Citation, commencement and interpretation

1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Gambling Act 2005 (Gaming in Clubs) Regulations 2007 and shall come into force on 1st August 2007.

(2) In these Regulations “the Act” means the Gambling Act 2005.

(3) A reference in these Regulations to a numbered paragraph is a reference to that paragraph of Schedule 12 to the Act so numbered.

Members’ clubs and commercial clubs

2.  Bridge and whist are prescribed for the purposes of sections 266(2)(a) and 267(2)(a) of the Act (which provide that a club is respectively a members’ club or commercial club if it is established or conducted wholly or mainly to provide facilities for gaming of a prescribed kind, but for no other kind of gaming).

Fast-track procedure

3.  Bridge and whist are prescribed for the purposes of paragraphs 10(3)(a) and (b) (which enable licensing authorities to refuse applications to which paragraph 10 applies, if the applicant is established or conducted to provide either gaming other than gaming of the prescribed kinds, or gaming of the prescribed kinds and also gaming of another kind).

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations prescribe the kinds of gaming for which a club may be established or conducted to provide facilities, in order to be a members’ club or a commercial club despite sections 266(1)(a) and 267(1)(a) of the Gambling Act 2005 (the Act).

By virtue of sections 266(1) and 267(1) of the Act, a club which is established or conducted wholly or mainly for the purposes of providing facilities for gaming does not qualify as a members’ club or a commercial club under the Act, unless the gaming is of a kind which has been prescribed by the Secretary of State.

Regulation 2 prescribes bridge and whist as the kinds of gaming for which a club may be established or conducted to provide facilities for playing, and still be a members’ club or a commercial club despite sections 266(1)(a) and 267(1)(a) of the Act.

Paragraph 10 of Schedule 12 to the Act provides a fast-track application procedure for applying for club gaming and club machine permits where the applicant is the holder of a club premises certificate under section 72 of the Licensing Act 2003 (c. 17). Paragraph 10(3) of Schedule 12 to the Act requires licensing authorities to grant such applications unless they think the conditions in sub-paragraphs (3)(a), (3)(b) or (3)(c) apply.

Under sub-paragraph 3(a), an authority does not have to grant an application made under paragraph 10, if it thinks that the applicant is established or conducted wholly or mainly for the purposes of the provision of facilities for gaming, other than gaming of a prescribed kind: both bridge and whist are prescribed in regulation 3 for this purpose.

Under sub-paragraph 3(b), an authority does not have to grant an application made under paragraph 10, if it thinks that the applicant is established or conducted wholly or mainly for the purposes of the provision of facilities for gaming of a prescribed kind and also provides facilities for gaming of another kind: again, both bridge and whist are prescribed in Regulation 3 for this purpose.

A full Regulatory Impact Assessment of the costs and benefits of these Regulations is available from the Gaming and Lotteries Team, Department for Culture, Media and Sport, 2-4 Cockspur Street, London SW1Y 5DH, telephone 020 7211 6022.