No increase in Rugby's gambling businesses

The area has ten gambling businesses, the same number it had seven years ago, according to the register of businesses held by the ONS.

Nationally, the UK’s high streets had 11,370 gambling businesses in 2017, about 4% fewer than seven years earlier.

The gambling sector includes casinos and amusement arcades, but the Gambling Commission estimates that about three quarters of businesses are betting shops.

The Association of British Bookmakers warns that some businesses may be forced to shut down for good. It blames the government clampdown on fixed odds machines, cutting the maximum bet from £100 to £2 every 20 seconds.

A spokesperson from the association said: “We anticipate that between 3,000 and 4,000 betting shops will close on high streets and in town centres across the country by 2020. As a result 15,000 to 20,000 high street jobs could be lost.

“High street betting shops also face similar issues to other retailers, like competition from other forms of gambling, and the increasing costs of rent and business rates.”

Data from the Gambling Commission shows that from October 2016 to September 2017, the gambling industry in the UK made £13.9 billion in profit, a third of it coming from online gambling.