Adult gaming centres are set to feel the wrath of UK political pressure as local councils look to shift regulation around the sector.
It comes as Wigan Council was the latest authority to lend its weight to the adjust to change the “aim to permit” laws, which ease the application process for gambling venues, describing AGCs as “robbing the poor to pay the overseas rich”.
Deputy Leader of Wigan Council, Keith Cuncliffe, stated: “More than 50% of these applications for adult gaming centres 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.”
Scrutiny of the “Aim to Permit” laws, implemented in 2007, has been led by Labour MP Dawn Butler, who has been the vocal leader of the Take Back Control of Our High Streets campaign – advocating for greater control over the placement of gambling venues by local authorities.
“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,” Butler told the House of Commons earlier this month.
“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.”
Supporters for change demand more control to reject licence applications and consider local debt in planning decisions. As part of his demands, Councillor Cuncliffe called for more weight to be placed on a cumulative impact assessment, as well as greater pressure put on applicants to demonstrate there is a need and demand for new venues.
“Flooding these areas with yet more gaming centres does nothing to support regeneration, aspiration or community well-being,” added Councillor Yvonne Klieve, who seconded the motion.
“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.”
Nonetheless, UK Gambling Commission, the number of AGCs in the UK has actually decreased in the last 12 months, reducing from 1,451 to 1,415 in the last financial year – mirroring a wider decline of the UK’s retail sector, as the overall number of retail premises decreased by 1.1% in the financial year.
Supporters of the sector, including from within Butler and Cuncliffe’s Labour party, argue that gambling venues provide much-needed jobs and footfall to a UK high street that has been displaying strong signs of decline in recent years.