A plague on our high streets

Within a matter of years, Gambling has infiltrated British mainstream culture. The blacked out windows of the 90’s bookmakers have been replaced by bright, air conditioned miniature casinos endorsed by sports pundits and celebrities, whose cardboard cut outs are stationed in shop windows, desperate to lure you in. Gambling has certainly become more socially acceptable in Britain since restrictions on advertising were lifted. But the supply of betting shops on our high streets far outweighs the demand for them – especially at a time when internet, red button and mobile phone gambling is possible.

The rapid expansion of shops on our high streets can be put down to one salient factor. They are called Fixed Odds Betting Terminals (FOBTs) – otherwise known as Roulette Machines. Professor Mark Griffiths once described these as the “crack cocaine of gambling” because of their potential to create a generation of gambling addicts – and the law recognises this by restricting each shop to four terminals. However, the machines are so profitable that bookmakers with an abundance of resources attempt to leapfrog regulations by opening up as many shops as possible.

As Rowenna Davis argued last week in the New Statesman, there are 77 betting shops in Southwark alone, and more are opening up as businesses close in the downturn. They are sucking demand out of local economies and taking advantage of the desperate situation many people are finding themselves in, as unemployment and under-employment remain high. Research from the Responsible Gambling Fund suggests they are clustering machines in the poorest areas.

Gambling addiction is as socially destructive as alcoholism, and – much like legal loan sharks – bookmakers are preying on the poorest and most vulnerable. But whereas a council has the power to limit the number of pubs or off-licences in an area, betting shops can open up without oversight. If an alcoholic comes into a pub, you’re told not to serve them. But if a gambler has just lost £1000 in less than an hour, you’re trained to ensure they keep playing. Bookies epitomise predatory capitalism, where human relationships, empathy and fairness are sacrificial lambs to the slaughter in the name of profit.

So on a strategic level, this is what Ed Miliband’s responsible capitalism looks like in practise, rather than just an intellectual exercise. It’s a ‘small c’ conservative issue that’s likely to appeal to the base we need to win back, as well as being morally important.

So how do we make this happen? The High Streets First petition calls on the government to reclassify betting shops so local council’s can control how many are in their area. Eric Pickles’ localism agenda is concomitant with this idea, and Mary Portas’ recent review of the high street recommended giving local people new powers to limit the number of bookies in their communities.

We think this is something we can win, so please get behind the High Streets First campaign.