Political pressure to modify the legislation governing the location of adult gaming centers (AGCs) continues to build.
Wigan Council is the latest local body to back calls to reform the “aim to permit” legislation which make it easier for gambling venues to apply, with the council characterizing AGCs as “robbing the poor to pay the overseas rich”.
Keith Cuncliffe, Deputy Leader of Wigan Council who proposed a motion to give councils more power to deny applications, said: “More than 50% of these applications for adult gaming centers are in the most deprived areas in the country. It is people in more poor places seeking to better their income, to win money.
“Research shows that those in deprived areas are more than twice as likely to develop an addiction to gambling. “We need to give local authorities a lot more control of these facilities.
Labor MP Dawn Butler, who has been the outspoken leader of the Take Back Control of Our High Streets campaign – calling for greater local authority control over the location of gaming venues – has been critical of the ‘Aim to Permit’ regulations brought in in 2007.
“It ain’t right. I came with thousands of written complaints from my constituents who want action on the number of gambling venues. But it’s not enough with the Aim-to-Permit law,” Butler told the House of Commons earlier this month.
“Let’s be clear, they’re not good for high streets. They set up knowing other shops don't want to be there, because these places draw customers in with free food and drink, teas and coffee. Why have a coffee business if it’s being given away for free next door. ”
Change supporters are asking for stronger powers to refuse licensing applications and for municipal debt to be taken into account in planning decisions. Councilor Cunliffe said he wanted to see more weight put on a cumulative effect assessment, as well as additional pressure on applicants to show there is a need and demand for new venues.
“Pumping more gaming centers into these areas does nothing to help regeneration, aspiration or community well-being,” said Councilor Yvonne Klieve, seconding the motion.
“These are not local businesses putting money back into our boro. They are big foreign operators making billions of dollars and they do it by preying on the most vulnerable people in our society.”
In the UK, Admiral (part of the Austrian Novomatic group), and Merkur and Cashino (part of the German Gauselmann group) are among of the most recognizable AGC brands.
The UK Gambling Commission says the number of AGCs in the UK has actually fallen in the last 12 months, from 1,451 to 1,415 in the last financial year – in line with a wider decline of the UK’s retail sector, as the overall number of retail premises fell by 1.1% in the financial year.
Supporters of the sector, including those in Butler and Cuncliffe’s Labor party, say that gambling outlets give much needed jobs and footfall to a UK high street that has been showing clear symptoms of decline in recent years.
Writing an opinion piece for the Betting and Gaming Council, Mary Glindon, Labor MP for Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend, said: "Betting itself is a legal leisure activity enjoyed by millions of people every month.
“The vast majority do this safely and responsibly, and within a framework that is one of the most tightly regulated of any consumer-facing industry. ‘It is crucial to have the backdrop when we look at how the government deals with betting shops.’
The scope of Aim to Permit could be a major factor in political arguments building up to May’s local elections. There could soon be a win for councils thanks to the government’s Pride in Place program, a government-backed community-led regeneration scheme.
Cuncliffe’s agenda includes provision for the cumulative effect studies to which he refers, enabling local authorities to “make data-driven decisions on premises licences, particularly in areas that have been identified as vulnerable to gambling-related harm”.
“This will allow local authorities to better shape their high streets and neighborhoods and to ensure a healthy mix of premises in their town and city centres,” the proposal says.
Gaming Machine Reform Bill
More recently, Tuesday (29 January), the UKGC announced additional restrictions that will see non-compliant gaming equipment removed from locations.
From 29 July any non-compliant machines will have to be immediately removed from premises if the UKGC finds the “manufacture, supply, installation, adaption, maintenance or repair of the machine was not carried out in reliance on a gaming machine technical operating licence, or did not comply with other standards”.
The new requirement is part of the wider roll-out of the plans outlined in the 2023 Gambling Act Review White Paper.
