Adult Gaming Centre Clampdown Begins with Shock Licence Rejection

Just weeks after the Prime Minister revealed plans to limit the number of Adult Gaming Centres on UK high streets, an application for a new AGC in Somerset has been rejected.

The Godden Gaming Organisation, a 40-year industry veteran with more than 400 venues to their name, was shocked to learn that their licence bid in Bridgwater for a new Palace Amusements property.

That’s despite Somerset Council’s licensing department previously having given their application the green light… with Avon & Somerset Police issuing a ‘no concerns’ verdict on the plan back in November 2025.

Wrong Signals

The Godden Gaming Organisation’s proposal would have seen a former branch of WH Smith, which has stood vacant for a number of years, converted into the new AGC.

The centre, which would have featured slot machines almost exclusively, would have been open for 24 hours a day and created two full-time jobs and seven part-time positions.

Their bid was formally approved by the council’s licensing department, however a separate meeting – held by the authority’s planning committee – decided to perform a U-turn and reject the application earlier this month.

A Somerset Council spokesperson, Cllr Brian Smedley, revealed that concerns over anti-social behaviour were the main factor, as well as the saturation of two other AGCs and seven betting shops located within close proximity to the proposed site.

Smedley said:

• “It's not an area that we need to be making worse by sending out the wrong signals.”
• “You kind of wonder what the point of going into the town centre is now, when it used to be for retail.”
• "Just behind this site is a considerable residential area. People do suffer with a lot of the anti-social behaviour in the town centre.”

Jeremy Godden, the managing director of the entertainments firm, hit back defiantly, claiming there was ‘absolutely no evidence that high street gaming centres cause any anti-social behaviour.’

The Godden Gaming Organisation is yet to comment or reveal their next steps, which could include a formal appeal.

New Powers

Generally, licence applications for Adult Gaming Centres have been approved in recent years due to the Aim to Permit legislation, which sees new venues automatically given the green light where the operator meets the Gambling Commission’s licensing criteria.

However, that looks set to be a thing of the past as Andy Burnham, the new Prime Minister, sets about revamping the UK’s high streets.

He has already posted on social media about ‘dodgy businesses’, in which he lumped Adult Gaming Centres and betting shops with vape shops.

It was a surprising choice of words, but less surprising is the anti-gambling sentiment that the PM is happy to peddle.

In the Crosshairs

Words will become actions soon enough, with Burnham expected to overturn Aim to Permit in the near future, which would give local councils more powers to reject proposals for Adult Gaming Centres and betting shops on a case-by-case basis.

It’s also expected that, in the Autumn Budget, some business types – including AGCs and betting shops – will be taxed more heavily in a bid to revive the hospitality sector, with pubs and restaurants given rate cuts of up to 20% that have been funded by the so-called ‘dodgy businesses’.

So in addition to making it more difficult to secure planning approval for a new Adult Gaming Centre or betting shop, the Prime Minister will also look to make trade even more challenging for those already in operation.

At a time when hundreds of betting shops have been forced to close in recent years, at a loss of thousands of jobs, it’s an interesting move from a PM with an urgent mandate to boost the economy.