UK government moves to scrap 2005 gambling licensing clause after Burnham-backed lobbying

Downing Street says the government will repeal the 2005 Gambling Act’s “aim to permit” clause, a rule that has shaped licensing decisions for two decades. For high-risk operators and their payment partners, the point is straightforward: local councils in Great Britain would get more room to block new betting shops and 24-hour slots venues.

1. What the government is changing. Article 153 of the Gambling Act 2005 requires licensing authorities to act with the aim of permitting gambling premises. The government says that has limited local councils’ ability to refuse new betting shops and 24-hour slot machine venues, even where there are strong local concerns.
2. Where the change applies. The repeal would cover Great Britain. Northern Ireland, which has its own legislation, would not be affected.
3. Burnham had already lobbied for the same change. UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham, who took office in July 2026, had signed a coalition letter in September 2025 as Mayor of Greater Manchester. The letter was led by Brent Council and explicitly called for the legal duty to be removed. Downing Street announced the plan on Tuesday, 11/8, three weeks after Burnham became prime minister.
4. Other planning-rule changes are included, but only for England. Vape shops would move out of Class E into a separate category subject to consultation. Adult gaming centres would be defined as their own planning category for the first time; unlike betting shops, arcades and casinos, they are not currently listed in any legal classification. The maximum closure-order period would also double from six to 12 months. Ministers say the measures should take effect in early 2027.
5. The industry is pushing back over black-market framing. Joseph Cullis of Bacta said the day after the announcement that the government was wrongly linking “responsible and licensed” adult gaming centres with “illegal and criminal” businesses. The association argues its members operate in one of the most tightly regulated sectors on the high street.

There is also a procedural detail worth keeping in mind: the previous government told Parliament in November that it had no plans to revisit the provision. In April, the legislature created gambling impact assessments, but the clause change was never started, and a narrower amendment passed by the UK Parliament in the same period also never came into force.