British amusement and gaming trade body Bacta has warned that it would consider a judicial review if the UK government allowed local authorities to revoke Adult Gaming Centre licences without specific wrongdoing.
The warning follows calls from gambling reform campaigner James Noyes for ministers to go further than removing the Gambling Act’s “aim to permit” principle.
The government has said it intends to remove the “aim to permit” clause, which requires councils to begin from a position of granting a licence where an applicant meets the licensing objectives.
Reform campaigners want councils to review existing gambling premises
The details of this replacement licensing model will be set out through consultation, with changes covering betting shops, bingo halls and slot arcades.
“Making it harder for new premises to open by scrapping the statutory ‘aim to permit’ is a major step forward. However, people are sick of the number of premises that are already on their high streets. The total number of existing vaping and gaming venues needs to go down, otherwise the problem identified by the Prime Minister will never be resolved,” Noyes wrote on X.
“The government must therefore ensure in its consultation that local authorities are given the option to review and revoke existing licences, and not just refuse new ones.”
Deputy research director Jamie Gollings said: “Councils know their high streets better than anyone, yet the ‘aim to permit’ rule has meant they’ve had very little real say over what opens on them.
“Our research made clear that these venues are proliferating in the poorest communities, are linked to anti-social behaviour, and often fail the basic tests of fairness and harm prevention set out in the Gambling Act itself.”
Bacta says revocation without wrongdoing would face legal challenge
Bacta president Joseph Cullis said judicial review would be seriously considered if licences could be revoked without evidence of wrongdoing.
“If they were to go down [the licence revocation] route, there is no doubt about it that JRs would come into play.
“You can’t take businesses from people that have been in an industry for decades. I’ve got staff that’s worked for me for 30-odd years. These people’s livelihoods rely upon my business.”
Legal experts question how far local authority powers should extend
Matt Zarb-Cousin told NEXT.io: “Removing ‘aim to permit’ means revoking the main liberalising principle of the 2005 Gambling Act: the assumption to grant licences and support the expansion and growth of the gambling industry.
“If done properly it will embolden licensing authorities and correct their power imbalance with the gambling industry, making it easier for them to refuse and revoke licences without successful legal challenge.”
Leigh Schelvis, licensing and regulatory solicitor at Schofield Sweeney, warned that revoking licences because too many gambling venues operate locally could be unfair.
Schelvis said from the operator perspective “licences should only be revoked for failure to promote the licensing objectives”.
“They’ve legally applied for their licence; they have been operating in promotion of the licensing objectives – to then just move towards licence revocations based solely on because of their nature as a gambling business – there is a risk the authorities could face formal action from the trade,” He added.
Consultation could redefine the balance of local gambling control
The major question is whether removing “aim to permit” will only make new licences harder to obtain or also allow councils to reduce existing gambling estates. Campaigners argue broader revocation powers are necessary if ministers want to reduce gambling visibility on high streets rather than simply slow future expansion.
Operators say retrospective action against compliant businesses would weaken regulatory certainty, threaten jobs and penalise companies that have operated legally for years. The consultation will need to define how far local discretion should extend, what evidence would justify intervention and what protections existing licence holders retain.
This distinction will determine whether the reform changes future licensing decisions or allows councils to reshape gambling estates already operating locally.
Removing “aim to permit” is one thing, but allowing councils to revoke existing licences without any specific breach would affect operator trust in the licensing system. Any reform that goes this far must be prosperity tested to avoid lengthy suits between local authorities and the retail sector.
Share
4 views
