It failed to stop children playing on the machines at least two times

A Greater London pub first to lose gaming license in the UK over children gambling

Despite staff being nearby, on each occasion the cadets were able to spend £3 on the machines without being asked for proof of age.
2019-11-28
Reading time 1:38 min
Redbridge Council decision followed two test purchase operations led by the borough’s licencing enforcement team and the police in January and June. The pub lost its right to have up to seven gaming machines, but was allowed to keep two fruit machines after agreeing to bring in technology that alerts staff to machine use.

A pub has become the first in the UK to lose its gaming licence after it failed to stop children using machines. 

Redbridge Council, the local authority for Redbridge in Greater London, England, said it had become the first local authority in the country to strip a pub of its gaming machine licence after it repeatedly failed to stop children playing on them, The Telegraph reports.

The council’s licensing committee Monday decided to rescind the permit of The George pub, which is a branch of J D Wetherspoon, following two test purchase operations led by the borough’s licencing enforcement team and the police.

Under the joint operations, which took place in January and June this year, police cadets under the age of 16 entered the pub and were able to use two gambling terminals unchallenged. Despite staff being nearby, on each occasion the cadets were able to spend £3 on the machines without being asked for proof of age. Both times, the entire episode was witnessed by two plain clothes police officers who had entered the pub before the cadets.

The landmark decision means the pub on Wanstead High Street has lost its right to have up to seven gaming machines. However, the Licensing Sub-Committee allowed the pub to keep two fruit machines, which is the automatic legal entitlement, after the pub agreed to bring in technology that alerts staff to machine use.

Sue Harper, the council’s Corporate Director for Place, said: “Businesses with permits to operate betting machines have a legal obligation to protect children and other vulnerable people from being harmed or exploited by gambling. We won’t be afraid to use the full weight of the law against businesses in the borough that fail in their legal obligations to safeguard young people.”

Wetherspoon’s spokesman Eddie Gershon said: “The company takes its responsibility to comply with the law on all age prohibited products and services extremely seriously. We shall consider the council’s concerns carefully and ensure all necessary actions are taken at the pub to prevent any repeat.”

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