UK plans to give councils more power over betting shops, AGCs and vape shops on high streets

The UK government is preparing reforms that would let local councils block more of the businesses opening on Britain’s high streets, with betting shops, adult gaming centers (AGCs) and vape shops directly in the crosshairs. For PSPs and operators, the important part is not the politics; it is that licensing, planning and local opposition may become harder variables to ignore.

1. The government plans to scrap the Gambling Act’s Aim to Permit rule, which currently limits councils’ ability to reject new betting shops even when local communities object. If that goes through, the approval path for new retail gambling locations becomes a planning issue, not just a licensing one.
2. AGCs would be pulled under the same planning rules. These venues can offer access to slot and fruit machines for up to 24 hours a day, and under the current setup they can open without planning permission in much the same way as a coffee shop or clothing retailer.
3. Prime Minister Andy Burnham said many UK high streets have been “hollowed out” over decades of decline and argued that vape shops, betting shops and rogue operators had displaced shops, services and community spaces. The government’s enforcement package is framed around giving councils significantly greater powers over which businesses can operate on high streets.
4. The Centre for Social Justice says nearly 1,800 pubs and bars have closed across the UK since 2016, while the number of vape and tobacco shops has climbed to almost 2,200. That is the backdrop the government is using to justify tighter control over retail mix on high streets.
5. Reactions are split, though not in a very surprising way. The Social Market Foundation called the reforms a “significant and welcome step” toward stronger local democracy, while Kirsty Caldwell of Betsmart said the comparison between licensed betting shops and vape shops ignores the fact that the betting industry invests millions in regulatory controls and consumer protection. The Betting and Gaming Council said it supports tougher action against criminal operators and a meaningful local say, but rejected claims that betting shops are spreading unchecked, pointing to a decline in their number since 2019.

For high-risk merchants and their payment partners, the practical question is whether local planning pressure starts to affect distribution as much as licensing does. On paper this is a high street reform; in practice, it can change where gambling and vape businesses can open, and how quickly they can expand.