The Gambling Bill was passed as the Gambling Act and received Royal Assent a matter of days before Parliament dissolved for the general election.
However, the Bill was passed in a diluted form, with culture secretary Tessa Jowell agreeing to a last-minute deal with the Conservative Party over several key amendments in order to secure its passage through Parliament.
The government’s compromise on amendments included greatly reducing the initial number of Vegas-style ‘regional’ super casinos from eight to just one.
It is understood that ministers decided on the regional curb due to media outrage and backbench revolt causing concern that the unamended Bill would not get through Parliament before its 11 April dissolution.
The sole regional casino will be used as a prototype.
Commenting on the amendment, shadow culture secretary, John Whittingdale MP, said: “Regional casinos are an entirely new concept for the UK and there are fears about the impact they may have on crime and gambling addiction. We will therefore accept the establishment of one regional casino as a prototype, in order to assess its impact.”
According to Whittingdale, the case for locating this regional casino in Blackpool is very strong. Steve Weaver, the chief executive of Blackpool Council, responded: “We are very pleased that the Gambling Bill is looking extremely positive for Blackpool.
“We must not be complacent and still need to make our case, but we are hopeful of an extremely good outcome for the future regeneration of Blackpool as a major resort.”
Rank – which owns 120 bingo clubs and 36 casinos in the UK – cautiously welcomed the new law and said the government’s initial limitation of regional casinos was “sensible”. Chief executive Mike Smith said: “The Act represents a much improved and more balanced framework than that put forward in 2004.”
Meanwhile, a number of UK and international developers which had begun planning super casino sites will be left out in the cold until the prototype regional casino has been assessed.
Quintain, which is involved in the ongoing £1.5bn Wembley regeneration, had announced plans for a £335m super casino as part of a joint venture with US gaming group Caesars.
A spokesperson said: “Quintain has noted the announcement by the government that, in the immediate term, only one super casino will be progressed in the UK. We await with interest additional information with regard to the criteria for the potential location and the provisions for increases in the number of regional casinos.”
Other key measures of the Act, combined with the establishment of a Gambling Commission, include the removal of the 24 hour rule in casinos and bingo clubs; allowing casinos to advertise and doubling the number of Category B gaming machines allowed in each existing casino to 20 per site.
Chair of the British Casino Association, Lady Penelope Cobham, said: “We are delighted that the uncertainty surrounding the Bill has been removed and that the government has granted us a greater machine entitlement.”
Business in Sport and Leisure’s Brigid Simmonds observed: “Now is the time for the industry to work with the Gambling Commission and DCMS on codes of practice and secondary legislation.”
However, consultants KPMG believe that the diluted Bill could have a domino effect on leisure operators.
Director of KPMG’s leisure practice, Nick Pattie, said: “The casino industry has the potential to grow, albeit at a fraction of what the industry was hoping for. The dilution of the Bill will have a domino effect on those operating in the leisure sector. Greater deregulation would have been a catalyst for growth but the current amendments will limit jobs, investment and wealth creation in this sector.”
