Scrapping ‘aim to permit’ risks triggering further UK gambling reform

Experts have warned that the UK government’s recent decision to repeal the ‘aim to permit’ licensing rule for gambling premises will likely require new legislation to amend the 2005 Gambling Act, opening up the spectre of further reform.

The aim to permit rule guides councils to permit licensing approval for gambling premises so long as they have demonstrated adherence to Gambling Commission policy, guidance and licensing objectives.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham made the announcement on 11 August as part of a commitment to give councils more control over their high streets. Adult Gaming Centres (shops offering 24-hour access to gaming machines) are also now set to require planning permission as part of the plans.

Burnham announced the move alongside new restrictions on vape shops, rhetorically lumping them in with betting shops as “dodgy businesses,” a label that has sparked industry outcry.

Recipe for a Gambling Act overhaul?

Removing aim to permit from local authority licensing decisions, however, will not be straightforward, as the rule forms a foundational part of the UK’s 2005 Gambling Act.

“A fundamental change to an underlying principle of the act (one might say the fundamental principle) would need to be changed by primary legislation,” Andrew Lyman, Gibraltar’s Gambling Commissioner and a former director at the UK Gambling Commission, tells iGB.

Lyman suggests the government might be able to ‘fudge’ its way around this through changes to planning but this would be difficult to implement without creating legal conflicts and would likely lead to judicial review.

Louisa Clark, an independent licensing and compliance consultant and a former Gambling Commission compliance manager, also concludes there is little choice but to amend the Gambling Act through primary legislation.

“I don’t think that’s in any doubt really. Aim to permit is written directly into the Gambling Act itself. It can’t be overturned by making a ministerial announcement, changing local policy or Gambling Commission guidance.”

She notes that the details on what this looks like – whether it’s an overhaul of the Gambling Act, a new Act, or a bill which deals specifically with withdrawing aim to permit – remains to be seen in an upcoming consultation.

Difficulty on the horizon

For the industry, legislative changes to the Gambling Act could risk opening up a dangerous can of worms at a time when government attitudes towards gambling appear unsavoury.

In the wake of the aim to permit announcement, the Association of Directors of Public Health (ADPH), which represents public health directors across the UK, has already called for a new Gambling Act based on ‘public health principles’.

In a statement on LinkedIn welcoming the government’s move, ADPH said the step “must be matched by national action, including introducing a gambling advertising, promotion and sponsorship ban”.

Lyman notes that there is likely to be further pressure from campaigners and politicians to widen the debate on reform to other areas.

“Any change to primary legislation will result in a wider debate about government risk appetite and the general approach to gambling. Those calling for a new Gambling Act will agitate for that and what has been billed as a six-week consultation… will morph into a much longer policy process around changes to the Gambling Act and the role of the Gambling Commission.

“It’s possible that the idea of giving power back power to local communities… may open Pandora’s box leading to a long and tortuous road to a new Gambling Act.”

Future still up in the air

How the change plays out is not a foregone conclusion, however. The Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government will lead a fast-track consultation over the change, reportedly aiming for implementation by January 2027, though industry commentators have described this timeline as ambitious if primary legislation is required.

The current Gambling Act took several years from inception to implementation, meaning if a new or significantly amended act is on the cards it could be a long wait before anything concrete emerges, during which time priorities may change.

Experts have said the announcement appears to have preceded serious thought about how withdrawing aim to permit will work in practice.

“There’s going to be a consultation and that’s going to be the opportunity where we all talk about the implications of this,” Clark adds. “I think it’s more a political ambition at this point in time.”

She argues it is impossible to know how things will play out at this point, though it certainly gives campaigners an in.

“It’s definitely a possibility and an opportunity that they’re going to be exploring. There’s going to be lobbying, there’s going to be reformers who are going to seek to broaden this debate and make a much wider change than just removing aim to permit,” she says.

New act ‘not inevitable’

“But we don’t need to assume a new act is the inevitable consequence of what’s going on now. I just want to be really cautious about predicting the scope until we’ve seen the consultation, until we’ve seen a draft bill.

“We need to not confuse political rhetoric with what’s been settled legislatively because we just don’t know.”

Still, as a gathering storm of headwinds hit the UK’s retail sector, the spectre of further restrictions will keep executives up at night. One particularly troubling suggestion is the possibility, promoted by reform campaigners, that existing premise licenses could be in the firing line, not just new ones.

Lyman is unapologetic in warning this would be a mistake. “The idea that powers should be given to licensing authorities to revoke existing licenses for no good reason other than a moral and social standpoint on gambling is tantamount to anti-gambling zealotry, presents issues for the rule of law and demonstrates exactly why local council officials or members should not be given such powers.”