High streets in Britain are increasingly dominated by gambling establishments rather than traditional shops like butchers and bakers. A campaign for urgent reform of gambling laws has been launched, advocating for local authorities to gain more power to address the issue. The Gambling Act 2005 facilitates the growth of these establishments while local objections are often ignored. The call for raising the gambling tax is emphasized as a way to generate significant revenue. Deleting the clause that permits gambling establishments could empower local residents and reduce their proliferation.
Walking down their local high streets, people in Britain are increasingly unlikely to come across a local butcher, baker or grocery shop, and more likely to find betting shops, casinos, adult gaming centres (AGC) and so-called bingo venues, where traditional bingo is muscled out by money-sapping slot machines.
Ministers must give local authorities and people greater power to tackle this issue and reclaim our high streets. Currently, billionaire-owned overseas corporations have too much power, and local people have none.
As Gordon Brown, a former Labour chancellor and prime minister, recently pointed out, it is now an under-taxed industry. With a modest increase we could raise 3bn a year.
If we deleted the aim to permit clause, the views of local residents and MPs would carry more weight, and that would result in fewer gambling shops.
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