Edgware Adult Gaming Centre Eyes Bingo Hall Licence
An operator is asking Barnet Council to turn an adult gaming centre on Burnt Oak Broadway in Edgware into a bingo hall. Silvertime Amusements Limited has applied to change the licence for 116 Burnt Oak Broadway, HA8 0BB, from an adult gaming centre to bingo, according to a notice carried by the Watford Observer on November 6, 2026.
The notice says the existing licence would have to be surrendered before the bingo licence could take effect. It gives no reason for the switch, and Barnet Council has not published a hearing date in the material reviewed. People living nearby, or businesses that could be affected, can make representations to the borough as the licensing authority.
The application is made under section 159 of the Gambling Act 2005, and a separate public notice lists the applicant's address as 48-50 High Street, Watford.
Silvertime is not new to the sector. The Gambling Commission's public register shows the company holds an active non-remote bingo operating licence, issued on March 9, 2016, alongside a licence for adult gaming centres that dates back to January 1, 2009. The register also lists other premises run by the company, including sites in Wembley and north-west London.
A conversion from one premises licence type to another is a different exercise from opening a new venue, because the unit already trades as a gambling premises. Even so, neighbours get the same chance to object, and the licensing sub-committee must weigh any valid representations against the licensing objectives of preventing crime, keeping gambling fair and protecting children and vulnerable people.
Nothing in the published notice says whether the opening hours, machine numbers or layout would change. Those details sit in the application itself, which the notice says can be viewed through Barnet's licensing team.
Casino Games Hub
The bid lands in a town already at the centre of the local gambling debate. Barnet's licensing sub-committee was due to meet on November 3 to consider a new adult gaming centre at 226 Station Road, as we covered in our report on the Barnet ruling on the Edgware adult gaming centre licence. That application drew objections from the council's public health team and a local resident.
Two weeks before that hearing, Barnet's Full Council passed an administration motion declaring a gambling harms emergency.
The motion argues that gambling harm should be treated as a serious public health emergency and that councils should have power to refuse additional premises where residents do not want them. It also calls for every lawful tool to be used against the over-concentration of gambling premises.
Legal Backdrop
The legal backdrop is also moving. The Government has said it intends to scrap the Gambling Act duty known as aim to permit, which currently nudges councils towards granting applications, and our piece on the high streets strategy confirming the aim to permit scrap explains the plan.
No consultation outcome has changed the rules yet, so Barnet must still decide the Burnt Oak Broadway application under the existing framework. If you want to play bingo from home instead, our UK bingo sites guide covers licensed options.
