Have your say
Gambling Act Policy review
The Statement of Gambling Licensing Policy sets out how the council will carry out its functions under the Gambling Act 2005 with a view to promoting the licensing objectives namely:
- Prevent gambling from being a source of crime and 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.
The authority issues a range permits and licences for land-based gambling premises including:
- Casino premises;
- Bingo premises;
- Betting premises, including tracks;
- Adult gaming centres; and
- Family entertainment centres
It should be noted that local licensing authorities are not involved in licensing remote / on-line gambling at all, this falls to the Gambling Commission.
Why are we consulting?
The current policy was adopted by the Authority in April 2023 and must be reviewed at least every three years.
The Gambling Act is still currently under review, any updates made in the last 3 years that affect local authorities are limited but have been incorporated into the review. In addition, the Gambing Commission have updated their guidance to local authorities since publication of the current policy so any links or reference to this has been updated.
Changes to the policy are therefore of a minor nature and include:
- Format change to include hyperlinks to relevant up to date documents including updated guidance from the gambling commission
- Updated statistics on number of licensed premises in Pembrokeshire
- Updated statutory requirement around test purchasing
- Updates to statutory limits of gaming machines at Casino premises
The updated policy: Statement of Licensing Policy 2026 - Gambling Act
Ways to give your views
Please complete the online survey.
If you would like a paper copy please call our Customer Contact Centre on 01437 764551 or email licensing@pembrokeshire.gov.uk so we can make arrangements to send this to you.
The closing date for completed responses is 19th January 2026.
Expected outcomes
We will analyse the feedback and comments received and this will be considered by the Licensing Committee in early 2026, with a view to placing before Cabinet for a decision in Spring 2026