The UK government will hand local councils control over betting shop and adult gaming centre openings under a package of planning reforms that will also cover vape retailers.
The changes scrap the 'aim to permit' presumption for bookmakers and adult gaming centres. AGCs in England will require planning permission to operate around the clock. Vape shops will also need approval before opening.
Prime minister Andy Burnham called betting shops 'dodgy businesses' and said Westminster had 'stood aside for too long while our high streets have gone downhill'.
The Betting and Gaming Council backed greater local say but rejected the framing of unchecked proliferation. Betting shop numbers have fallen by more than a third since 2019, with around 3,000 closures and over 15,000 jobs lost. The sector now supports 37,500 positions and delivers £4 billion in tax.
Betsmart consultant Kirsty Caldwell criticised the comparison between licensed bookmakers and vape shops. She said the industry invests millions in regulation and consumer protection, and that licensed shops have been part of British high streets since the 1960s.
The reforms follow a wave of closures. Betfred announced 132 shop closures and more than 600 redundancies in August, citing the rise in Remote Gambling Duty. Evoke shut 200 William Hill shops in April for the same reason. Ladbrokes reduced its Irish estate after sale talks collapsed.
