Gambling venue’s bid for 24/7 opening denied

A Tottenham gambling venue’s bid to open for 24 hours a day has been refused by councillors amid concerns over its impact.

Game Nation’s application to allow its adult gaming centre at 450 to 454 High Road to open around the clock was turned down by Haringey Council’s licensing subcommittee earlier this month.

The venue is currently allowed to open from 9am-12pm, Monday to Saturday, closing at the earlier time of 11pm on Sunday. City Gaming Ltd, which owns Game Nation, applied to remove this restriction so that the venue could open 24 hours a day.

But the committee refused after considering the potential impact of the application on the area.

According to a decision notice published after the meeting on 1st November, councillors noted the venue is close to schools, a centre for addiction, in an area of high gambling-associated crime and in an area of high deprivation. It is also close to places “frequently visited by those who are unemployed” and to businesses “providing instant access to cash”.

Tottenham Hale ward, where the venue is located, has been identified by the council as “a vulnerable area at risk from gambling harm” and the committee decided an increase in the availability of gambling would be “inappropriate”.

According to the decision notice, the applicant “repeatedly stated that there was no evidence to suggest that the licensing objectives had been undermined”. But the committee was “not satisfied that the applicant had demonstrated effective engagement with the local community”.

Councillors said they were concerned that in the absence of such meaningful engagement, the application “would likely result in harm being caused to the licensing objective to protect children and, more particularly, other vulnerable persons from being harmed or exploited by gambling”.

The decision notice adds that the committee “was not persuaded by the applicant that it had robust procedures in place as to how it identifies and assists vulnerable persons/problem gamblers”.

The committee’s decision is open to appeal to the magistrates court within 21 days from the applicant being notified. It does not take effect until the end of the appeal period or, in the event that an appeal has been lodged, until the appeal is dispensed with.

Game Nation has been approached for comment.