New UK PM Moves to Scrap the Gambling Duty He Lobbied Against

Burnham Aims to Dismantle Gambling Duty

Downing Street announced on Aug. 11, three weeks after Burnham assumed office, that the government intends to revoke the Gambling Act’s “aim to permit” rule, which it described as restricting councils’ ability to refuse new betting shops and 24-hour slot machine shops even where there are strong local concerns.

The repeal would apply across Great Britain. Separately, and in England only, vape shops and adult gaming centers would require planning permission: vape shops moving out of Class E into a standalone category subject to consultation. For the first time, adult gaming centers would be defined as standalone – since, unlike betting shops, arcades and casinos, they are not currently named in planning law at all. Maximum closure orders would double from six months to 12. Ministers say the measures should take effect from the start of next year.

The story revolves around section 153 of the Gambling Act 2005, which requires a licensing authority to aim to permit the use of premises for gambling. The duty applies only insofar as permission is consistent with the Act’s licensing objectives. In the regulator’s own guidance to licensing authorities, the duty binds the Commission as well as councils, and requires both to moderate gambling’s impact through their powers, rather than setting out to prevent it altogether. It covers England, Wales, and Scotland but not Northern Ireland, which has separate arrangements.

Burnham has a history with the affair: Brent Council coordinated a coalition of local authorities whose six-point plan explicitly called for an end to the statutory duty in September 2025, which he signed back when he served as mayor of Greater Manchester.

His predecessor’s government told Parliament in November that it had no plans to review the provision. The legislative body created gambling impact assessments in April, but the provision change has never been commenced.

Now, the industry is contesting the intended revocation. Joseph Cullis of the British Amusement Catering Trade Association (Bacta) said in a statement issued the morning after the announcement that “the Government’s announcement associates responsible, licensed AGCs with illegal and criminal businesses. This is totally inaccurate.

Bacta members operate in one of the most tightly regulated sectors on the high street, uphold rigorous standards of social responsibility and make an important contribution to local employment, investment and economic activity,” Cullis said the trade body would “push back in the strongest possible terms,” and expects a six-week consultation with changes potentially taking effect in early 2027.

Downing Street blamed high streets “hollowed out by the unchecked spread of vape stores, betting shops, and rogue businesses,” citing analysis from the Centre for Social Justice that Britain lost nearly 1,800 pubs and bars while vape and tobacco shops grew to almost 2,200 between 2016 and 2026. The Gambling Commission’s most recent quarterly statistics recorded 181 fewer licensed premises and 262 fewer betting shops than in the 2023-24 financial year.

Where displaced activity lands is the open question. The Office for Budget Responsibility estimated in November 2025 that recent tax changes alone would push roughly $677 million (£500 million) in additional gambling activity to the black market.

Estimates of the unlicensed market’s size vary by an order of magnitude depending on what is counted: figures cited by the Betting and Gaming Council put it at $22.5 billion (£16.6 billion) in total activity for 2025, while measures of unlicensed operators’ share of the online market alone run far lower. The BGC has made the same channelization argument against affordability checks earlier this year.