UK's poorer areas host highest number of gambling venues, study shows

A new report finds that UK’s most deprived areas have the highest number of gambling outlets, with 21% of them located in the poorest tenth of the country, and only 2% in the most affluent zones.

Despite a decline in numbers in the recent years, Britain has more gambling sites (over 10,000) than shops run by the eight largest supermarket chains put together, according to the study, commissioned by the Standard Life Foundation. Glasgow has the most betting shops per capital (one for every 3,264 people), with Liverpool, London and Middlesbrough next.

The report, carried out by the University of Bristol, finds that deprived areas have more than 10 times the number of betting shops than the most affluent ones.

Nearly three-quarters of consumers say that they would not want gambling premises on their “ideal” high street, and the study aims at understanding how this geography of gambling throughout Britain works.

Further findings of the study describe a close relationship between “family entertainment centres” (FECs, or “amusement arcades”) and deprivation, with 34% of these venues located in the most deprived decile. This is also the case with bingo venues and adult gaming centres (AGCs), but slightly weaker, although still significant, for casinos and betting shops.

Seaside towns too have a close relationship with gambling, as coastal areas are home to nearly three-quarters (72%) of FECs, with all of the top ten places with the most FECs being seaside resorts.

Moreover, another key finding is that there are instances of gambling premises located in close proximity to potentially vulnerable population: of the 348 gambling treatment centres mapped for the study, 20% had gambling premises within a 100m radius, while 50% had one within a 250m radius.

The study also says that the relationship between opportunities to gamble and deprived communities is a well-documented one: authors and other studies have found throughout the last years that betting shops in the UK tend to “cluster” in areas where people can least afford to gamble, and some even argue that this is a deliberate strategy.

“Problem gambling is public health issue, causing serious harm to people’s finances, livelihoods and relationships,” said Mubin Haq, chief executive of Standard Life Foundation, reports The Guardian. “Those with the least resources are being targeted more, with twice as many gambling venues on their doorstep as supermarkets.”

As the government is currently ongoing review of the Gambling Act, the foundation calls for new reforms to take into account this unequal geographyy of gambling venues and “give local authorities more control over licensing.”

A spokesman for the UK’s Gambling Commission, said: “Tackling gambling harm is a number one priority for the Gambling Commission. We will carefully consider the issues raised by any gambling-related research and any actions will be taken through the national strategy to reduce gambling harms,” reports the BBC.