Manchester has been chosen as the surprise location of Britain’s first Las Vegas-style super-casino. The decision was a big blow for Blackpool and London’s former Millennium Dome, which were the bookmakers’ favourites. Manchester was a 16-1 outsider. The licence will allow Manchester to build a venue for up to 1,250 unlimited-jackpot gaming machines.
The togel Casino Advisory Panel also granted licences for 8 new “large” casinos in Great Yarmouth, Hull, Newham, Middlesbrough, Solihull, Milton Keynes, Leeds and Southampton, as well as for 8 “small” casinos in Bath, North East Somerset, Dumfries and Galloway, East Lindsey, Luton, Scarborough, Swansea, Torbay and Wolverhampton.
Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell said MPs would be given the final say, via a Commons vote on the proposals.
There has been speculation that more super-casino licences might be awarded but Ms. Jowell told MPs that there would definitely be no more granted during this Parliament.
Any further casinos would have to be approved by parliament and would not be considered until there had been a “proper evaluation over time” of the social and economic effects of the 17 new casinos.
She said: “Las Vegas is not coming to Great Britain… British casinos will be subject to new controls, which will be the strictest in the world.”
Stephen Crow, chairman of the independent Casino Advisory Panel, said Manchester had been chosen because of its “very thorough consultation” with the local community and “the way it dealt with questions of problem gambling”.
EU calls US betting law ‘protectionist’
US legislation on online betting was described as “protectionist” by the European Union’s top financial regulator on Tuesday and may trigger legal action before the World Trade Organisation.
The legislation makes it illegal for banks and credit card companies to process online bets placed by American citizens with foreign gambling sites.
Charlie McCreevy, the EU internal market commissioner, said: “In my view it is probably a restrictive practice and we might take it up in another forum.” He added that the case could go to the WTO, and also suggested he would pursue the matter with his American counterparts on a visit to the US in March.
Though it is not clear whether the Union will follow through on Mr McCreevy’s threat of WTO action, his remarks highlight the deep divide between Brussels and Washington over gambling restrictions. The Commission has long …