The London Borough of Brent is teaming up with the Social Market Foundation, Britain’s leading cross-party think tank, to explore how to empower local authorities to understand and tackle gambling-related harm on Britain’s high streets.
Today's announcement follows a series of recent media stories covering the rise of Adult Gaming Centres and the harm caused by 24/7 access to slots premises.
Recent media stories have highlighted how the current legislation for Adult Gaming Centres is not fit for purpose, with a BBC investigation showing how gambling operators circumnavigate the rules and raising questions about regulatory oversight from the Gambling Commission. Brent Council has commissioned the Social Market Foundation to carry out a full review of the current rules and regulations, with a view to making proposals for change.
Adult Gaming Centres are casino-type sites with slot machines and other gambling games. They typically cluster poorer areas across the UK, with recent analysis by The Guardian showing that a third of premises are located in the poorest 10% of neighbourhoods.
When last surveyed, almost three quarters of the British public (73%) suggested that they would not want a betting shop on their ideal high-street. The London Borough of Brent has some of the most income deprived areas in England, with the median household income in Stonebridge ward at £37,977 – significantly below the London average of £59,000. In nearby Harlesden, there are a cluster of seven gambling premises within a short walk of one another, as well as over a dozen more on a short stretch of Wembley High Road.
This clustering is opening the door to more residents stepping into a cycle of addiction and financial ruin, as set out in the council’s Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (JSNA) into Gambling Harms.
Over the past few months, Brent Council has rallied local leaders across the country - including the Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham - behind its campaign to remove the "Aim to Permit," rule, which currently makes it hard for councils and residents to refuse gambling license applications.
Brent Council will be working alongside the Social Market Foundation to argue for the removal of the "Aim to Permit" rule – making the case for change to the existing Gambling Act to the new government, under a new vision for our town centres and high streets.
By drawing on the expertise of the Social Market Foundation to turbocharge Brent's calls for change, this project sets out to dispel the myth that gambling premises, including Adult Gaming Centres, support economic growth locally. It will also pinpoint what changes are needed to give local leaders the powers they need to put public health first, and prevent further harm to some of the most vulnerable people in our society.
Cllr Muhammed Butt, Leader of Brent Council said:
“For too long, the house has always won – with big businesses extracting ever more profit from our high streets, while furthering financial addiction amongst their players.
"Local leaders representing over 12 million people up and down the country agree with Brent that our high streets can do so much better than betting shops and bookmakers.
"Together with SMF we will set out the case for changes which put power back in the hands of communities and break the cycle of this gambling epidemic”.
