Last week the UK’s Gambling Commission published its Annual Report and Accounts 2008-9, covering its activity for the first full year of the Gambling Act since it came into force on 1 September 2007. The Commission comments that time and effort were spent on developing understanding of the interpretation and practical implications of the 2005 Act, making sure the gambling industry understands the need to comply with the licensing objectives but recognising the real challenges faced by the industry from the worldwide economic recession.

The Commission's Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice (LCCP) were revised, which sets out the regulatory framework within which licensed operators must provide facilities for gambling. The new edition of LCCP came into force on 1 January 2009. A total of 520 operating licences were issued during the year (most were small operator licences or converted lottery licences) of which the majority went to betting operators, gaming machine suppliers and society lotteries. As at 31 March 2009, a total of 4,166 operating licences were active.

Some other major achievements during the year included: significant progress made in implementing the Commission’s risk based approach to compliance and enforcement - as acknowledged by the Hampton Implementation Review; its recommendations on research, education and treatment accepted and the new color="#666666" size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"> Responsible Gambling Strategy Board set up; a revised Guidance to Licensing Authorities published which reflected Commission experiences in applying the Gambling Act to date; and the completion of streamlining the organisation to improve its efficiency as a regulator.

The many issues the Commission has looked at over the year include primary gambling activity, house lotteries, whether bingo machines are in fact gaming machines, betting in pubs, and betting integrity particularly in sports betting. A separate publication has been produced alongside the report and accounts 2008/09 to cover gambling statistics for the year 1 April 2008 to 31 March 2009. This includes basic information on each industry sector - betting, bingo, casinos, gaming machines and arcades, lotteries and remote gambling – and will be published shortly. (E-07.22.09)

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