A 24-hour adult gaming centre will aim to attract “the low paid and people on benefits” if it opens in Newbury town centre.

That is according to objector Alfie Grant, who condemned Cashino Gaming’s application for a bingo premises licence when he spoke at a meeting of West Berkshire Council’s licensing sub-committee on Monday, November 9.

The company wants to convert the old betting shop at 11-13 Market Place into a gaming centre called Merkur Slots, that would be filled with slot and bingo machines.

After hearing from objectors and Cashino at Monday’s meeting, the licensing sub-committee promised to make a final decision on the application within five working days.

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During an impassioned speech, Mr Grant told the committee that the gaming centre would target “the low paid and people on benefits”.

“If they’ve got a fiver in their pocket, they think ‘I might go in there and make it into £10 or £15’ but when they come out they’ve lost it all,” he said.

“Most people walk out of machine places with their head low, because half the time they feel ashamed they have been in there.

“We do not need this premises.”

Mr Grant also claimed that setting up an adult gaming centre will lead to an increase in crime, even if the crime is not committed right outside the building.

“It happens three or four days later, when they get home and ain’t got no money; they ain’t got money for their groceries and ain’t got clothes for their children,” he said.

Cllr Martha Vickers said concerns about the impact of gambling “need to be dealt with at a national level” and cannot be addressed by the council’s licensing sub-committee.

But she also claimed that a 24-hour gaming centre could cause “a big nuisance” for people living nearby and said the opening hours should be restricted.

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There have been 16 objections to the licensing application, but there were no objections from Thames Valley Police, environmental health officers, or the Gambling Commission.

Cashino also needs planning permission to set up the gaming centre, and its planning application is expected to be approved by another council committee on Wednesday, November 11.

Over 200 people have signed a petition that calls for the planning application to be rejected and it states the gaming centre “will be a source of noise, crime and disorder”.

'They rarely generate crime and disorder'

Philip Kolvin QC, a barrister representing Cashino, told Monday’s meeting there “is no evidence” to suggest that opening this gaming centre would lead to an increase in crime or anti-social behaviour in Newbury town centre.

He said the company runs 170 gambling venues across the country and police have never called for any of their premises licences to be revoked.

“The reason my client’s venues are not on police radars is because they rarely generate crime and disorder,” he said.

“Players come in, usually alone or in couples. They play the machines for a while, they have a cup of tea and wander out again.

“You don’t get loitering and disorder outside.”

Mr Kolvin said no alcohol will be served, children and people under the influence of drugs or alcohol will not be allowed in and the company will install a “first-class CCTV system” that will be monitored by trained staff.

He also said licensing sub-committee “don’t have the basis to chop away at my client’s hours”.

If the licensing application is approved, people will be allowed to play on the bingo machines between 9am and midnight, but the slot machines will run 24 hours a day.