The head of lifestyle economics at the Institute of Economic Affairs has contested Andy Burnham’s decision to name betting shops alongside vape shops as businesses “hollowing out” the UK high street, highlighting the vast disparity between the two.
Dr Christopher Snowdon criticised the proposals to revoke the Aim to Permit in order to check what the government calls the “proliferation” of gambling establishments, noting that bookmakers and AGCs operate under a legitimate, licensed market framework.
“Of all the problems facing Britain, nothing could be less pressing than making it more difficult to open a betting shop,” said Snowdon. “A third of them have closed since 2019 when the government effectively banned fixed-odds betting terminals. Hundreds more are shutting their doors this year as the bookies cut costs in response to huge tax hikes.”
“The Gambling Act is one of the few slivers of liberalisation that this country has seen in the 21st century, but moral objections and personal prejudice are now firmly back in fashion. Gambling’s fiercest opponents can’t bear to be reminded of its existence, hence the campaign to drive it from the high street and ban its adverts.”
Stating that the anti-gambling lobby is “piggy-backing on genuine concerns about the rise of ‘dodgy vape shops’ and suspiciously empty barber shops,” Snowdon concluded “these issues have nothing in common.”
Originally published on Coinslot on August 24, 2026. Republished with permission.