Changes in land-based gambling premises in London, Great Britain, 2020-2025

To examine changes in the number and types of land-based gambling premises across London boroughs between December 2020 and December 2025, and to assess whether these changes were associated with borough-level deprivation.

A longitudinal analysis of gambling premises across all 32 London boroughs using routinely collected regulatory data over a five-year period. Borough-level gambling availability was analysed alongside deprivation rankings derived from the 2019 Indices of Multiple Deprivation (IMD).

Data on licensed gambling premises were obtained annually from the Gambling Commission register for December 2020-2025. Boroughs were ranked by IMD 2019 score, and trends in gambling premises were examined overall and by deprivation level. Comparisons were undertaken between the 25% most deprived and 25% least deprived boroughs, and a slope coefficient was used as a summary measure of the association between borough deprivation ranking and the number of gambling premises.

Total gambling premises in London fell from 1516 in 2020 to 1478 in 2025, a net reduction of 38 premises. However, this overall decline masked widening inequalities. The most deprived quartile of boroughs experienced a net increase of five premises, while the least deprived quartile experienced a decline of eleven premises. The positive association between borough-level deprivation and gambling premises strengthened during the study period (R² increasing from 0.1082 to 0.1546).

Despite an overall reduction in land-based gambling premises, gambling availability has become increasingly concentrated in deprived London boroughs. These findings suggest that current regulatory arrangements may be reinforcing existing health inequalities, highlighting the need for gambling policy reforms that address the unequal distribution of land-based gambling opportunities and associated harms.