UK Government’s Repeal of ‘Aim to Permit’ Gambling Rule Could Trigger Further Reform, Experts Warn

UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham has confirmed the government will scrap the “aim to permit” licensing rule for gambling premises, a two-decade-old provision of the 2005 Gambling Act that has forced local councils to lean toward approving new betting shops and adult gaming centres. But industry experts warn the move carries a bigger consequence than a single rule change: because the duty is written directly into primary legislation, removing it will require new legislation amending the Gambling Act itself, opening the door to further reform down the line.

The announcement, made on August 11 as part of a wider package giving councils more control over their high streets, targets Section 153 of the Gambling Act, which currently requires licensing authorities to “aim to permit” gambling premises whenever an application complies with Gambling Commission guidance and the three licensing objectives. That duty also bars councils from weighing local saturation or existing demand when deciding whether to approve a new bookmaker or slot machine venue.

What the Repeal Actually Changes

Scrapping the presumption in favor of approval does not shut down any existing venue. Instead, it resets the default for new applications, allowing councils across Great Britain to factor in local deprivation, harm evidence, and premises saturation before granting a licence — powers they have effectively never had at this scale since the Act took full effect in 2007. The change applies in England, Scotland, and Wales, but not Northern Ireland, which operates under separate legislation.

The reform package goes further than the licensing rule alone. New adult gaming centres — the 24-hour slot machine venues sometimes referred to as “slot sheds” — will require planning permission to open in England, a category shift that puts them in the same regulatory lane as other contested high street uses. Vape shops face a similar tightening, also losing their blanket exemption from individual planning scrutiny.

Burnham framed the changes as a response to organized crime and high street decline, saying local communities deserve “more control over what opens” and tougher enforcement tools against businesses considered harmful to their areas. The government has also proposed doubling the maximum duration of closure orders from six months to a year, giving councils and police more time to investigate premises suspected of criminal links.

Why This Could Trigger Further Reform

The catch, according to industry analysts, is procedural rather than political. Because “aim to permit” is embedded in the statutory text of the Gambling Act 2005 rather than in secondary guidance, the government cannot simply withdraw it by administrative order. Legislation already moving through Parliament — tied to the broader English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill — carries a commitment to strip the duty from the Act, but the official record shows the necessary amendments and inserted sections are still awaiting commencement. Until that legislation passes and is brought into force, the current duty remains binding law that councils must apply.

That legislative dependency is exactly what has experts flagging the risk of a wider reopening of the Gambling Act. Once lawmakers are amending Section 153, campaigners and MPs who have pushed for broader changes — including nearly 300 politicians and campaigners who wrote to then-Prime Minister Keir Starmer in January calling for the rule’s abolition — will have a live legislative vehicle to attach further amendments. A fast-tracked consultation on the new measures is expected to run six weeks, with the government targeting implementation at the start of 2027.

Reaction from the industry has split sharply along predictable lines. The Betting and Gaming Council has pointed to more than 3,000 betting shop closures and roughly 15,000 lost jobs since 2019 as evidence that further restrictions on new premises could accelerate an already shrinking retail footprint. Harm-reduction groups and devolution advocates, including the Social Market Foundation, have welcomed the change as a long-overdue restoration of local democratic control over high streets.

What Happens Next

For now, nothing changes for existing licence holders or pending applications processed under current rules. The practical effect arrives once the consultation concludes and the enabling legislation clears Parliament, expected around the start of 2027. Sportsbook operators weighing UK expansion should treat the current licensing environment as a moving target — those tracking the best sportsbook promo codes and new market entries domestically may see UK-facing operators recalibrate expansion plans as councils gain sharper teeth to reject new physical locations. The bigger story, though, is the one the source article surfaces: once Parliament reopens the Gambling Act to remove one clause, betting shops, AGCs, and the rest of Britain’s retail gambling framework are all back on the table.