Calls to reform gambling act as gaming centres cluster in deprived areas

These high-street adult amusement arcades feature low- and high-stakes slot and fruit machines, and require a licence from the local authority to operate.

The National Picture

BBC findings show that half of the UK’s AGCs are located in areas of high deprivation.

Of the 1,386 AGCs in local authority areas, 664 (48 per cent) were located in the top 20 per cent of most deprived areas, according to the Indices of Multiple Deprivation (IMD).

Specifically, 435 were in the most deprived decile and 229 in the second.

Portsmouth’s Deprivation Profile

Portsmouth has a long history of deprivation, dating back to the Victorian era when it was notorious for “hovel dwellings” known for severe overcrowding, poor sanitation, and disease.

The city also grapples with the legacy of The Blitz, which claimed over 43,500 lives during the Second World War. Experts suggest that areas hit by The Blitz show a “consistent pattern of disadvantage,” including childhood deprivation and poor educational results.

Additionally, around 40 per cent of Portsmouth’s housing stock predates the end of the First World War (1919); these older homes are often associated with poorer health outcomes and lower living standards.

Health inequalities have largely persisted over the last 100 years, with men in the poorest areas living 15 fewer years in good health and women living 14 fewer years compared to those in the least deprived areas.

Currently, some 76 per cent of residents worry about the cost of living, and a quarter of low-income households are skipping meals to save money.

Using the 2025 IMD summary, Portsmouth is the 64th most deprived out of 296 council areas, an improvement from 58th in 2019. However, the concentration of deprived neighbourhoods has worsened, moving from 45th to 41st out of 296 council areas.

Fifteen of Portsmouth’s neighbourhoods are among the 10 per cent most deprived in England. These are concentrated in Charles Dickens ward (eight), Paulsgrove (three), Nelson (two), Fratton (one), and St Thomas (one).

AGCs in Portsmouth

The city has the ninth highest density of AGCs per population in the UK. There are 19 AGCs in the city, which is nearly one per 10,000 using a 2024 population estimate of 212,267 (the current estimate is between 214k-215k people).

Of these 19 AGCs, six are located in the 20 per cent most deprived areas, five of which were in the top ten per cent.

Stakeholder Comments

Councillor Arooj Shah, chair of the Local Government Association’s neighbourhood committee, said councils recognise that their residents enjoy gambling but raised concerns over “clustering of these venues and extended opening hours in areas of high deprivation.”

She added that the Gambling Act 2005 requires licensing authorities to ‘aim to permit’ new premises even where an area is already saturated.

“This undermines local decision-making and makes it hard to respond to community concerns,” she said. “The LGA has long called for modernising the Gambling Act and removing the duty to ‘aim to permit’, as well as introducing public health as a core licensing objective so councils can use local needs and health data when making decisions.

“Councils know their areas best and need flexible powers to decide whether and where new gambling premises can open – including the ability to refuse applications near schools, treatment services or other sensitive locations.”

Anna Hargrave, transition CEO of GambleAware, said the charity’s research has shown that those in most deprived areas “are two times more likely to experience gambling harms.”

She added: “While it is important to remember that all forms of gambling carry risks, our research has also shown the high level of harms associated with gaming machines such as slot machines in gambling venues, with one in two people using gaming machines in the past year experiencing ‘problem gambling’.”

Allastar Gair, communications director for the British Amusement Catering Trade Association, countered: “A new AGC does not open without a full licensing process, council oversight and a detailed risk assessment.

Operators do not target deprived areas; they take on long term empty units and invest in high streets that need regeneration. Our sector is tightly regulated and we are continuing to raise standards through strengthened systems, better training and visible safer gambling measures.”

A Gambling Commission spokesperson said: “We do closely regulate gambling operators across all sectors of the industry. And we’re tough on businesses that don’t protect people – in February we fined an AGC £95,000 for failing to interact with a customer who gambled for lengthy periods and over the last couple of months we have suspended eight AGCs for not participating in self-exclusion schemes.”

A Government spokesperson added: “We’ve already committed to giving councils unprecedented new powers to limit gambling shops on their high streets.

“But we’ll do everything we can to halt the decline that people are seeing in their towns and high streets and are working across government and with councils to see if there are any areas where we can go further.”