The Licensing Application for an Adult Gaming Centre comes up at Committee on Thursday (10.30am at the Civic Centre - public can attend, not available on line). LINK
Brent Green Party have organised a community street protest meeting outside the premises at 1 Walm Lane (the former Lloyds Bank) tomorrow at 2pm to make the case against the granting of the licence. All are welcome to attend to make their voices heard.
Some of the 222 submissions will be read out.
Before the May council election the three Green Party candidates for Willesden Green ward made their views known in a submission to the Licensing Committee:
The Brent Green Party formally objects to the application for a new Adult Gaming Centre (AGC) at 1 Walm Lane. Our objection is centered on the failure of this application to promote the licensing objectives, specifically the protection of children and vulnerable persons, in the context of Brent’s acute socio-economic challenges.
After detailing their objection (available on the link above) they concluded:
The data is clear: Brent is home to some of the most income-deprived children in the United Kingdom. Placing a 24-hour gambling venue in the heart of such a community, supported by a flawed risk assessment that fails to even identify local schools, is an unacceptable risk to public safety and child welfare. No amount of internal staffing or CCTV can mitigate the "invisible harms" of debt, family breakdown, and poverty that will radiate from this premises into the surrounding streets. We urge the Licensing Committee to put the safety of Brent’s children above corporate expansion and refuse this licence.
Other councillors, the GLA member for Brent and Harrow and Dawn Butler and members of the public have also made representations.
Dawn Butler wrote:
We know already that these businesses have a propensity to cluster in poorer communities,
which are more susceptible to gambling harm due to the hope that a big win will help them out of their situation.
This is a strong community, and it is being blighted by these shops, whose owners hold the area in complete contempt and disregard.
I wrote to 7,000 households in Brent, to ask them for their own experiences of gambling and the betting shops in Brent. This was going to form a response to the Government’s Gambling Review, the response to my call for evidence has been stark:
97.5% were opposed to betting shops
80% questioned why more shops were being given permission
75% called for the number of stores to be limited
62.5% detailed experiences of anti-social behaviour in the locale of these shops
I have heard from families who’ve faced financial ruin because of gambling and from so many people for whom their daily lives are blighted by the associated anti-social behaviour, in particular street drinking and drugs, which circulate in close proximity to these gambling
establishments.
To conclude, I strongly urge all to reject this application. The people of Willesden deserve a
vibrant, diverse high street that supports the well-being of all residents, not another exploitative gambling venue that deepens existing harms.
The Interim Director of Public Health for Brent wrote (extract only - also available on the link above):
Brent is the fourth most deprived borough in London, with a younger-than-average population alongside high levels of ethnic diversity. Within Brent, Willesden also reports a higher than average prevalence of adults with severe mental illnesses (1.7% vs 1.2% Brent average). This demographic profile means Brent is home to a high concentration of groups known to have a greater risk of gambling-related harm. Evidence shows that these high-risk groups are much more likely to experience harm from gambling compared to their counterparts. For example:
• 21% of 18–24 year olds are classed as “at-risk” gamblers, compared to 10% of those aged 55–64
• 10.6% of people from minority ethnic groups are considered to be ‘problem gamblers’, compared with 3% of white groups
• Individuals who experience gambling harms are up to 15 times more likely to be at risk of suicide
Gambling venues are also known to be disproportionately clustered in areas of higher deprivation. This pattern applies both across Brent as a whole and within Willesden Green specifically. This is significant as research suggests a relationship between gambling behaviour and proximity to gambling venues. For example, studies have found:
• People living closer to gambling venues (less that 0.7km away) are twice as likely to be ‘problem gamblers’ than individuals living further away (more than 3.1km away)
• The likelihood of young people (aged 18-21) encountering gambling problems, as opposed to never gambling, increases by 39% for each additional form of gambling operator located with their local area
• Higher concentrations of gambling premises are associated with higher rates of ‘problem gambling’
• Those living in more deprived areas are more likely to gamble on faster-paced games such as scratch cards and slot machines - which are known to be more addictive.
The applicant’s own LARA identifies similar groups as vulnerable, supporting concerns that opening a further venue would do little to protect them from harm. It identifies numerous schools, colleges, medical centres, care homes, children’s play areas, hostels, foodbanks, and drug and alcohol support services, all within a mile radius of the proposed premises. It recognises that these groups are susceptible to out of control gambling, yet categories these risks as ‘low’. This assessment places disproportionate confidence in the proposed mitigation measures and significantly undermines confidence that the risks have been robustly or realistically evaluated.
In particular, the proposed controls rely heavily on staff to identify and respond to harmful gambling behaviours, yet the applicant proposes a minimum of only two staff members on site at any given time. Measures to mitigate harm also rely largely on signage and information available in-store, where there is no guarantee that individuals will take notice.
Public concern further reinforces these risks. Research indicates widespread anxiety about the impact of gambling venues on children and young people. The SMF report found that 44% of young people aged 14–17 agreed that the presence of gambling venues near their homes increases interest in gambling among their age group, while 27% reported knowing young people who had visited an AGC.
Finally, gambling is commonly described as a ‘hidden addiction’, as harmful behaviours often develop gradually without overt warning signs. Normalisation of gambling within everyday environments is therefore one of the most significant risk factors for harm, as it further obscures these early warning signs, minimising the idea that gambling can cause major harm, while increasing exposure for those who may be attempting recovery. Introducing an additional AGC in an area already saturated with gambling premises would further entrench this normalisation and intensify risk.
“You’ve got it in your face all the time – high road, on your phone, it’s everywhere. How do you overcome that when wherever you go, it’s right there, staring in your face?
