Wednesday, July 11, 2007

UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown has announced a review into the ‘social effects’ of gambling, throwing doubt over the government’s previous plans to grant a license for a 5,000 m² ‘supercasino’.

The review, to take place in September, will look at “whether regeneration in the areas for the super-casinos may be a better way of meeting their economic and social needs than the creation of super-casinos”. Gordon Brown made the announcement during Prime Ministers questions, in response to a question from Labour MP Andy Reed.

The plan to allow the building of a single supercasino, and 16 smaller casinos, was set in motion by previous Prime Minister Tony Blair. An independent Casino Advisory Panel had recommended in February 2007 that the supercasino license should be granted to the city of Manchester, a recommendation which the Government was expected to follow.

The new announcement by Gordon Brown throws doubt over these plans, and BBC News are quoting an unnamed ‘Whitehall source’ as having commented that the supercasino plan is “dead in the water”.