I asked this exact same question the last time there was an application for a new betting shop – Betfred on the ground floor of where the new hotel is supposed to be going. Yet, here we are again with William Hill wanting to open a new betting shop at 70 Broadway:
I missed this licence application and the closing date for objections has passed but just how many betting shops do we need in West Ealing? Can we keep leaving it to market forces to determine what happens in our high street or should local residents have a say?
There is an opportunity to have your say about betting shops and other forms of gambling by completing the Council’s online survey as part of its consultation on its gambling policy. Some of the questions are about clustering of betting shops so directly relevant to West Ealing. The online survey closes on September 27th so not much time left to complete it. You can find it here.
I don’t know how much effect these surveys have but if we don’t say anything then silence will be taken as consent to what’s happening. I for one think we should restrict betting shops and other similar establishments, especially those with ‘fruit machines’ and fixed odds betting terminals which are a major route in to problem gambling. You can find out more about all the issues around gambling at the GamCare website.