Gambling statement of principles 2025 - 2028

Proposed for consultation at Licensing Board on 7 September 2026.

Part 1 - Status, area and functions

1.1 Purpose and statutory status

Section 349 of the Gambling Act 2005 requires the Board to publish the principles it will use when carrying out its Gambling Act functions. This Statement sets out those principles for North Ayrshire.

The current statutory period runs from 31 January 2025 to 30 January 2028. This document is a full replacement for the remainder of that period. Its adoption changes the policy used for the remaining period; it does not create a new three-year cycle.

The Board will apply the legislation in force on the date of each decision, together with the current Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice and Gambling Commission Guidance. Appendix A directs readers to the principal official sources.

1.2 North Ayrshire and the licensing authority

North Ayrshire includes urban, coastal, rural and island communities. For evidence and service-planning purposes the LAP uses six localities: Arran; Garnock Valley; Irvine; Kilwinning; North Coast and Cumbraes; and Three Towns. The Board’s area is shown below.

North Ayrshire Licensing Board is continued under section 5 of the Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005 and is the licensing authority for the purposes of the Gambling Act 2005. North Ayrshire Council supplies administrative and legal support, but the Board exercises the Act functions.

1.3 Commencement and version control

This Statement has effect from the date shown on its cover and remains in force until 30 January 2028 unless the Board revises it earlier under section 349.

The Board will publish the current version and make it available in accessible formats. Each version will identify its effective date and the date of any later revision.

A change to a principle will be made as a formal revision. Licensing may record a contact, link, source or typographical correction administratively where it does not change the policy.

1.4 Activities within and outside the Board's remit

1.5 Current premises-licence landscape

The Licensing register and GIS map were reconciled at the 22 July 2026 evidence cut-off. The betting premises licence at 30 Eglinton Street, Beith, had been surrendered and was removed before the figures were finalised. The 27 current premises licences provide context for individual decisions; the statutory criteria determine each application.

1.6 Definitions

Part 2 - Statutory decision framework

2.1 The three licensing objectives

The Board will use the three licensing objectives in section 1 as the focus of its Gambling Act decisions:

• 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; and
• protecting children and other vulnerable persons from being harmed or exploited by gambling.

Evidence must connect the issue to gambling at the premises or to another function given to the Board by the Act. Matters led by another regulator will be routed to that regulator while any distinct premises issue remains for the Board.

2.2 Section 153: the aim-to-permit duty

For premises functions under Part 8, section 153 requires the Board to aim to permit gambling so far as the proposal accords with relevant Commission codes and Guidance, is reasonably consistent with the licensing objectives and accords with this Statement. The Board will work through the following questions:

1. What gambling use, premises and operating arrangements are proposed?
2. Which Commission codes apply, and how does the proposal comply with them?
3. Which parts of the current Guidance apply, and how does the proposal address them?
4. What does the evidence show about each licensing objective?
5. How does the proposal accord with this Statement and the LAP evidence relevant to the site?
6. If a material residual risk remains, what lawful and proportionate response addresses it?

The Board will decide the real and material risks shown by the evidence, take account of the operator’s controls and use the least intrusive effective regulatory response available under the Act.

2.3 Evidence, fairness and individual merits

Each application, representation and review will be decided on its own facts. The Board will identify the source, date, geographic level and limitations of the material before it, distinguishing:

• verified facts and statutory records;
• professional or expert opinion and the reasoning that supports it;
• first-hand experience or observation;
• reasonable inference from established facts;
• allegation, general concern or a view about gambling; and
• area data that provides context but requires a current connection to the premises.

A representation should identify its connection to the premises, the licensing objectives, relevant codes or Guidance, or this Statement. The Board will give parties adequate notice of decisive material, a reasonable opportunity to respond and an impartial hearing. Its reasons will show the principal evidence accepted, the findings made and the statutory test applied.

2.4 How related matters fit the statutory test

2.5 Children and other vulnerable persons

For this Statement, vulnerability means circumstances that may make a person or group more susceptible to harm or exploitation from the gambling offered. The evidence determines whether premises controls should respond.

Relevant circumstances may include age; learning disability or cognitive impairment; mental ill-health; harmful gambling; financial crisis or debt; alcohol or drug dependency; bereavement, isolation or homelessness; coercion, domestic abuse or exploitation; and impaired ability to make informed decisions. Their weight depends on the facts of the individual case.

For children and young people, the focus is on those exposed to gambling-related harm. Exposure may form part of wider exploitation or coexist with financial exploitation, coercion, family conflict, debt, addiction, distress or absence from school. The Board will act only where the evidence connects the concern to gambling at the premises or another function given to it by the Act.

The Board will apply children’s rights and welfare, adult-support and protection principles, equality duties, human rights and data-protection requirements within the Gambling Act framework and its three licensing objectives.

2.6 Local Area Profile and local risk assessments

The separate LAP describes local circumstances and the questions they may raise for a particular site. It supports a premises-specific assessment; it is an evidence profile, not a risk rating or policy of overprovision.

LCCP social responsibility code provision 10.1.1 requires applicable non-remote licensees to assess local risks to the licensing objectives and maintain proportionate policies, procedures and controls. Operators must prepare or review that assessment when applying for a new premises licence or variation and when significant local or premises circumstances change.

LCCP ordinary code provision 10.1.2 says that licensees should share the assessment with the Board on a new premises application or variation and otherwise on request. The Board will identify any further information needed for the statutory decision and give a fair opportunity to supply it.

2.7 Conditions

Premises licences carry the mandatory conditions and applicable default conditions set by the Gambling Act 2005 (Mandatory and Default Conditions) (Scotland) Regulations 2007. An individual condition will be used where the evidence shows that an additional premises control is needed.

An individual condition should be:

• necessary to address a material risk or secure the statutory test;
• relevant to making the proposed building suitable as a gambling facility;
• directly related to the premises, locality and type of licence;
• fairly and reasonably related to the scale and type of premises;
• clear, objective, enforceable and reasonable; and
• the least intrusive effective measure among the realistic options.

Every condition must stay within section 169 and the Board’s powers. It will complement the national operating-licence controls and address the specific premises issue identified in the reasons.

Depending on the evidence, controls may address sightlines or positioning, staff supervision, age verification, windows or advertising, customer interaction, incident escalation, exterior management, review triggers or record keeping.

A request to exclude or vary a default condition should explain the operational need and the effect on each objective. The Board’s decision will record the relevant evidence and reasons.

2.8 Reasons and the decision record

A decision notice or statement of reasons should leave the informed reader in no real and substantial doubt about the statutory test applied, the material evidence accepted or rejected, the findings made and why the outcome follows. It need not address every sentence of every submission, but it must deal intelligibly with the principal controversial issues.

Where the Board departs from this Statement, previous practice or an apparently comparable decision, it will identify the material distinction or other good reason. Where it chooses a condition over refusal - or concludes that no additional condition is needed - it will record why.

Part 3 - Premises licences

3.1 Applications, eligibility and plans

Applicants must meet the eligibility and operating-licence requirements in the Act and use the prescribed Scottish application, notice and plan procedure. The Board will check validity, consult and notify the prescribed persons, consider relevant representations and decide the application under the correct statutory test.

The approved plan forms part of the premises control. It should be accurate, legible, drawn to the prescribed scale and show the matters required by the Gambling Act 2005 (Premises Licences and Provisional Statements) (Scotland) Regulations 2007. Early discussion is available for a complex proposal; the statutory application and evidence determine the outcome.

3.2 Meaning of premises, separation and access

Section 152 allows one premises licence for the same premises. Genuinely separate parts of a building may form different premises where their boundaries, access, management and operation establish real separation.

The Board will test the substance of any subdivision, the clarity of entrances and exits, customer movement, accountability and the protection of children from adult-only areas. The approved plan and operating arrangements should make each licensed premises readily identifiable.

3.3 Location and objective linked controls

Location is relevant where the facts connect it to a licensing objective. The Board will examine actual routes, entrances, visibility, hours, adjacent uses, transport, footfall and the operator’s controls. A nearby school, youth facility, treatment service, supported housing, money-advice service, homelessness service or other sensitive use identifies a question for evidence and site assessment; the statutory test and the full facts determine the answer.

3.4 Casinos and section 166

Section 166 allows the Board to resolve that it will not issue casino premises licences. The resolution applies generally to new casino premises licences throughout North Ayrshire. It must state its effective date and lasts for three years unless revoked earlier.

The no-casino resolution published in the Board’s 2019–2022 Statement has expired. No section 166 resolution is currently in force.

Section 166 resolution

North Ayrshire Licensing Board resolves, under section 166(1) of the Gambling Act 2005, not to issue casino premises licences. This resolution applies generally to the issue of casino premises licences throughout North Ayrshire.

Effective date: [insert the date fixed by the Board]

Expiry date: [insert the date three years after the effective date]

The resolution expires at the end of the three-year period unless the Board revokes it earlier by a further resolution.

A section 166 resolution affects new casino premises licences. It does not affect a casino premises licence issued before the resolution takes effect, a casino provisional statement already in force or the preserved rights protected by the Act. Other gambling premises and permissions remain subject to their own statutory regimes.

3.5 Bingo premises

Children and young persons may enter some bingo premises, while adult gambling and adult-only machine areas remain restricted by law. The Board will examine entrances, segregation, sightlines, supervision, age verification, the visibility and location of adult machines and arrangements for mixed-age or family attendance. Premises-specific evidence will determine whether any additional control is required.

3.6 Betting premises and tracks

For betting premises, relevant matters may include sightlines, access, age verification, self-service betting terminals, customer interaction, exterior congregation, cash and security arrangements and the relationship between staff positions and the customer area. Premises-specific evidence will determine whether measures such as CCTV, door supervision or staffing controls are needed.

Track applications require clear allocation of responsibilities because the premises licence holder may differ from the betting operator and children may attend the wider venue. The applicant should show betting areas, structures, access controls, machine locations, operator responsibilities, event-day management and the separation and supervision of adult-only facilities. Occasional use notices cover only the betting and days authorised by Part 9.

3.7 Adult gaming centres

Children and young persons are excluded from adult gaming centres. The Board will consider entrances, visibility from the staff area, age-verification arrangements, machine layout, customer interaction, self-exclusion and any premises-specific vulnerability or crime/disorder evidence. It will distinguish adult-gaming-centre controls from those appropriate to a family entertainment centre.

3.8 Licensed family entertainment centres

A licensed FEC may contain category-D machines and a separate adult-only area with specified adult machines. The Board will focus on physical separation, access, signage, sightlines and supervision. The operator should show how children are kept from the adult-only area and how gambling-harm information and customer support fit the family setting.

3.9 Provisional statements

A person may seek a provisional statement for premises expected to be constructed or altered, whether or not planning permission has already been granted. The application should provide enough detail to assess the intended gambling use, plan, access, location and controls. The Act governs the later premises-licence stage and the significance of any difference between the completed premises and the proposal considered.

3.10 Variations, transfers and reinstatement

Each application has its own statutory test and procedure. A variation should identify the exact operational and plan changes and their effect on the objectives and local risk assessment. A transfer or reinstatement focuses on the matters assigned to that procedure; any separate regulatory concern will be addressed through the power that applies to it.

3.11 Reviews

The Board may initiate a premises-licence review. A responsible authority or interested party may apply for a review under section 197. The Board will first apply the statutory admissibility rules, then determine an admitted review fairly on current evidence.

The decision will identify the proved or admitted facts, their connection to the objectives or statutory requirements, remedial action and current residual risk. The Act allows outcomes ranging from taking no action to modifying conditions, suspending the licence or revoking it. The reasons will explain why the selected outcome is necessary and proportionate.

Part 4 - Temporary and occasional use

4.1 Temporary use notices

A temporary use notice permits specified gambling use of premises for a limited period under Part 9. The notice must satisfy the Act, prescribed form, timing and operating-licence requirements. The Board will scrutinise the nature and scale of the event, the definition and suitability of the premises, cumulative statutory day limits, access, children and vulnerable persons, crime/disorder, and whether the notice is being used to avoid the premises-licensing regime.

The Board and the other persons identified in Part 9 may give an objection notice or counter-notice. The statutory procedure governs any hearing, modification, endorsement and appeal; each temporary use notice is decided under the Part 9 test that applies to it.

4.2 Occasional use notices

An occasional use notice concerns betting on a track on a limited number of days. The Board will require the place to be a track within the Act, will monitor the statutory day limit and will guard against repeated notices being used for ordinary betting-office activity or to evade an appropriate premises licence. Notice requirements, copy recipients and Commission guidance will be applied as current at the event date.

Part 5 - Permits, notifications and lotteries

5.1 General approach

Each permit, notification and registration has its own eligibility, consultation, refusal, lapse, renewal and appeal provisions. The Board will apply the test, procedure and powers assigned to that permission. Conditions will be used only where the Act or the applicable Scottish Regulations authorise them.

5.2 Unlicensed family entertainment centre permits

Schedule 10 provides for category-D machines in an unlicensed FEC. The Board may grant or refuse a permit after consulting Police Scotland and considering the Guidance, the licensing objectives and the suitability of the applicant and premises. The Schedule supplies the notice and hearing safeguards and the complete permit scheme, which carries no power for individual conditions.

Relevant information includes the applicant’s integrity and competence; layout and supervision; control of access to higher-category machines; staff training; signage; safeguarding; maintenance and compliance history. The Board will request risk information proportionate to this permit and the statutory questions before it.

5.3 Alcohol-licensed premises gaming machines

Qualifying on-sales premises may notify the Board of the automatic entitlement to two category-C or D gaming machines under section 282. The Act sets the notification and fee requirements and the circumstances in which the Board may remove the entitlement. More than two machines require a permit under the Scottish regime, which replaces the automatic entitlement.

The Board will consider the objectives, Guidance, premises type, alcohol-licence context, machine location and supervision, age controls, compliance and the number requested. The Licensed Premises Gaming Machine Permits (Scotland) Regulations 2007 (SSI 2007/505) supply the Scottish procedure and define the controls available to the Board.

5.4 Club gaming and club machine permits

The Club Gaming and Club Machine Permits (Scotland) Regulations 2007 (SSI 2007/504) supply the Scottish permit regime. The Board will verify the club’s statutory status, membership and operation, consult as required and consider objections and compliance. It will use the fast-track procedure for an eligible club-premises-certificate holder and keep the authorised gaming within the statutory entitlements.

5.5 Prize gaming permits

The Board may grant or refuse a prize-gaming permit under Schedule 14, applying the Guidance and licensing objectives and considering the applicant and proposed operation. It will follow the statutory notice and hearing safeguards. The statutory prize-gaming conditions form the complete condition scheme for the permit.

5.6 Travelling fairs

Category-D machines and equal-chance prize gaming may be provided at a qualifying travelling fair without a permit where the statutory conditions and time limits are met and gambling is no more than an ancillary amusement. The Board will consider the substance of the event, aggregation of days at the same premises and whether the fair definition is met. The fair operator remains responsible for lawful provision and protection of children.

5.7 Small society lotteries

The Board registers qualifying small-society lotteries and receives statutory returns. It will apply the Part 11 and Schedule 11 requirements, including society purpose, proceeds and limits, external lottery manager licensing where relevant, and the statutory grounds for refusal or revocation. Societies exceeding the small-lottery limits require the appropriate Commission operating licence. The Board will keep and publish the register as required and will share concerns with the Commission.

Part 6 - Statutory parties, compliance and challenge

6.1 Responsible authorities — section 157

Responsible authorities are the bodies specified by section 157 as it applies in Scotland. They receive prescribed notices and may make representations or apply for a premises-licence review where the Act permits. The Board remains the decision-maker. Current service details are in Appendix B.

The responsible authorities are:

• the Gambling Commission;
• the Chief Constable of the Police Service of Scotland;
• the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service;
• the local planning authority;
• North Ayrshire Council as the relevant authority under section 6 of the Police and Fire Reform (Scotland) Act 2012;
• the authority responsible for pollution to the environment or harm to human health;
• the body designated in writing under section 157(h) to advise on protecting children from harm;
• HM Revenue and Customs; and
• any other person prescribed by regulations.

For a premises licence concerning a vessel, section 211 adds the navigation and environmental authorities specified there.

Section 157(h): the child-protection responsible authority

The Board’s body designated in writing under section 157(h) is North Ayrshire Child Protection Committee. Its statutory contact is given in Appendix B.

North Ayrshire Child Protection Committee is the local multi-agency partnership that coordinates how public bodies and partner organisations work together to protect children and keep them safe. It brings safeguarding expertise and an area-wide view; it does not decide gambling applications.

The designation reflects:

• remit across the whole North Ayrshire licensing area;
• knowledge of child protection, exploitation and local safeguarding arrangements;
• ability to coordinate relevant partner evidence and advice; and
• a stable contact route for statutory notices and casework.

The Committee receives the notices prescribed by the Act, may make relevant representations, may apply for a review and may provide safeguarding evidence or advice. The Board determines each application or review on the evidence and statutory test.

6.2 Interested parties — section 158

A person is an interested party if, in the Board’s opinion, the person lives sufficiently close to be likely to be affected by the authorised activities, has business interests that might be affected, or represents someone in either category. This is a fact-sensitive jurisdictional decision, separate from whether the representation ultimately justifies action.

The Board will assess standing by the nature and scale of the premises and gambling, distance and actual routes, opening pattern, likely effect, the location of the person’s home or business and any representative authority. Elected representatives and community councils may represent constituents or communities within their remit, subject to evidence of representation and the rules on member conflicts and participation.

6.3 Information exchange

The Board will exchange information with the Commission under sections 29 and 30 and with persons listed in Schedule 6 under section 350 where lawful and necessary. It will apply the Act, UK GDPR, Data Protection Act 2018, confidentiality, human-rights, freedom-of-information and law-enforcement-data requirements as relevant. Information will be accurate, adequate, relevant, no more than necessary, shared securely and retained in accordance with the applicable schedule.

Published material will protect sensitive personal information and small-number data through lawful redaction and aggregation. Decisions will balance open justice and statutory transparency with privacy, confidentiality and the protection of individuals.

6.4 Inspection, compliance and enforcement

The Board will use the inspection and entry powers available in Scotland under Part 15, the Act and current Guidance. Activity will be intelligence-led and risk-based, with priority informed by the seriousness and likelihood of harm, compliance history, complaints, changes at the premises and partner intelligence. Routine engagement and advice may resolve minor or technical issues; serious, repeated, deliberate or unremedied non-compliance may justify review or referral. Intervention will be transparent, consistent, accountable, targeted and proportionate. The Board will coordinate with the Commission, Police Scotland and other regulators, respect the limits of each remit and avoid duplicate demands. Test purchasing or age-verification work will be planned and conducted lawfully and safely.

6.5 Prosecution in Scotland

Section 346(3) removes the section 346 prosecution power from licensing authorities in Scotland. Evidence of a suspected offence may be preserved and referred to Police Scotland, the Procurator Fiscal, the Gambling Commission or another competent authority. The Board may separately use the regulatory powers available to it, including a premises-licence review. Regulatory action will use the applicable civil standard of proof and a fair procedure.

6.6 Delegation

Functions will be exercised under the Act and the Board’s current Scheme of Delegation. Sections 154 and 155 reserve specified functions to the Board, including policy and casino-resolution decisions, and limit officer involvement in reviews. The published Scheme identifies the allocation in force at the time of the decision.

6.7 Complaints

A complaint about premises should first be raised with the operator where that is safe and practical. Licensing may investigate matters within the Board’s remit and refer operating-licence, advertising, remote-gambling, criminal or other regulatory concerns to the competent body. A complaint provides information for assessment; the Board will test the evidence and ordinarily give the subject a fair opportunity to respond before determinative action, subject to lawful urgent measures and protection of confidential sources.

6.8 Appeals and judicial review

The Act provides statutory appeal rights for specified decisions. A premises-licence appeal under sections 206 and 207 is generally to the sheriff within whose sheriffdom the premises are wholly or partly situated and generally must be lodged within 21 days of receipt of notice. Other permits and notices have their own routes and time limits. The decision notice will identify the applicable route where required; parties should obtain independent advice immediately.

Judicial review in the Court of Session is supervisory and is not ordinarily a substitute for an adequate statutory appeal. The Board will reduce challenge risk by acting within power, following fair procedure, taking relevant matters into account, excluding irrelevant matters, applying policy without fettering discretion, reaching a rational and proportionate decision, and giving adequate reasons.

Part 7 - Implementation and public information

7.1 Keeping the Statement and LAP current

The Board will prepare the next Statement for the statutory period beginning on 31 January 2028 and may revise this Statement earlier where legislation, Commission codes or Guidance, local evidence or operational experience materially changes the policy required. A substantive revision will follow the statutory process.

Licensing will check the LAP’s register, map and principal sources periodically and when material local circumstances change. A factual update will carry a new version date. A change to the way the Board identifies or uses risk will be handled as a policy revision.

7.2 Contact and accessible formats

Licensing, Legal Services, North Ayrshire Council, Cunninghame House, Irvine KA12 8EE

• Telephone: 01294 310000
• Email: licensing@north-ayrshire.gov.uk

The Board will make the Statement, LAP, statutory notice, current responsible-authority contacts and application information available online. Alternative formats and reasonable communication support can be requested from Licensing.

North Ayrshire Licensing bodies and contact information.

Appendix A - Legislation, regulations and guidance

Use this table to move from the policy topic to the official source. Check the current version and any amendments in force on the date of the decision.

Appendix B - Responsible authorities and service details

Use the service details below for notices required by the Act. A notice must use the prescribed form and be served within the statutory time limit. Contact Licensing before serving a notice for a vessel or where the correct authority is uncertain.

Appendix C - Consultation directory

This directory uses organisational contacts rather than named individuals. It is not a closed list. Licensing may correct a contact route without changing the policy.