Gambling arcade campaigners press on

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merkur slots shop exteriorThe residents' group campaigning against the opening of a new Merkur Slots 24-hour gambling arcade will be meeting virtually on 18th March to discuss the way forward. They will be joined by councillors from Palmers Green ward, officers from the council's licensing team and, if he can make it, by Enfield Southgate MP Bambos Charalambous. Council leader Nesil Caliskan has also been invited, but to date has not responded. Written advice obtained by Bambos Charalambous appears to suggest that the granting of the license for the premises was entirely in order. The group is asking residents to write to the MP who is leading the cross-party review of the present Gambling Act 2005.

Answers to queries supplied

On Monday Bambos Charalambous wrote to Shirley Rose from the Stop the Slots campaign forwarding a response  received from Sue McDaid, Head of Regulatory Services & Corporate Health and Safety at Enfield Council, answering each of the points the MP had raised with the Council.  (The full text is reproduced below, but to summarise, it appears that the granting of the licence was in order.) The MP also attached some of the official documentation referred to in the response. Referring to item 3 in Sue McDaid's email, he said he hoped that it would be possible to establish at the meeting on 18th March at what stage residents are able to request a review of the licence. (An important question is whether they can only do so once the business has been operational for a certain length of time and there is evidence that it is causing problems, or whether a review can be requested before the arcade opens.)

Influencing the cross-party review of gambling laws

Carolyn Harris MP () is leading the cross party review of the present Gambling Act 2005. Stop the Slots are asking residents to write to her - the review finishes on 31st March so any messages to Ms Harris need to be sent soon. A template letter is reproduced below.

Dear Carolyn Harris.

I am extremely concerned that a 24hr Adult Gaming Centre is about to open in my local high street, in Palmers Green, Enfield, a London suburb. Despite massive opposition and a 4000+ signature petition, our council (which is also opposed) has little power to refuse, revoke or even review this license which is granted in perpetuity.

Please do all you can to insist that the current law is changed to give local authorities the power to limit the number of gambling premises in any area. Also to be able to take note of local objections when deciding whether to approve such a license.

The current law (Gambling Act 2005) is weighted far too heavily in favour of gambling organisations rather than the local authorities and residents who will be affected the increased Anti-Social Behaviour, the attraction of the venue to vulnerable people (including minors) and the negative impact of such an establishment on efforts to regenerate high streets in future.

The law must be changed as soon as possible to stop these 24hr slot machine arcades opening all over the country and particularly in our own area.

I hope you will agree this is a bad piece of legislation and do everything in your power to change it.

Yours

Stop the Slots suggest copying this to the following:

 

Email sent from Regulatory Services & Corporate Health to Bambos Charalambous MP on 15th March

Dear Bambos Charalambous MP

Thank you for your email of 23 February 2021, where you raise concerns in relation to the Merkur Slots bingo premises licence.

Responses to your questions are set out below:

1. Exactly what the requirements are for notices on premises and in newspapers and can it be confirmed whether these two limited forms of notification are considered to be adequate and compliant with the requirements of the Gambling Act?

Response: The advertising and consultation were undertaken correctly and in compliance with the requirements in the Gambling Act 2005. No allowances were made by the Government regarding extending or amplifying Licensing or Gambling Act consultations during the covid pandemic or national lockdowns. The requirements for advertising gambling licence applications are detailed in Section 160 of the Gambling Act 2005, and Regulation 6 of The Gambling Act 2005 (Premises Licences and Provisional Statements) Regulations 2007 requires the following:

(6) the applicant must publish notice of his application—

(a) in a local newspaper or, if there is none, a local newsletter, circular or similar document, circulating within the licensing authority’s area on at least one occasion during the period of ten working days starting with the day after the day on which the application is made to the authority; and
(b) by displaying a notice on the premises to which the application relates—

(i) in a place at which it can conveniently be read by members of the public from the exterior of the premises;
(ii) for a period of no less than 28 consecutive days starting on the day on which the application is made to the licensing authority.

These requirements were met in the advertising of the Merker Slots licence application. There is no requirement in the legislation above for the newspaper to be made available online or the extent of the circulation of the newspaper in the area. The notice that was displayed on the premises was in the format (content) prescribed in the Gambling Act 2005 (Premises Licences and Provisional Statements) Regulations 2007, and I have attached the prescribed format to the email. The requirements that are referred to about the notice being on blue paper and font size 16 relates to notices of premises licence applications made under the Licensing Act 2003 and not under the Gambling Act 2005 which does not prescribe this. The requirements in the Gambling Regulations are that notices are to be displayed for 28 days on the premises where they can be conveniently read by the public. Neither the format of the notice for the premises of the newspaper advert prescribes the size or colour of the notice, the font size or font type.

2. Whether the decisions made in relation to these premises be reviewed by Officers in the light of the concerns about the adequacy of the notification to the public?

Response: The application met the legislative advertising requirements, and therefore the licence application was valid and so the granting of the licence cannot be revisited.

3. Whether there is any formal process by which local residents can challenge the process which resulted in these decisions having been reached?

Response: Residents can request a review of the licence by the Licensing Committee. The review application should be based on how the premises does not meet the licensing objectives and/or the principles in section 153 of the Gambling Act. The review documents are attached.

4. What activities are a Bingo Premises Licence permits a business to undertake?

Response: Bingo facilities in a bingo premises may only be offered between the hours of 9am and midnight (including online bingo). A bingo premises licence provides automatic entitlement for gaming machines to be provided on the premises, and does not restrict the number of machines or timings of access to gaming machines. Therefore unless specified times are specified in the application form, the default position for gaming machines is 24 hours. This means that bingo can only take place between 9am and midnight but the gaming machines are allowed to be used 24 hours per day.

5. Whether there are any outstanding applications in relation to these premises?

Response: There are no outstanding licence applications in relation to this premises.

6. In relation to the consultation conducted by Enfield Council can you please urgently provide more details on the extent of the consultation including whether:
 

  • neighbouring local businesses were consulted;

    Response: No, this is not a legal requirement under the Gambling Act 2005. No representations (objections) were received.

    • those living near and opposite these premises, including in flats above commercial premises in Green Lanes, and who would be impacted by a 24 hour arcade were consulted?

    Response: No, this is not a legal requirement under the Gambling Act 2005. No representations (objections) were received.

    • business groups, local community groups or residents associations were notified?

    Response: No, this is not a legal requirement under the Gambling Act 2005. However, though not required the ward councillors were consulted. No representations (objections) were received.

    • the views of the police were sought given that a 24 hour arcade may reasonably be considered as a potential source of anti social behaviour and disturbance

    Response: the Police are a Responsible Authority, so are legally required to be consulted. In response to the consultation, both the Police and Licensing Authority made representations, namely seeking additional conditions be added to the licence to address their concerns, including conditions to control anti-social behaviour and disturbance. The applicant agreed all these additional conditions and so therefore both representations were withdrawn.

Reference is made in your enquiry about the application for planning permission. In terms of the consultation on the planning application, the Planning Service notified 27 neighbouring properties on 3 December 2020. One representation was received and their comments are summarised as follows:

• Already enough betting shops
• Doesn’t serve the community
• Encourages addictive habit
• Business won’t last due to Covid-19

Sue McDaid
 Head of Regulatory Services & Corporate Health and Safety
Environment & Operational Services
Place Directorate
Enfield Council

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Posts in discussion: Petitioners succeed in campaign for review of Merkur Slots gambling licence
PGC Webmaster posted a reply
#5939
20 Mar 2021 23:50
The campaign has succeeded in persuading Enfield Council to review the licence. The following update has been posted on the petition page .

{mp4}wendy_sands_merkur{/mp4}

We got a result!
Wendy Sands
London, ENG, United Kingdom

20 Mar 2021 —

Dear Supporters,

If you’re wondering why there’s been no update for a while, it’s because I’ve been involved in writing and encouraging others to write to MPs who may have some say in influencing decisions on gambling premises.

Our MP has been fact finding by asking questions of Enfield Council and of the House of Commons and is waiting for a reply to his letter to Oliver Dowden MP

I’ve also been meeting with others in the campaign group StopPGmerkurslots

And now…..

I’m very pleased to announce amazing news!

The campaign group met with local councillors this week also our MP Bambos Charalambous and we managed to get the premises license officers to agree to a review! This is what we have been petitioning for!

This means we have 4 weeks to gather evidence to support our case for rejecting an Adult Gaming Centre with a 24hr licence.

However, this will not be easy as the present Gambling Act 2005 is almost entirely in favour of gambling organisations and not the local communities who oppose them.

You might remember that Enfield’s council Leader, Nesil Caliskan, wrote to Palmers Green residents explaining how difficult it was to object to an application of this kind, because of the current law.

“Due to national law, councils do not have effective powers to limit the number of gambling premises in the area.”

To explain further here is an extract from a letter to constituents from Bambos Charalambous

The Gambling Commission is the national body which regulates gambling and issues licences to operators; their guidance to Local Authorities makes it clear that there is an “aim to permit” gambling premises and the Local Authority “should not comment on whether there is demand for gambling premises”.

The July 2020 House of Lords Committee report on gambling harm recommended increasing the powers of local authorities in relation to the growth of gambling premises. It noted that the “liberalisation of the regulation of gambling has led to an increased presence of gambling services on the high street” with the gambling industry driving that demand. I support their recommendation to increase the powers of Local Authorities to limit the growth of gambling premises in an area, for example on the basis of objections from the local community and considerations of the character of the locality, in line with the process for licensing premises for alcohol sale.

Local high streets have faced unprecedented challenges during the last year and communities want to see the economy in their local areas thrive again. I do not believe that a 24 hour Adult Gaming Centre will bring any positive benefits to the local economy. Giving Local Authorities the power to make decisions based on local needs is critical in ensuring gambling premises cannot dominate our high streets.

In December 2020 the Government stated that they would seek the views of licensing and local authorities on changes they would like to see to their powers through the Gambling Act Review.

The Gambling Act Review is open for submissions until midnight on 31 March 2021.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/review-of-the-gambling-act-2005-terms-of-reference-and-call-for-evidence/review-of-the-gambling-act-2005-terms-of-reference-and-call-for-evidence


Members of the public can make submissions to this Review, which will then be considered along with representations made by others, including the gambling industry.

Please see the below link for information on making a submission.

All submissions must be in document format (Word or PDF) which should be attached to an email and sent to:


This is your way of influencing a change in legislation to enable Local Authorities to take local issues into account when making decisions on gambling premises.

In addition to your own personal views on gambling which you wish to highlight to the review, you could also consider including some of the following key points:

When considering applications from gambling operators Local Authorities should have the power to consider what is good for the community as a whole, in line with the process for licensing of premises for the sale of alcohol;

Licensing and Local Authorities should have increased powers to refuse applications from gambling operators to open gambling premises and should be able to take into account:

· That an area already has a concentration of gambling premises;

· The general character of the location and the use of nearby buildings;

· Strength of opposition in the local community.

· That it is the role of locally and democratically elected Councillors to make decisions in the interests of the local community and local economy;

· The interests of gambling operators should not be the only significant factor in where gambling premises are located.

I have included this information to help you formulate a response to the gambling commission review and I urge you to do so NOW! Time is running out and we have little more than a week to let the government know we want the law changed.

Please note All submissions must be in document format (Word or PDF) which should be attached to an email and sent to:

I know I have asked you to write before but this is equally if not more important now as we may have a chance to change the law. I have included a template letter to help the process.

You should also write to Carolyn Harris MP

who is leading the cross party review of the present Gambling Act 2005 They will also feed into the Gambling commission review which finishes on the 31st March

A template letter is reproduced below.



Dear Carolyn Harris

I am extremely concerned that a 24hr Adult Gaming Centre is about to open in my local high street, in Palmers Green, Enfield, a London suburb. Despite massive opposition and a 4000+ signature petition, our council (which is also opposed) has little power to refuse, revoke or even review this license which is granted in perpetuity.

Please do all you can to insist that the current law is changed to give local authorities the power to limit the number of gambling premises in any area. Also to be able to take note of local objections when deciding whether to approve such a license.

The current law (Gambling Act 2005) is weighted far too heavily in favour of gambling organisations rather than the local authorities and residents who will be affected the increased Anti-Social Behaviour, the attraction of the venue to vulnerable people (including minors) and the negative impact of such an establishment on efforts to regenerate high streets in future.

The law must be changed as soon as possible to stop these 24hr slot machine arcades opening all over the country and particularly in our own area.

I hope you will agree this is a bad piece of legislation and do everything in your power to change it.
Yours

We have set up a Facebook page: Stop Palmers Green Merkur Slots and a twitter account @StopPGslots so you can leave comments and catch up with the latest news.

I and the rest of the campaign group are very, very grateful for all your signatures which not only helped to pressure the council into action but helped to give our campaign prominence on social media and online news. Journalists from national newspapers have been in contact with and us and we are hoping to see articles very soon in both the Mirror and The Guardian.

Although we have achieved the first stage of our demands, we still have a way to go in totally rejecting this Merkur Slots AGC so we are keeping the petition going for the moment and continuing to aim for 5000 signatures. So, please do what you have done so admirably so far: SHARE and continue to share!

Thank you, supporters for all you have done!

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