Stop concentration of betting shops on high streets, say local authorities
Author: Randeep Ramesh, The Guardian |
More than a quarter of all local authorities in England have joined forces to use the coalition’s ?localism? legislation to block the clustering of betting shops on high streets that offer ?unregulated casino-style gambling?.
Ninety-three local authorities ? spanning Conservative, Labour and Lib Dem control ? have demanded, under the Sustainable Communities act, that ministers consider reducing the maximum stakes on betting shop gaming machines, also known as fixed-odds betting terminals (FOBTs), from 100 a spin to 2.
The act forces ministers to consider the request and even if they reject it, the government will then have to engage in talks with an appointed go-between, in this case the Local Government Association, to agree a compromise.