Pub loses gaming permit for failing to prevent underage gambling

A London council has become the first in the country to strip a pub of its gaming machine permit after it failed to stop children using them.

The George, a J D Wetherspoon pub in Wanstead High Street, lost its gambling permit after undercover police cadets, 14 and 15, were able to play on two occasions in ­January and June without being asked for proof of age.

Sue Harper, of Redbridge council, said: “We won’t be afraid to use the full weight of the law against businesses in the borough that fail in their legal obligations to safeguard young people.”

The pub will lose five of its fruit machines but keep two — allowed without a permit — after assurances that it will bring in technology that alerts staff to machine use.

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