After much debate, the City Council has approved, 17-6, a permit for Keno at Echo Bridge Restaurant in Upper Falls.

Owner Paul Virgilio, whose family has owned the business at the corner of Chestnut and Eliot streets for more than 60 years, applied for the permit as a means to bring more people to the establishment.

Councilor Leonard Gentile spoke in support of the permit, noting that small businesses still haven’t recovered from the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“This is just a small tool in the toolbox that would help these folks continue with their business,” Gentile said.

In the Land Use Committee, councilors Bill Humphrey and Andreae Downs voted against the permit out of concern for what gambling could bring to Upper Falls.

And neither of them were swayed in the time since. Both voted “no” Monday night. They were joined by councilors Martha Bixby, Becky Grossman, Andrea Kelley and Lisle Baker.

“My anecdotal research into Keno is that it brings in people who want to gamble, not people who want to eat or drink,” Downs said to the rest of the Council. “That’s not the kind of traffic that I would like to see that close to my house, and probably you wouldn’t either.”

Councilor Stephen Farrell said he doesn’t think the City Council should “legislate morality.”

“If we want to help people who have a gambling addiction, let’s set up a program that will help with that,” Farrell said. “And I know that this is a serious problem for some people, not only in Newton but in the Commonwealth and in the United States. We are not going to solve that problem by denying this business the opportunity to draw in more customers and make a little more money.”

Newton allows Keno with restrictions. No one under the age of 18 may play Keno, and restaurants are only allowed to have up to two Keno monitors. The Echo Bridge Restaurant proposal would satisfy those local requirements.

The special permit for the Echo Bridge Restaurant does not impact the lot’s BU-1 (business district) zoning.