Gambling Act 2005 Statement of Principles

Under the Gambling Act 2005, the Statement of Principles sets out a number of regulatory functions in relation to gambling.

These serve as the basis for determining licence applications for a variety of gaming and betting facilities including bingo halls, betting offices, adult gaming centres, licensed family entertainment centres, small society lotteries, permits for prize-giving and gaming machines in pubs and clubs.

The current Gambling Act 2005 Statement of Principles was adopted on 8 December 2021.

Statement objectives

The main objectives of the Statement of Principles are:

to prevent gambling from being a source of crime and disorder, being associated with crime or disorder, or being used to support crime
to ensure that gambling is conducted in a fair and open way
to protect children and other vulnerable people from being harmed or exploited by gambling

Download our Gambling Act Statement of Principles (PDF) [755KB] .

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