Draft Gambling Policy 2027-2030

Overview

Welcome to Lewisham Council’s consultation on the draft Gambling Policy (2027-2030). Every three years the Council must publish a gambling policy setting out the principles we will apply when exercising our licensing functions under the Gambling Act, 2005 (The Act).  

The Gambling Policy plays a vital role in managing the risk of gambling-related harm in Lewisham and regulating gambling activity to lessen the risk of such harm and is a legal requirement for all licensing authorities. The Council is the licensing authority in Lewisham for the purposes of premises-based licensing activity under the Act.  

The Act has three licensing objectives:  

• 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 

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

What is being proposed?

We are proposing the following changes to the Gambling Policy for 2027-2030. In the Gambling Policy we aim to provide a clearer connection between evidence and decisions and place particular emphasis on the protection of children and vulnerable people: 

• Emphasis on protecting children and vulnerable people: The proposed Policy will have greater emphasis on how we consider the protection of children and vulnerable people in our assessments of gambling operations. We will expect operators in our area to consider the protection of children and vulnerable people when they assess and address local risk. 

• A stronger local evidence base with the creation of the Local Area Profile: Alongside the policy, we are developing a Local Area Profile [link] to bring together information about Lewisham’s population. In our Local Area Profile, we highlight potential vulnerabilities (related to gambling harm), where gambling premises are and other relevant local intelligence (crimes stats and ASB). Input from Council services and partners (police, public health) will help us interpret that evidence and identify and address any gaps. 

• Clearer expectations for operators: We will be clear about how gambling operators should use local information when assessing risks associated with their premises. We will also expect them to use local information when telling us how they will address any identified risk.  

The overall effect of these proposed changes mean that evidence can inform applications, operators’ risk assessments and the Council’s scrutiny of the measures proposed.

How to get involved

We’re keen to hear from anyone who is interested or affected by our proposed Gambling Policy (2027-2030). You can do this by completing our consultation questionnaire. 

Ahead of completing the questionnaire, we’d ask that you read the following documents so your responses are informed: 

• The draft Gambling Policy (2027-2030), Also known as the Statement of Principles
• Draft Local Area Profile
• Summary of Changes
• Gambling Policy FAQ
• The previous Gambling Policy

You can complete the questionnaire online. Alternatively, you can go to the following places to collect a paper copy of the questionnaire with a return envelope: 

• Lewisham Council Reception, Laurence House, 1 Catford Road, London, SE6 4RU 

• Catford Library, 23-24 Winslade Way, Catford Centre, SE6 4JU 

• The Library at Deptford Lounge, Library, Deptford Lounge, 9 Giffin St, London, SE8 4RH 

• Downham Library, 7–9 Moorside Road, Bromley, BR1 5EP 

A downloadable Word version of the questionnaire is available on this webpage. You can complete this by hand or on Word and send it back to either: 

• licensing@lewisham.gov.uk or 

• Licensing, Safer Communities Laurence House, 1 Catford Road, London, SE6 4RU 

This consultation closes at midnight on Sunday 8 November. Please ensure paper copies are received ahead of the consultation closing.