Why must licensing authorities submit regular returns? It is a requirement under the Gambling Act 2005 (the Act) that licensing authorities submit annual information regarding gambling activities licensed and inspection and compliance work. This data is an essential source of information and can assist us in improving our work as risk-based regulators. The return covers two key activities. The first is the gambling activity that you license, for example as a permit. The second activity is detail of your inspection and compliance work. We use all of this information as a part of our duty to inform government regarding the regulation and incidence of gambling in Great Britain. The information requested also forms a part of the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) Single Data List for local authorities. When must licensing authorities submit returns? Each year’s annual return covers the period 1 April – 31 March and should be returned no later than 30 June of that year. What happens next? The information supplied to us will contribute to the final report which has Official Statistics status. We analyse and publish the information in our industry statistics on our website and we also provide a short report and an accompanying Excel spreadsheet which enables comparison between licensing authorities across Great Britain. Please note that the Passcode will only work with a registered user email address. The Passcode is specific to your LA not to an individual so multiple email addresses can be registered per LA, but we would encourage you to register your licensing@ email address, if you have not already done so. Guidance on completing licensing authority returns and a glossary of terms used are available on our website (opens in new tab)