within paragraph 27, the licensing authority must grant the licensed premises gaming machine being applied for at least to the extent that the permit authorises the same number and category of gaming machines authorised by the permit under section 34 of the Gaming Act 1968 previously held by the applicant. Paragraph (3)(a)(iii) amends paragraph 27(1) of Schedule 4 to the Principal Commencement Order to insert the condition that the application for the licensed premises gaming machine permit must relate to the same or substantially the same premises as those in respect of which the permit under section 34 of the Gaming Act 1968 has effect.

Article 9 amends paragraph 36(2) of Schedule 4 to the Principal Commencement Order. Paragraph 36 makes provision, amongst other things, as to the period within which the first annual fee is to be paid in the case of a premises licence which is issued before 1st September 2007. It provides for the fee to be paid within the “relevant period” after 1st September 2007. “Relevant period” is defined to mean a period equal in length to the period prescribed for the purposes of section 184(1)(a) of the Gambling Act 2005 as that provision has effect in relation to licences issued on or after 1st September 2007. Article 9 amends this definition so that the reference to licences issued on or after 1 September 2007 refers instead to licences which are both issued on or after 1 September 2007 and which have effect on the date of issue. This amendment reflects the fact that the relevant regulations made under section 184(1)(a) provide for different periods in those cases where the licence has effect on issue and those where it has effect on a date after issue.

Article 10 amends paragraph 39 of Schedule 4 to the Principal Commencement Order which defines who is an existing operator for the purposes of Part 5 of that Schedule. Part 5 makes transitional provision with respect to advance applications for operating licences by existing operators. Article 10 amends paragraph 39 of Schedule 4 to the Principal Commencement Order to insert a new sub-paragraph (7A). That sub-paragraph provides for the Horserace Totalisator Board to be an existing operator in relation to an application for a general betting operating licence.

Article 11 amends Part 7 of Schedule 4 to the Principal Commencement Order which makes transitional provision relating to the conversion of licences etc. issued under enactments to be repealed by the Gambling Act 2005 into premises licences under that Act. Paragraph (3) of article 11 amends paragraph 54 of Schedule 4 to the Principal Commencement Order to enable conversion applications (within the meaning of that paragraph) to be made not only by the existing premises operator (within the meaning of paragraph 53 of Schedule 4), but also by a person acting with the written consent of the existing premises operator.

Paragraph (9) of article 11 contains amendments to paragraph 62 of Schedule 4 to the Principal Commencement Order which are consequential on the amendments made by paragraph (3) of that article. Paragraph 62 of Schedule 4 makes provision for the continuation on and after 1st September 2007 of an existing licence, permit or certificate (as defined in that paragraph) which has effect immediately before that date in relation to premises, where a conversion application for a premises licence for the same or substantially the same premises has not been determined by that date. Paragraph (9) amends paragraph 62 of Schedule 4 to the Principal Commencement Order so that that paragraph is capable of applying where the conversion application is being made by a person other than the existing premises operator as provided by paragraph 54(1B)(b) (as inserted by paragraph (3)). Paragraph (9) also amends paragraph 62 to provide for the existing licence, permit or certificate to be treated on and after 1 September 2007 as if it had been granted to the person making the conversion application.

Article 11 also amends Part 7 of Schedule 4 to the Principal Commencement Order by inserting a new paragraph 57A which has the effect of allowing a person, who is making a conversion application, to request that a condition be attached to the premises licence applied for so that the premises may only be used for providing facilities for gambling during specified periods in a year. Where such a request is made and a premises licence is issued on the conversion application, the licensing authority may attach the requested condition to the licence. The amendments made by paragraphs (4) and (5) of article 11 are consequential on the insertion of paragraph 57A in Schedule 4 to the Principal Commencement Order.

Article 12 amends Part 9 of Schedule 4 to the Principal Commencement Order which makes transitional provision relating to the conversion of club registrations under the Gaming Act 1968 into club gaming and machine permits under the Gambling Act 2005. Part 9 includes provisions which refer to things being done not less than two months before the relevant date (as defined in paragraph 80(3) to (5) of Schedule 4 to the Principal Commencement Order) or which refer to a date which is two months before the relevant date. Article 12 amends these provisions so that they refer instead to things being done before the relevant date, or (where a date is being referred to) refer to that date as the relevant date rather than two months before the relevant date. This change, as with the amendments made by article 8, is consequential on the change of commencement date from 1st June to 1st August for the provisions listed in Schedule 3A to the Principal Commencement Order. Article 12 also makes minor corrections in paragraph 82(1)(e), 86(1)(a) and 90(1)(e) and in the headings to paragraphs 89 and 90.

A full regulatory impact assessment has not been produced for this instrument as no impact on the private or voluntary sectors is foreseen.