June 7, 2021 3.29 pm This story is over 48 months old

Cashino to replace ‘soulless’ former gift shop on Lincoln High Street

Already a shop in Boston
A Merkur Cashino centre elsewhere in the UK. Photo: Facebook/Cashino

A casino company has submitted plans for an adult gaming centre to replace a gift shop on Lincoln High Street, which closed last year, becoming “soulless”.

Cashino Gaming Ltd has applied to City of Lincoln Council to open the business at the former That Little Gift Shop at 329 High Street Lincoln, along with changing the shopfront to be called Merkur Slots.

The shop will be open 24 hours, seven days a week and hopes to increase footfall and employment, bringing around 12 new jobs to Lincoln.

Applicants assure this will not be a betting shop and will include low stakes gameplay and a focus on bingo machines.

Cashino Gaming Ltd claim their machines will generate low levels of noise and the shop will play background music “like at any other high street shop”.

Applicants said the shop will not have tannoy system, customers tend to visit on their own or in couples, not large groups and they have never had a licence revoked or reviewed.

That Little Gift Shop closed in September 2020 due to the pandemic. | Image: James Mayer for The Lincolnite

Documents before the council said: “Merkur Slots is a new up and coming brand in the UK bringing the latest fun slots & bingo experience in smaller sized high street locations.”

They added: “Adult Gaming Centres (AGCs) are often, unfortunately, put into the same category as betting shops.

“This is because there is a widespread misunderstanding of how AGCs operate and who our customers are.

“We want to address these misconceptions and demonstrate that a new AGC on your local high street is a good thing.”

Inside That Little Gift Shop. | Image: Facebook page

That Little Gift Shop was open for six years and closed in September 2020 due to the COVID pandemic impact – it has been vacant ever since.

That Little Gift Shop said on its Facebook page: “Well, that’s the end of a decade for LA Giftware/That Little Gift Shop, from full of life to soulless. Wine is now the order of the day. Big thanks to everyone who supported us.”

City of Lincoln Council will make a decision in due course on whether or not to approve the application or not.

Last year, the same company turned a former Boston pub into an adult gaming centre.