The Geography of Gambling Premises in Britain

The government is to introduce a bill later this year which will give local authorities extra powers to deny planning permission to betting shops. This will be represented as a courageous and socially aware action.

The state-funded Gambling Commission will protest about the loss of jobs and point out that betting outlets contribute to the community in many ways.

Some feel those protests may be half-hearted.

A report has been published called The Geography of Gambling Premises in Britain. It contains the single revelation that betting shops are more prevalent in poor urban areas than anywhere else.

There is nothing more. If you want to check you can read it here.

Despite appearances and a scholarly tone, the report contains no new information. All data used was pre-existing and supplied in collated form. There has been no research.

The report takes the view that gambling outlets are bad places which reduce the quality of life for those who live near them. If they were shut down, it implies, everything would be better. This study feels that the removal of William Hill would improve the high street.

Unlike authentic studies, it provides no evidence.

The brief is to deal fearlessly with the negative impact on the environment of gambling outlets.

There is, bizarrely, no reference to the elephant in the room. Every supermarket checkout and newsagents till in the land is now a gambling venue. Unlike bookies or casinos, these are brightly coloured and designed to attract children. Unlike bookies or casinos, they promote themselves with slogans like TEN MILLION MUST BE WON TONIGHT.

Children don’t pass these places at a distance, they throng around and in them. Mothers are harassed by their 4-year-olds to spend money gambling.

45 million people a year play the lottery. According to the compilers of The Geography of Gambling Premises in Britain this has no social impact worth recording. Every child in the country is regularly exposed to pictures of happy winners celebrating.

Are they the addicts of the future? This report doesn’t care.

It feels that passing by a Ladbrokes shop, with its opaque windows and policy of admitting nobody under 18, is damaging for school children. Direct frequent exposure to the most brutal publicity encouraging the buying of lottery tickets or scratch cards is not.

Who benefits from these curious conclusions?

More betting shops are closing now than opening. In order for this to continue it isn’t necessary to do anything. In a couple of years will the government point to those statistics and claim it was their policies that were responsible?

Doing something about the well-documented social problems caused by the National Lottery would be difficult and probably unpopular. In avoiding this challenge it may be helpful for those concerned to quote The Geography of Gambling Premises in Britain.

There is more to find out.