A new policy from Camden council could introduce tighter licensing conditions on casino venues in the borough’s most deprived areas in order to help residents at risk of harm from gambling.
The council currently believes there are at least 600 residents gambling at harmful levels, with a further 5,000 at risk of gambling-related harm from 45 licensed venues.
And Camden’s Gambling Policy, which is open to public feedback for the next three months, could force venues in certain areas to have extra security and restricted opening hours.
The council has flagged specific areas as being at the “highest risk of vulnerability to gambling-related harm” due to a range of factors including transport interchanges, student populations, homelessness and deprivation, reports the Camden New Journal.
Areas flagged include Camden Town, Bloomsbury, Kilburn, the Euston-King’s Cross-St Pancras ‘corridor’ and parts of both Gospel Oak and Kentish Town.
The new policy would not put an outright block on new casinos or slot venues opening up in these areas, though any new business could face tighter restrictions.
“Interestingly, there has been a shift from physical gambling premises to online gambling sites, which is outside our scope, and that accounts for some of the reduction in the number of complaints related to Camden,” said licensing manager William Sasu when presenting a report to the Town Hall last month.
The public consulation on the policy runs until Sunday 25 October.
Camden council’s action comes in the same month that Prime Minister Andy Burnham announced plans to restrict the spread of betting and vape shops, with the government proposing reforms to the Gambling Act 2005’s ‘aim to permit’ rule.
