
Admiral Casino has set its sights on trying to land a 24-hour licence in Brixton. Indeed, Admiral is hoping to become the second Adult Gaming Centre (AGC) to operate in the area.
The matter is with Lambeth Council’s licensing sub-committee, which will consult on and consider the application today. Admiral’s current advertised opening hours are 8am to midnight, seven days a week, and the site is on 510 Brixton Road.

As Admiral pushes ahead with a desire to extend its opening hours, it may well look at Game Nation as a source of inspiration. A council planning committee decision in December 2020 judged that Game Nation could only operate from 8am to 10pm Monday to Saturday.
However, this was overturned in February of this year by the Planning Inspectorate, who decided the AGC should be open 24/7. The inspector provided a report which played down the threat of Game Nation being open longer.
It read: “There is no compelling evidence before me that would lead me to conclude that the patronage of the AGC would be amplified by allowing the change of operating hours or that this would be harmful.”
In its application to Lambeth Council, Admiral pointed out the Council failed to draw much attention to the Game Nation appeal decision. Admiral has also sought to change the hours that a door supervisor would be required to be present on the premises. Under the existing licence, one is needed on the door from midnight to 2am.
Admiral, however, was also looking to extend its opening hours on Earl’s Court Road. However, residents were up in arms over the application, and it was unanimously rejected by the authorities in what has been declared as a victory for the locals.
Residents had feared the high street would be turned into a ‘mini Vegas’. Moreover, they were concerned that extending Admiral’s opening hours would lead to a rise in anti-social behaviour.
At the meeting, one objector responded to a council report in which it stated there were zero complaints levelled at Admiral Casino when it first opened in the area. He said: “Just because you don’t have objections about this place at 10pm is very different to multiple casinos at 3am. 240 objectors cannot be wrong.”
Earl’s Court councillor Linda Wade didn’t hold back with her views either. She said: “The mission of the council is to act and protect its residents. Your decision-making should clearly demonstrate that you’ve listened to residents. This is a time when the council should say no.”
Brixton’s town centre is a thriving betting scene. Apart from two AGCs, offering digital slot machines and popular gambling games, there are also several bookmakers based there.
This includes two William Hill betting shops at 375 Brixton Road and 32 Electric Avenue. Ladbrokes has shops at 400 Brixton Road opposite the police station and one opposite Lambeth town hall, while Jennings Bet has a shop on 221 Stockwell Road, next to the Academy.
There are several objectors to Admiral’s Brixton plan, including local MP Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Clapham and Brixton Hall) as well as councillors for the Brixton Acre Lane ward David Bridson, Sarbaz Barznji, and Maria Kay. Brixton has to tread fine ground to ensure it doesn’t get knocked back like it did with its Earl’s Court Road bid.

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