There still is an increasing political drive to reform the legal framework for adult gaming centers (AGCs). Wigan Council is the latest local government to join other authorities and demand the change of “aim to permit” rules that facilitate the establishment of gambling venues. The council described AGCs as “robbing the poor to pay the overseas rich.”
Deputy Leader of Wigan Council, Keith Cuncliffe, who put forward a motion to give councils more power to block applications, said:
More than 50% of these applications for adult gaming centers are in the most deprived areas in the country. It’s people in more deprived areas trying to improve their income, to win money. Research says that people in deprived areas are more than twice as likely to become addicted to gambling. What we need is to give local authorities much more control over these facilities.
Labor MP Dawn Butler has been at the forefront of the examination of the Aim to Permit rules, which came into effect in 2007. She is the vocal leader of the Take Back Control of Our High Streets campaign that pleads for local authorities to have more power to decide on the situation of gambling venues.
Earlier this month Butler told the House of Commons:
It’s not right. I come with thousands of written complaints from my constituents who want action on the number of gambling venues. But it’s still not enough because of the Aim-to-Permit law. Let’s be clear, they don’t help high streets. They set up knowing other shops don’t want to be there, because these establishments entice people with free food and drink, teas and coffee. There is no point in having a coffee shop when it’s being given away for free next door.
Those in favor of reform are advocating for greater powers to reject license applications and to consider the local indebtedness when making planning decisions. Councilor Cuncliffe has also called for the cumulative impact assessments to be given more weight and that the applicants have to demonstrate the need and demand for new venues.
Councilor Yvonne Klieve, who seconded the motion said:
Flooding these areas with yet more gaming centers does nothing to support regeneration, aspiration or community well-being,” added “These companies are not local enterprises reinvesting in our borough. They are large overseas operators making billions in profit, and they do so by preying on the most vulnerable people in our society.
Some of the major adult gaming center chains in the UK are Admiral that is part of the Austrian group Novomatic and Merkur and Cashino, both of which are owned by the German Gauselmann group.
The UK Gambling Commission reports that the number of adult gaming centers in the UK has decreased over the past 12 months, falling from 1, 451 to 1, 415 in the last financial year. This is in line with a general decline in the UK retail sector, where the total number of retail premises dropped by 1.1 percent during the same period. Those who back the industry, including members of Butler and Cuncliffes Labor party, claim that gambling venues provide crucial jobs and attract foot traffic to UK high streets, which have been showing very clear signs of decline in the past few years.
Mary Glindon, Labor MP for Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend, said:
Betting itself is a lawful leisure activity enjoyed by millions of people every month. The vast majority do so safely and responsibly, within a framework that is among the most tightly regulated of any consumer-facing industry. That context is important when we consider how betting shops are treated by the government.
The extent to which the Aim to Permit rules might be applied could be a major feature of political arguments leading up to May’s local elections. However, councils might soon benefit from the government’s Pride in Place initiative, a community-led regeneration program backed by the central government.
The programme encompasses steps for the cumulative impact assessments as stated by Cuncliffe, thus permitting local authorities to make decisions on premises licenses backed by data, particularly in areas that are vulnerable to gambling-related harm.
The proposal states: “This will empower local authorities to better shape their high streets and neighborhoods, and to ensure a healthy mix of premises in their town and city centers.”
Recently, UK Gambling Commission announced some changes in the rules concerning the removal of gaming machines that are not compliant from the premises.
From 29 July, any non, compliant gaming machines shall be removed from premises without delay if the UK Gambling Commission finds that the manufacture, supply, installation, adaptation, maintenance, or repair of the machines was not covered by a technical operating license or the machines didn’t meet other necessary standards
The new regulation is part of the overall implementation of the proposals that have been set out in the Gambling Act Review White Paper of 2023.
