Structure of the Act
24.The Act is set out as follows:
	Part 1, and Schedules 1 and 2 introduce the fundamental concepts used in the Act, including definitions for “gambling”, “betting”, “gaming”, “lottery” “casino”, “remote gambling” and “licensing authorities”. Part 1 also makes provision for situations where activities may fall into more than one category of gambling, and ensures that the forms of gambling regulated by the Act do not generally include entering a lottery forming part of the National Lottery. Schedule 3 makes amendments to the National Lottery etc. Act 1993.
	Part 2, and Schedules 4 and 5 establish the Gambling Commission, define its powers and give effect to the transfer from the Gaming Board of Great Britain. The core powers and duties of the Commission are set out, including its consultation obligations.
	Part 3 sets out the general offences, including two key offences: the unlawful provision of facilities for gambling and the unlawful use of premises for gambling. Part 3 also makes provision for the prohibition of “chain gifting schemes”, a revised offence of cheating, and provisions on the manufacture of gambling software.
	Part 4 establishes a number of specific offences that involve the participation of children and young people in gambling, their employment in relation to gambling and their entry to premises licensed to provide gambling.
	Part 5 and Schedule 7 concern operating licences issued by the Commission. This Part establishes:The different types of licence and the rules relating to them;The conditions which may be attached to them;The required procedure for applying for them;The requirements as to their duration and validity; andA review procedure, including powers to revoke licenses and impose financial penalties.
	Part 5 also provides powers for the raising of a levy on operating licence holders.
	Part 6 concerns personal licences issued by the Commission. It defines the circumstances in which the Commission can impose requirements upon a person to hold a personal licence, and the procedures and rules relating to personal licences.
	Part 7 and Schedule 8 create a tribunal to hear appeals from decisions taken by the Commission and provide the relevant powers and procedures for bringing an appeal. It includes powers to be exercised by the Lord Chancellor.
	Part 8 concerns premises licences issued by licensing authorities. This Part describes the functions of licensing authorities, the various types of premises licence and the procedures for application. It sets out powers for licensing authorities and the Secretary of State or Scottish Ministers to attach conditions to licences. There are provisions on the duration, transfer and review of licences, and the mechanisms by which appeals can be made.
	Part 8 also contains provisions for determining limits on the number of casino premises licences which may be granted under the Act. Schedule 9 makes provision for dealing with applications where such limits are in place.
	Part 9 provides a procedure for authorising the temporary use of non-gambling premises for gambling. Licensing authorities are responsible for these authorisations, which are time limited.
	Part 10 and Schedule 10 provide a new framework of regulation for gaming machines. There is power for the Secretary of State to prescribe categories of machine, by reference to the levels of charge and prize, the nature of the prize or the gambling, and the premises where the machine is to be located. Manufacture and supply of a gaming machine will require an operating licence from the Commission, and making a gaming machine available for use without the necessary permission is an offence.
	Part 11 and Schedule 11 establish a new regime for lotteries, which is based upon, but revises the regime set out in the Lotteries and Amusements Act 1976. Part 5 also contains provisions for licensing lotteries. A new category of lawful lottery, the customer lottery, is created in Schedule 11. There are a number of new rules concerning the operation and promotion of lotteries.
	Part 12 and Schedule 12 establish a new regime for gambling in clubs and miners’ welfare institutes, developed from the regime in the Gaming Act 1968. It makes provision for the grant of permits by licensing authorities where gaming exceeds certain levels or where it involves the provision of gaming machines. There is also a requirement for bingo operating licences to be obtained, where the size of the bingo games played exceeds a specified threshold.
	Part 12 and Schedule 13 make provision for gaming and gaming machines in premises holding an alcohol licence. Part 12 is also concerned with the use of gaming machines at travelling fairs.
	Part 13 and Schedule 14 make provision for prize gaming which is to be permitted in certain locations, subject to specific rules.
	Part 14 and Schedule 15 make provision for private and non-commercial gambling, which the Act authorises without any requirement for further permission.
	Part 15 deals with the inspection rights and powers that are needed by the police, Commission enforcement officers, and local authority officers so that they can carry out their functions under the Act. Safeguards are afforded to those who may be the subject of inspection.
	Part 16 provides a new regime for the advertising of gambling, replacing a number of provisions spread across different pieces of legislation, which the Act repeals. It creates new offences relating to the advertising of unlawful and foreign gambling, and provides powers for the Secretary of State to make regulations controlling the advertising of gambling.
	Part 17 makes new provision for contracts relating to gambling. It repeals a number of statutes, dating from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, which prevented gambling contracts from being enforceable at law. It also makes provision for contracts relating to bets to be made void in circumstances where the Commission believes the bet was unfair, in particular as a result of misuse of information or cheating.
	Part 18 provides an interpretation section and a number of general provisions applicable to the Act as a whole. Part 18 and Schedule 6 also provide powers for the Commission to exchange information with other bodies in the exercise of their functions.
	Part 18 and Schedule 18 give the Secretary of State power to make regulations to provide for the transition from the old regime for gambling regulation to the new regime established by the Act.
	Schedules 16 and 17 provide for consequential amendments to other legislation and for repeals as a result of the Act.