"Mickey-taking" gambling companies slapped down by Council (Islington Liberal Democrats)

Islington Liberal Democrats <Islington_ld@cix.co.uk>

"Mickey-taking" gambling companies slapped down by Council

October 21, 2008 10:31 AM

Councillors Ursula Woolley and Tracy Ismail

Liberal Democrat councillors in the north of the borough have accused gambling companies of 'taking the Mickey' by exploiting loopholes to get around gambling and licensing laws.

Gambling bosses planned to divide the two arcades at Agora Gaming Centre, Holloway Road and City Cash Casino, Junction Road into smaller units and call each part separate premises to avoid statutory limits on gaming machine numbers.

The Council's licensing committee today considered Agora's application to split the Holloway Road gaming centre and open each unit as a new arcade with a separate door and a new name. But the Council slapped the plans down and refused the new licence application.

Councillor Tracy Ismail, Liberal Democrat Chair of the Licensing Committee, said:

"Agora are going totally against the spirit of the Gambling Act. They just want to bypass the regulations on high-stakes slot machines. As these machines let people lose the most money in the shortest time, we felt that increasing the number threefold would be putting vulnerable people at more risk."

Councillor Ursula Woolley, Liberal Democrat councillor for Junction Ward, where the next application will be heard, welcomed the Committee's decision, and commented:

"These gambling companies are blatantly trying to exploit a big loophole in the law. This Labour Government's lax gambling laws foisted these arcades on our high streets, and this new ruse is going to things worse locally.

"What's the point in having so-called rules if there are big easy loopholes for these unscrupulous gambling companies to use anyway?

"Gambling bosses are taking the Mickey. I'm calling on all residents of Archway to write to the licensing committee by the deadline on the 31st of October complaining about these attempts to subvert the spirit of the law."

The 2005 Gambling Act places limits on the amount of high-stakes machines each arcade can have - so by splitting an arcade in three the gaming companies hope to triple their number of machines and income.
The decision on the Agora Gaming Centre at 496 Holloway Road was taken by the Council's Licensing Sub-Committee C on 20th October. The committee refused the application, arguing that it was against the spirit of the Gambling Act; the gambling company is expected to appeal.
A decision on Junction Road City Cash Casino, 53 Junction Road, is provisionally set for 17th November. The deadline for objections is 31st October.