High Streets Strategy Confirms Plan To Scrap Gambling Act 'Aim To Permit' Rule
The UK Government has confirmed in its new High Streets Strategy that it plans to remove the 'aim to permit' principle from gambling licensing, giving councils more room to refuse new betting shops and adult gaming centres. The strategy, titled Hope on the High Street, was published on October 28 alongside the Budget.
The move is subject to consultation. It builds on earlier announcements, including the Written Statement of September 2, and matters to anyone tracking UK betting and the future of high street gambling premises.
What The Strategy Says On Gambling
The document says the principle has constrained councils' ability to refuse new gambling premises, and that removing it will give greater weight to local concerns in licensing decisions.
It sets this against complaints from councils, MPs and residents about gambling premises clustering on high streets, particularly adult gaming centres, in areas already facing economic and social challenges.
Adult gaming centres offer up to 24-hour access to gambling machines such as slots and fruit machines, and the Government's August announcement said planning permission for them was due to come into effect at the start of next year.
The strategy also cites an access statistic. Outside London, 76% of households can reach a vape shop or gambling shop within 20 minutes, compared with 83% who can reach a GP in the same time.
Gambling Impact Assessments Arrive In November
The strategy says Gambling Impact Assessments come into force in November. They will let licensing authorities weigh local evidence such as crime, deprivation, antisocial behavior, public health data and the concentration of existing premises when assessing new gambling businesses. Councils will also be able to designate areas where 'aim to permit' no longer applies.
Separately, the Government will consult on planning changes so that new adult gaming centres need planning permission and cannot concentrate in communities without local consent.
The strategy lists the plan to revoke the rule alongside Gambling Impact Assessments among its actions for the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.
Casino Games Hub
Business Rates And Licensing Changes
The Budget also confirms that adult gaming centres, along with vape shops, will lose eligibility for the retail, hospitality and leisure business rates multipliers from April 2027, according to the Commons statement on the strategy. Vape shops will also lose small business rates relief.
On licensing more broadly, the strategy says the Government will explore how the system can better support growth and investment while upholding the licensing objectives, including considering putting the National Licensing Policy Framework on a statutory footing.
The Institute of Licensing told Parliament earlier this month that removing 'aim to permit' could create regulatory uncertainty. It said the change should only be considered alongside a clear and nationally consistent decision-making framework, while recognizing the intention to give councils greater discretion.
With the policy still subject to consultation, the detail of how councils will use their new powers, and how operators will respond, remains to be set out.
