Councillors urge PM to end rule blocking betting shop controls

Hundreds of councillors have backed calls to scrap an ‘outdated’ rule that limits councils’ ability to prevent betting shops from opening on local high streets.

In a letter to Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Labour MP Dawn Butler urges the Government to take ‘immediate action’ to remove the Aim to Permit principle from the Gambling Act 2005.

The principle places a legal duty on licensing authorities, including local councils, to favour the approval of new gambling premises unless there are clear grounds to refuse them. Critics argue this significantly restricts councils’ ability to respond to local concerns about the social impact of gambling.

The letter, signed by 280 politicians and campaigners from across the political spectrum, says the rule ‘ties the hands’ of local authorities and forces them to grant licences ‘regardless of clear social harm or strong local opposition’.

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