UK prepares to rewrite the licensing rules for betting shops

The UK is moving toward a change that would take local councils out of the “have to grant it” mindset for betting shop licenses. For high-risk operators and PSPs, the real issue is not the press release language; it is that this kind of change points straight at the Gambling Act 2005 and, if it moves forward, could reopen the wider licensing and advertising debate.

1. On 11 August, Prime Minister Andy Burnham announced plans to scrap the “aim to permit” principle, the rule that has required local authorities to approve betting shop licenses as long as applicants met the Gambling Commission’s policies. In practice, that would give local governments more control over high streets rather than forcing approvals by default.
2. The same announcement would also require planning permission for adult gaming centres, including venues with 24-hour access to slot machines. Burnham unveiled the move alongside new restrictions on vape shops and described both businesses as “dubious,” a label that drew an immediate backlash from the gambling sector.
3. The thing is, removing the “aim to permit” principle is not a ministerial tweak. It is a core part of the Gambling Act 2005, so Andrew Lyman, Gibraltar’s Gambling Commissioner and a former director of the UK Gambling Commission, says it can only be changed through primary legislation in Parliament, not by local administrative decisions. Louisa Clark, a licensing and compliance consultant, made the same point: the rule is embedded in the Act and cannot be overridden by a ministerial announcement or by changes to Commission guidance.
4. Clark said the government still needs to decide whether the change would come through an amendment to the current law, a completely new law, or a dedicated bill focused only on removing the “permit” duty. That detail is supposed to be clarified in a forthcoming public consultation.
5. Once a legislative process opens, the scope can widen fast. After the announcement, the Association of Directors of Public Health (ADPH) called for new gambling legislation built around a public health approach, including restrictions on advertising, promotion, and sponsorship. Lyman warned that activists and politicians will almost certainly try to expand the discussion beyond licensing alone, turning what is described as a six-week consultation into a much longer political process.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government is leading an accelerated consultation, with the government aiming to implement the changes in January 2027. Several analysts say that timetable looks ambitious if primary legislation is required, which is exactly the sort of detail operators, landlords, and payment providers should care about: if the law changes, the commercial map for betting shops and adult gaming venues changes with it.