Councils across the UK are putting pressure on the Government to tighten regulations on the exposure of betting estates and gambling venues within local communities.
Yesterday, ITV News broadcast a report by UK Politics correspondent Shehab Khan, who highlighted “concerns over the number of slot machines and betting shops opening on high streets”.
NEW: 38 councils and mayors, including Andy Burnham, have written to the government saying they are powerless to stop new betting/slot machine shops opening up on their high streets.
— Shehab Khan ITV (@ShehabKhan) April 3, 2025
Councils argue that local communities are being overwhelmed by “24-hour slot shops”, as British high streets are now host to over 200,000 B3 gaming machines.
According to the report, 36 councils and two mayors, representing over 12 million people, have signed a letter calling for changes to the Gambling Act to address the overlooked community-level concerns about gambling harms.
As a result, a coalition of councils and mayors has urged the Government to implement immediate changes to the Gambling Review, ensuring that local authorities have the power to prevent the concentration of gambling and betting premises.
Urgent reform
The letter, authored by Muhammed Butt, Leader of Brent Council, is addressed to DCMS Secretary Lisa Nandy:
“Communities like Brent are experiencing a surge of land-based gambling operators spreading along our high streets, seemingly targeting areas of higher deprivation to maximise profits. The alarming concentration of these premises often faces strong community opposition, as well as concerns from public health and community safety officials.
“But despite this shared opposition among residents, police, and politicians, councils have found themselves effectively powerless to intervene. The current statutory ‘Aim to Permit’ duty severely restricts a council’s ability to block the opening of additional gambling venues, even when the community is unequivocally against it.”
The coalition, which counts the support of high-profile leaders such as Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham, describes current community control on gambling as “inadequate” to prevent the increasing presence of gambling premises.
Among the proposed reforms from the councillors to be added to the Gambling Review include a complete ban on gambling advertising, promotion and sponsorship, the strengthening of local authority control, which would allow councils to reject licence applications that may harm community safety and the consideration of local debt in planning decisions.
Additionally, they call for the reclassification of gaming venues to treat bingo halls and adult gaming centres the same as bookmakers in planning policies, an independent levy administration and the halting of the liberalisation of rules surrounding gaming centres.
The letter concluded: “The communities we serve are experiencing the detrimental impacts of the proliferation of gambling venues. To be clear, we are not calling for an outright ban on gambling in any form; rather, we are offering our collective support for much-needed reform of the legislation to suit the modern age.”
Future reforms and conflicting interests
The call for council interventions may conflict with the remaining reforms of the Gambling Review, which aim to modernise laws governing land-based gambling.
The Gambling Review White Paper, yet to be finalised, seeks to provide a new framework for land-based operators to manage their venues. Proposed changes include updating the 1968 Casino Act to allow up to 80 gaming machines (depending on the venue’s size).
DCMS plans to remove the ban on direct debit card use on gaming machines and revise the ratio of higher to lower stake machines in bingo venues and gaming halls. These changes aim to better meet customer demand while reducing energy costs.
The government asserts that these measures are part of a broader effort to update gambling regulations to better reflect the current landscape while ensuring adequate protections.