Councillor Nilgun Canver

Haringey councillor slams new gambling report

by Flora Drury, flora.drury@archant.co.uk Sunday, July 29, 2012
11:00 AM

A Haringey councillor has hit out at recommendations to allow higher-stake gambling machines on many local high streets while not giving council’s more powers to help restrict “clustering” of betting shops.

Cllr Nilgun Canver, the cabinet member for environment, spoke out after the House of Commons Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee released a report earlier this week which recommended lowering gambling taxes and licence fees.

The report also recommended allowing betting shops to have more than four large fruit machines in individual stores, which allow stakes of up to £100 and prizes of £500 in each.

In an extra blow to Haringey residents fed up of high streets full of betting shops, no new powers to help restrict clustering have been handed to councils.

Cllr Canver, who recently went on a walk-about with Tottenham MP David Lammy and the chief executive the Association of British bookmakers in an attempt to highlight the problem blighting residents lives, said: “The recommendations from the culture committee frankly do nothing to help support councils and communities like Haringey that want to tackle the proliferation of betting shops head on.

“Allowing betting shops to have more high stakes gambling machines will just provide more opportunity for people to gamble, while increasing the damage gambling addiction does to some of our local families.

“The answer isn’t more deregulation, but empowering local residents and councils to take control of their high streets and prevent the opening up of more betting shops if that’s what they want”

The Government has said it welcomes the select committee’s report and will respond shortly.