The number of betting shops in the town centre has struck fear into Wiganers with one self-confessed gambler calling it a ‘disgrace’.
There are now eight gambling spots in the heart of the borough’s centre after a BoyleSports opened last year to replace a coffee shop which was once a bank. It comes after a Health and Wellbeing Board meeting in Manchester highlighted a correlation between areas of deprivation and betting shop locations.
There are fears that with Christmas around the corner, the cost of living crisis raging and the temptation of gambling that the World Cup brings - there could be vulnerable people and families that lose out. Local Dennis Ashcroft said: “I think it’s a disgrace because mums and dads are going into betting shops and they can’t give to their children if they waste money betting.
