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This Council
notes:
 

Gambling addiction is a growing
national issue with serious social and economic implications.
According to Public Health England, the estimated annual cost to
society now exceeds £1 billion.

 

Gambling harms extend far beyond the
individual, affecting families, public services, and communities
and particularly affect areas of socio-economic deprivation.

 

Many local authorities are now
witnessing a concerning proliferation of betting shops, adult
gaming centres, and casinos along their high streets and are
effectively powerless to stop it due to outdated legislation.

 

Section 153 of the Gambling Act 2005
enshrines the ‘Aim to Permit’ principle, which requires
councils to approve gambling licenses where minimum criteria are
met, regardless of local community opposition or concerns over
public health, crime, or social impact.

 

The surge in online gambling and the
widespread nature of gambling advertisements across the sporting
world has only deepened these harms and normalised gambling in
everyday life.

 

At the Budget last week, the
Chancellor raised the remote gaming duty, levied on online casinos,
from 21% to 40% and noted that this increase was among measures to
fund the end of the two-child benefit cap.

 

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 Government’s Men’s
Health Strategy recognises the health consequences of gambling
harms and the need for a public health approach to tackling
gambling harms.

 
 
We believe that:
 

For too long, the house has always
won – with the gambling industry extracting ever more profit
from our high streets, while leading to serious financial addiction
amongst individuals and families.

 

Waltham Forest Council is proud of
and ambitious for its great places, high streets and
neighbourhoods, supported by rigorous licensing and enforcement on
our high streets.

 

Our ambition is thwarted by the
current legal licensing regime for betting shops, bookmakers and
adult gaming centres which makes it extremely difficult to refuse a
gambling license.

 
 
 
This Council
resolves to:
 

Join the growing coalition of over
40 other local authorities, led by Brent Council, that have now
written to the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
calling for urgent reforms to tackle the harms caused by gambling
and to restore decision-making powers to local authorities.

 

Support the Social Market
Foundation’s Six Recommendations for Gambling Reform, which
call on Government to:

 
1.   
Grant greater licensing powers to local authorities, including the
ability to carry out cumulative impact assessments for gambling
premises.
2.   
Include Directors of Public Health in the gambling licensing
process, just as they are for alcohol licensing, ensuring public
health is at the heart of local decision-making.
3.   
Review the current premises licence classifications, particularly
where Adult Gaming Centres operate under bingo licences, to close
loopholes.
4.   
Increase the cap on annual licence fees for gambling premises from
£1,000 to at least £2,000 and require annual reviews so
that fees reflect the true cost of enforcement and regulation.
5.   
Clarify the balance of responsibilities between local authorities
and the Gambling Commission on enforcement and inspection, ensuring
accountability and local capacity.
6.   
Review and ultimately remove the ‘Aim to Permit’ rule
from the Gambling Act, restoring genuine local democratic control
over gambling premises.
 

Write to the Secretary of State for
Culture, Media and Sport, the Secretary of State for Health and
Social Care, and other relevant government departments expressing
our full support for these proposals and urging immediate
legislative reform.

 

Join and promote the Coalition to
End Gambling Ads (CEGA) and support the campaign to end gambling
advertising across the Transport for London network.

 

Work with our anchor institutions
and raise awareness of gambling harms.

 

Local health and voluntary sector
partners to raise awareness of gambling harms and signpost
residents to gambling addiction support and education
initiatives.

 

Use our new Local Plan to assess
proposals for new betting shops with regards to existing clusters,
proximity to areas of deprivation, health impacts and implications
for community safety, crime and anti-social behaviour.

 

Support the key recommendations of
the cross-party Greater London Authority’s Health
Committee’s report on Gambling related harms in London.