Wednesday April 22nd 2026
Edinburgh City Chambers
Written by Local Democracy Reporter, Joe Sullivan
An Edinburgh Council-branded website is advertising online casinos that bypass systems designed to stop those addicted to gambling from playing.
The website, used by the council until 2019 to advertise its Neighbourhood Partnerships programme, is still linked to from various places on the council’s official website, edinburgh.gov.uk.
It is understood the council is now aware of the website’s existence after it was raised by the Local Democracy Reporting Service, and the council no longer owns it.
Further, it is understood work is underway to remove links on the council’s official website to the other websites as quickly as possible.
In 2022, the website had been apparently taken over by another party, which redesigned the website and used it to advertise escort services in London under the same web address.
By late 2025, the site had returned to its council-era format – but with links to various online casinos which claim to be able to evade the Gamstop Online gambling addiction service.
Several community councils, as well as various pages on the council’s main website and a resource page for the council’s libraries, still provide working links to the webpage.
The site carries the Neighbourhood Partnerships programme branding throughout, as well as the logos of the council, Police Scotland and NHS Lothian at the bottom of each page.
The council now advertises its community partnerships on a new website, which is published on a different web address.
Gamstop Online, created by the UK betting and gambling lobby, was set up as a service where gamblers can self-exclude themselves from signing up for online casinos and similar operations.
The UK’s Gambling Commission requires that all operators of online gaming establishments take part in the system, which allows users to block themselves for anywhere between six months and five years.
Similar systems exist for bookmakers, land-based casinos, adult gaming centres, arcades and bingo premises.
The Gambling Commission requires that all operators in those categories subscribe to their equivalent systems as well.
The council’s actual page for its ‘Neighbourhood networks’ scheme is available here.
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