Islington set to introduce gambling "saturation zones"

Islington in London are looking at introducing gambling 'saturation zones' in order to protedct children and vulnerable memebers of society from the lure of high roller gambling.

The amount of betting establishments, mainly "adult gaming centres" offering jackpots up to £500 have increased by 75% in the borough in the last 12 months. This rise is in stark comparison to the 5% rise nationally.

The new Islington council licensing committee has vowed to "tighten up" the rules in regards to new establishments opening.

Councillor Barry Edwards, who sits on the panel, said: "It's a tightening up of the policy. We're talking with our licensing officers and looking at what other authorities have done when they've gone down this road.

"It's tricky because we need to look if the evidence exists. If we said 'we're not going to have anymore gambling arcades in Islington' the first person who took us to court [and won] would set a precedent."