Prime Minister Keir Starmer is facing growing pressure to abolish an outdated law that prevents communities from stopping the spread of betting shops and 24-hour slot-machine venues on Britain’s high streets.
In a letter sent to Downing Street, nearly 300 politicians and campaigners called for the removal of the so-called “aim to permit” rule, introduced under Tony Blair’s Labour government in 2005 as part of the liberalisation of gambling laws.
The policy requires licensing authorities to favour approval of new gambling premises unless there are strong reasons to refuse.
Labour MP Dawn Butler, who coordinated the letter, said the rule has left councils powerless to reject licence applications, even when local residents strongly oppose them. She warned that high streets were being hollowed out by a growing concentration of betting shops and round-the-clock slot-machine venues, often in economically deprived areas.
Although the government has pledged to give councils more influence by allowing them to consider cumulative impact assessments, which take account of how many gambling outlets already operate in an area, signatories said the measures do not go far enough.
The letter was signed by 280 people, including 46 MPs, members of the House of Lords, councillors and gambling-reform campaigners. They argued that the issue was not about banning gambling but about protecting vulnerable residents and giving local authorities real decision-making power.
The Betting & Gaming Council defended the industry, highlighting jobs, tax revenue and high-street spending generated by betting shops, while noting that their numbers have fallen sharply in recent years.
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