Furious Londoners are protesting a new gambling centre opening in their neighbourhood despite the council already rejecting the plans. Luxury Leisure, the UK arm of Admiral Casino owner Novomatic, has twice been denied permission by Hackney Council to turn the Finsbury Park stationery shop Fish & Cook into a 24-hour Adult Gaming Centre (AGC).
But after appealing the decision, in April the Planning Inspectorate overturned the council's rejection - prompting a backlash from the local community. On Friday (June 5) the campaign group 'Bets Off Blackstock' came to Fish & Cook to rail against the slot machine centre "sneaking through" on appeal.
Several residents warned of the “devastating” impact it will have on crime, addiction and anti-social behaviour. On behalf of the campaigners, Angela Brady said AGCs were "sucking the lifeblood out of our communities".
“This planning application was refused by Hackney Council and got through on appeal despite huge local opposition. There is a known harmful effect from [AGCs], just like betting shops, to people wherever there are gambling centres. Here in Finsbury Park we have an area of poverty and deprivation,” she told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS).
“We are also on the cusp of three London boroughs, so a wider area needs to be considered at appeal stage. I don’t think the planning inspector fully understands our community. No-one here is in favour of this casino, yet it is being thrust upon us,” she said.
Hackney Council had refused Luxury Leisure's application on the grounds that a 24-hour gambling centre would lead to “unacceptable levels of noise, disturbance, and potential anti-social behaviour” and create an “overconcentration” of similar shops in the area.
However, the Planning Inspectorate disputed the council’s judgement and found “no substantive evidence” that the slots casino would increase gambling-related harm. Over 400 residents and roughly 60 businesses from the area had urged the agency to block the appeal.
Parent Thomas Karshan said the location was "the worst possible block for a 24-hour casino" given its proximity to Ambler Primary School and the area’s longstanding issues with "drug dealing and prostitution".
Hackney resident Serena Lander added: “There’s already so much violent crime in the area. I’ve jumped over pools of blood many times, and this is only going to perpetuate that problem.”
“We’re supposed to be getting more powers in local communities [...] yet the Ministry of Housing just came in and stampeded over that with little to no actual conversation with people in the area,” she said.
Earlier in 2026, The Observer reported that between January 2021 and July 2024, out of 62 AGC cases that went to the Planning Inspectorate, 43 were allowed on appeal.
The campaigners say they will continue their fight against the Finsbury Park slots casino by opposing the centre’s licensing application, but they have called for wider action to curb the spread of AGCs. “We need a national campaign to stop these centres getting permission, causing harm and ruining our people,” Ms Brady said.
The LDRS contacted Luxury Leisure for comment, but at the time of publication the firm had not responded. A spokesperson for the Planning Inspectorate’s office declined to comment because the application remained open to challenge in the High Court. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government did not respond to the LDRS’s request for comment.
A Hackney Council spokesperson said: “We are aware of the decision of the Planning Inspectorate in this case, which allowed the appeal and granted planning permission for the change of use of the site at 3 Blackstock Road in Finsbury Park. The development will have to fully meet the schedule of conditions outlined in the Appeal Decision.”
