Spike in Gambling Concerns North London Councillors
Councillors in North London are taking their concerns about gambling to the House of Commons.
North London councillors are worried about gambling problems. © mathewbrowne, Pixabay
Key Facts:
- Councillors from North London want gambling reforms to prevent addiction problems
- North London area nicknamed ‘Las Vegas of Britain’ thanks to recently opened gambling venues
- Six significant reforms put forward in the councillors’ letter to the Culture Secretary
Councillors in the North London area are becoming concerned about a rise in gambling. They don’t want their part of London to become a hotspot for gambling problems, namely addiction, money troubles and mental health issues.
They’re set to address the House of Commons on the issue next week. They’re going to run through the various risks associated with gambling and insist the government act on plans to prevent and reduce gambling harms.
The reason behind this is the apparent increase in gambling activity seen throughout various North London communities. In line with this, there are growing concerns about the negative effects of gambling.
Councillors Ready to Speak
At 10 am on 10th December, two councillors will speak to the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Gambling Harms. These are Milli Patel, Brent Council’s Deputy Leader, and Matt Kelcher, the planning committee chair.
Sir Iain Duncan Smith, who has been a Conservative MP continually since 1992 and is currently the MP for Chingford and Woodford Green, will chair the meeting.
Patel and Kelcher will discuss how gambling has a disproportionately negative effect on local communities as well as the councils that oversee them. They will make specific references to the Brent area and how it’s been affected by gambling.
In recent years, a rather shocking number of gambling establishments have opened. The area of Harlesden, in particular, has been dubbed ‘the Las Vegas of Britain’ by locals as a consequence.
Back in September, the council passed a unanimous motion that called for action to be carried out to deal with gambling harms and prevent them from happening in the future.
This motion was an unmitigated success, gaining support from the three major political parties in the area. Encouraged by this, Patel and Kelcher wrote to the Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy.
Proposals Put Forward
In their letter, they talked about wanting to strengthen the powers of local government and reform the Gambling Act, which they believe to be outdated. In short, they want communities to be able to tackle their own issues more directly.
They put forward a total of six reforms in their letter. These include banning adverts related to gambling and giving councils more power to turn down applications from gambling companies.
Kelcher discussed how the changes mentioned in the letter should be put into effect urgently as people are dealing with gambling problems right now. The sooner changes can be introduced, the better.
He explained how communities are dealing with the negative consequences of gambling first-hand. People are dealing with issues such as anxiety, depression, financial hardship and even suicide as a result of gambling problems.
This comes not long after news of a betting levy to fund NHS services tackling gambling addiction and a limit on the amount of money you can wager on slots.
While these measures are surely going to help prevent addiction and reduce the negative impact of gambling, it’s clear that there’s still a lot that needs to be done. No doubt more measures will be announced in the near future.
