The chief executive of Entain, the FTSE 100 group behind Ladbrokes and Coral, has said traditional betting shops should not be grouped with adult gaming centres under government plans to scrap the Gambling Act’s “aim to permit” rule, announced by the prime minister on Tuesday 11 August.
Stella David said the government needed to “be very careful not to bundle our great traditional betting shops” with adult gaming centres, which she said have a “very different style and tone”.
Andy Burnham said this week that he would give local councils the power to block gambling, gaming and vaping shops, pledging to bring high streets “back to life”. Under the measures announced by Downing Street, the government intends to revoke the aim to permit rule, which restricts the ability of councils to refuse new betting shops and 24-hour slot machine shops even where there are strong local concerns.
Adult gaming centres, which are adult-only venues offering up to 24-hour access to gambling machines, will also require planning permission under proposals due to come into effect at the start of next year.
Adult gaming centres have expanded across the country in recent years while traditional high street bookmakers have continued to decline. The number of adult gaming centres, which offer high-stakes gaming machines such as digital slot and fruit machines, rose 7 per cent to 1,451 between 2022 and 2024, according to Gambling Commission data.
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