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<p>The Government is alive to the concerns around the clustering of betting shops.
Since 2015, planning permission has been required for any new betting shops on the
high street. In addition, the Gambling Act 2005 requires local authorities to set
out in a statement of policy the principles by which they manage the gambling environment
in the local area. The statement can be used to set out reasons for why it would be
inconsistent with licensing objectives to grant additional licences in a given location
e.g. safeguarding children or the vulnerable. The Gambling Commission advise that
the use of the licensing statement of policy varies from one Local Authority to another,
however where used effectively and regularly updated, they can provide an effective
tool for appropriately rejecting new licenses or imposing conditions to improve safeguarding
and avoid attempts at clustering.</p>
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