In the United Kingdom, a regional casino (super casino or mega casino) was the largest category of

casino A casino is a facility for certain types of gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos are also known for hosting live entertai ...

permitted under law – equivalent in size to the larger casinos in

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

. The first regional casino was proposed in 2007 for

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

, but the scheme was scrapped by the government in 2008.

History

The

Gambling Act 2005 The Gambling Act 2005 (2005 c 19) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It mainly applies to England and Wales, and to Scotland, and is designed to control all forms of gambling. It transfers authority for licensing gambling from t ...

revised many regulations relating to gambling in England. Among the more controversial provisions was the establishment of a number of 'destination casinos' in the style of Las Vegas, referred to in the media as 'super casinos' Initial drafts of the act proposed eight regional casinos, but concerns expressed in the national media and by a range of addiction-related social and religious groups meant that the final revision of the act permitted only one casino of the largest size, referred to as a 'regional casino', with a further eight 'large' and eight 'small' casinos of a smaller sizes and with reduced jackpot limits. Prior to the act there were 140 casinos in the UK, the largest of which in Star City, Birmingham had a floor area of around . Customers were required to register twenty-four hours prior to gaming.

Definition of casino types

Under the terms of the Gambling Act the Secretary of State is able to define each type of casino, with reference to any matter he or she chooses; although the act specifically mentions as facts to consider the number, location and concentration of gaming tables, and the floor area designated for a specific purpose. Definitions were determined such that the 'super casino' would have a minimum customer area of 5000 square metres and at most 1250 unlimited-jackpot

slot machine A slot machine (American English), fruit machine (British English) or poker machine (Australian English and New Zealand English) is a gambling machine that creates a game of chance for its customers. Slot machines are also known pejoratively a ...

s. 'Large casinos' would have a minimum area of 1000 square metres and up to 150 slot machines with a maximum jackpot of £4000. The 'small casinos' would have a minimum customer area of 750 sq metres, up to 80 slot machines and a jackpot of £4000.

Shortlist and selection

In May 2006, a short-list of eight sites, selected from submissions by local councils, was announced for the regional casino. These were: *

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 2002 to 2003. The stadium ...

, Brent,

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

(which removed itself from consideration prior to the decision being made) * The O₂,

Greenwich Greenwich ( , ,) is a town in south-east London, England, within the ceremonial county of Greater London. It is situated east-southeast of Charing Cross. Greenwich is notable for its maritime history and for giving its name to the Greenwich ...

, London *

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

* Blackpool *

Sportcity Sportcity in Manchester is a multipurpose sports and leisure facility. Originally built to host the 2002 Commonwealth Games, it is in east Manchester, a mile from Manchester city centre, and was developed on former industrial land including th ...

, Manchester *

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...

* Bramall Lane, East End (

Don Valley Stadium Don Valley Stadium was a sports stadium in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The venue, which was completed in September 1990, hosted the 1991 World Student Games. It was designed by Sheffield City Council's Design & Building Services and nam ...

) or

Meadowhall Centre Meadowhall is an indoor shopping centre in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. It lies north-east of Sheffield city centre, and from Rotherham town centre. It is the largest shopping centre in Yorkshire, and currently the eleventh-largest i ...

, Sheffield *

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

: many sites were put forward, including

Ibrox Park Ibrox Stadium is a football stadium on the south side of the River Clyde in the Ibrox area of Glasgow, Scotland. The home of Rangers Football Club, Ibrox is the third largest football stadium in Scotland, with an all-seated capacity of . ...

Wembley was later ruled out, according to the BBC: ''"The decision came after the local council withdrew its support for the proposed £335m ($632m) gambling venue"''. This brought the number of potential venues down to seven. The O₂'s proposal was involved in controversy after it was revealed that Deputy Prime Minister

John Prescott John Leslie Prescott, Baron Prescott (born 31 May 1938) is a British politician who served as Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and as First Secretary of State from 2001 to 2007. A member of the Labour Party, he w ...

had stayed at the ranch of Philip Anschutz, whose

Anschutz Entertainment Group The Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG), also known as AEG Worldwide, is an American global sporting and music entertainment presenter and a subsidiary of The Anschutz Corporation. It is the world's largest owner of sports teams and sports even ...

was involved in the reopening of the Millennium Dome site as a sporting and entertainment venue. In August 2006 it was reported that construction of the shell of The O₂'s super casino site had already started. Sites rejected at this shortlisting phase included: * Chesterfield *

Coventry Coventry ( or ) is a city in the West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its city status until the Middle Ages. The city is governed b ...

* Dartford *

Dudley Dudley is a large market town and administrative centre in the county of West Midlands, England, southeast of Wolverhampton and northwest of Birmingham. Historically an exclave of Worcestershire, the town is the administrative centre of the ...

* Great Yarmouth *

Havering The London Borough of Havering () in East London, England, forms part of Outer London. It has a population of 259,552 inhabitants; the principal town is Romford, while other communities are Hornchurch, Upminster, Collier Row and Rainham. The ...

Kingston-upon-Hull Kingston upon Hull, usually abbreviated to Hull, is a port city and unitary authority in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It lies upon the River Hull at its confluence with the Humber Estuary, inland from the North Sea and south-east o ...

Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and borough in Suffolk, England, of which it is the county town. The town is located in East Anglia about away from the mouth of the River Orwell and the North Sea. Ipswich is both on the Great Eastern Main Line ...

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by popula ...

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area. Until the early 1800s, the a ...

* Midlothian * Newport *

Solihull Solihull (, or ) is a market town and the administrative centre of the wider Metropolitan Borough of Solihull in West Midlands County, England. The town had a population of 126,577 at the 2021 Census. Solihull is situated on the River Blyth ...

(

National Exhibition Centre The National Exhibition Centre (NEC) is an exhibition centre located in Marston Green, Solihull, West Midlands, England. It is near junction 6 of the M42 motorway, and is adjacent to Birmingham Airport and Birmingham International railway sta ...

) *

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

Southend-on-Sea Southend-on-Sea (), commonly referred to as Southend (), is a coastal city and unitary authority area with borough status in southeastern Essex, England. It lies on the north side of the Thames Estuary, east of central London. It is bordered ...

* Sunderland *

Thurrock Thurrock () is a unitary authority area with borough status and unparished area in the ceremonial county of Essex, England. It is part of the London commuter belt and an area of regeneration within the Thames Gateway redevelopment zone. The ...

Wakefield Wakefield is a cathedral city in West Yorkshire, England located on the River Calder. The city had a population of 99,251 in the 2011 census.https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/census/2011/ks101ew Census 2011 table KS101EW Usual resident population, ...

West Dunbartonshire West Dunbartonshire ( sco, Wast Dunbairtonshire; gd, Siorrachd Dhùn Breatann an Iar, ) is one of the 32 local government council areas of Scotland. The area lies to the west of the City of Glasgow and contains many of Glasgow's commuter to ...

On 30 January 2007 it was announced that the first regional casino would be built in east

near the City of Manchester Stadium. This was regarded as a shock to the Blackpool and The O₂ (formerly the Millennium Dome) bids, both of whom were regarded as the favourites. However, the Blackpool bid organisers pledged to continue the work in getting government approval for a 'supercasino'. The Casino Advisory Panel also recommend the areas in which large casinos should be licensed: Great Yarmouth; Kingston-upon-Hull; Leeds; Middlesbrough; Milton Keynes;

Newham The London Borough of Newham is a London borough created in 1965 by the London Government Act 1963. It covers an area previously administered by the Essex county boroughs of West Ham and East Ham, authorities that were both abolished by the ...

; Solihull and Southampton.

Outcome

In March 2007, the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminste ...

rejected the Gambling Order relating to the Manchester casino. In January 2008, under new Prime Minister

Gordon Brown James Gordon Brown (born 20 February 1951) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 to 2010. He previously served as Chancellor of the Exchequer in Tony B ...

, the government confirmed that plans for super casinos would be scrapped. By November 2015, casinos in the 'large' category had opened in Milton Keynes, Newham and Solihull, with a fourth due to open in Leeds in 2016.

References

{{reflist, 33em

External links