Behind closed doors and 'under the radar': The spread of 24-hour gambling establishments

In 2021 a campaign to prevent a 24-hour gambling establishment opening in Palmers Green was unsuccessful. Reports in the Observer newspaper uncover the severe social and personal problems that can be caused by seemingly harmless slot machines hidden behind the opaque windows of branches of Merkur Slots and other arcade operators. They also reveal that the previous government was preparing to ease already lax restrictions on such establishments. Will the new government take a different approach?

Children were among the demonstrators outside the site for the new Merkur Slots branch in 2021

It's now nearly three years since a 24-hour "state-of-the-art entertainment centre" opened in the heart of Palmers Green, equipped with "the latest bingo slot machines, with the emphasis firmly on low-stakes gaming," and offering free refreshments. The arrival of a new branch of Merkur Slots in Green Lanes had been fiercely resisted by a local campaign under the slogan Stop the Slots, which succeeded in gathering support from councillors and from council leader Nesil Caliskan herself. However, after receiving legal advice, the council eventually decided that trying to block the opening would be too risky in terms of a possible legal payout.

So the new Merkur Slots became one of dozens of new round-the-clock slot arcades that have been appearing around the country. Merkur and another firm, Admiral, now operate more than 500 venues across Britain, with most now open 24 hours a day.

On the face of it, our local branch has had little or no negative impact on the town centre. The doors and windows are opaque and there is no sign of trouble caused by the shop on the pavement outside. But recent newspaper reports about what might be going on behind the brightly decorated windows of Merkur Slots and Admiral Casinos raise troubling questions.

An Observer report published in March suggested that "every pound that drops into the slot eventually rolls uphill, helping to enrich billionaire owners and fund political lobbying", lobbying which at the time seemed to be about to bear fruit, with the then government looking to relax regulations about such establishments, including permitting the use of debit cards to feed machines.

Another report in the same paper, published this week, describes the psychology behind low-stakes gambling which makes for an addictive experience. £2 maximum per spin - but a spin speed for each games of only two and a half seconds means people can lose a lot of money very quickly.

For all we know, behind the opaque glass of the shop in Green Lanes - soon to be joined by a similar establishment on the other side of the road - people could be losing sums that they simply cannot afford. After all, there are plenty of people in Palmers Green who are desperately in need of more money.

We have a new government and many new members of parliament, but no doubt the gambling industry is already planning how to persuade them to loosen regulations when they should be made stricter and local councils such as Enfield given more powers to control the situation. It's good news that our MP, Bambos Charalambous, took part in the demonstration in Palmers Green in 2021, and hopefully he will be helping spread the message to his many new colleagues. But history shows that, whether Labour or Conservative and however pure their initial intentions, governments are susceptible to lobbying by wealthy industries, so we too will need to exert pressure on our lawmakers not to cave in, but to tighten regulations.