The council has been carrying out the latest three-year review of its Statement of Gambling Principles, which sets out Lambeth’s policy for dealing with applications and regulating gambling premises within the borough. Lambeth asked residents for their views on proposed changes through a borough-wide consultation exercise at the end of last year.
Lambeth’s Cabinet Member for Safer Communities, Cllr Mahamed Hashi said the proposed statutory update would strengthen protections for residents – while ensuring the council was acting within its legal powers under the Gambling Act 2005.
“The refresh reflects consultation feedback and places greater emphasis on reducing gambling-related harm, particularly for vulnerable groups,” Cllr Hashi said, in a written response to a question tabled at Lambeth’s Full Council meeting on Wednesday [21 January].
“We are reviewing the definition of vulnerability so licensing decisions better reflect real-world risks faced by groups such as young adults, people with mental health conditions, and those experiencing debt or homelessness.”
Cllr Hashi said the council was also:
- reinforcing the “Local Area Profile”, including through revised Gambling Vulnerability Zones and a reduced number of gambling clusters, so applications could be assessed with clearer local context.
- looking to embed public health evidence on gambling harm in the policy.
- improving joint working between regulatory services and public health organisations, to scrutinise new applications and variations more effectively.
The council’s draft updated policy does not include a blanket ban on casinos in the borough as – regardless of council policy – the UK Gambling Commission does not permit new casinos in London, and would require legislative changes to allow any change to this position.
The Commission’s guidance to local councils states that “considerations such as moral or ethical objections to gambling are not a valid reason to reject applications for premises licences”. It added: “An authority’s decision cannot be based on dislike of gambling.”
Cllr Hashi said Lambeth was pursuing a dual approach – maximising harm reduction within existing legal powers, while actively seeking national reform, including through participation in a London-wide working group focused on reform of the “aim to permit” principle, and strengthening local discretion.
He added: “We know the harm that gambling can do, and we are committed to continuing our tough approach to regulating the industry in our borough. It is vital that we use all the powers available to us to ensure that all our residents – particularly the most vulnerable – are protected.
“We are concentrating on protections that can be strengthened, within existing legislation – while working with other London councils to press for wider changes to the legislative framework that currently governs the gambling industry.”
