Conservative Parliamentary Candidate for Blackpool North & Cleveleys, Paul Maynard, has today welcomed the Conservative Party proposals for safeguarding the future of seaside arcades.
“We believe that adult gaming centres are a valuable element of many seaside towns and do not think that they should be damaged by the consequences of Government legislation. The Government should admit that they got this aspect of gambling policy wrong and start addressing the issue.
“Seaside arcades such as those in Blackpool and Cleveleys have suffered huge downturns in trade since the Gambling Act came into force. Each arcade can now offer only four slot machines offering the maximum £500 prize, and the maximum stake has been cut to £1. The trade body for the arcades estimates that the sector has experienced a 21% reduction in revenues since 1 September 2007. This is bad news for the local economy.
“Yesterday, Shadow Minister for Gambling Tobias Ellwood called on the Government to bring forward their review of category B3 gaming machines with a view to a proportionate increase in the stakes and numbers of machines allowed in family arcade centres”.
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