Regional casino
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A Regional casino, more commonly known as a Super Casino (or occasionally known as Mega Casino or variants) is the term given to the largest category of casino permitted under United Kingdom law.
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[edit] History
The Gambling Act 2005 revised many regulations relating to gambling in the United Kingdom. Amongst the most controversial provisions was the establishment of a number of 'destination casinos' in the style of Las Vegas, commonly 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 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 950 square meters. Customers were required to register twenty four hours prior to gaming.
[edit] 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 chooses, however 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 have been determined such that the 'super casino' will have a minimum customer area of 5000 square meters and at most 1250 unlimited-jackpot slot machines.
'Large casinos' will have a minimum area of 1000 square meters and up to 150 slot machines with a maximum jackpot of £4000.
The 'small casinos' will have a minimum customer area of 750 sq meters, up to 80 slot machines and a jackpot of £4000.
[edit] The Super Casino
In May 2006, a short-list of eight sites, selected from various ones submitted by local councils, was announced for the location of the Regional Casino. These were:
- Wembley Stadium, Brent, London (since removed from consideration)
- The Millennium Dome, Greenwich, London
- Cardiff
- Blackpool
- Manchester
- Newcastle
- Sheffield
- Glasgow, Scotland
The Dome casino site was involved in controversy after it was revealed that John Prescott had stayed at the ranch of Philip Anschutz, whose Anschutz Entertainment Group is involved in the reopening of the dome site as a sporting and entertainment venue. On 30th August 2006 it was reported on the BBC Radio 4 7 O'clock news that construction on the Millennium Dome site had already started, despite the site of the casino being reportedly stated by the Government to still be in the consultation phase.
Sites rejected at this shortlisting phase included
- Chesterfield
- Coventry
- Dartford
- Dudley
- Great Yarmouth
- Havering
- Hull
- Ipswich
- Leeds
- Middlesbrough
- Midlothian
- Newport
- Solihull (National Exhibition Centre site)
- Southampton
- Southend-on-Sea
- Sunderland
- Thurrock
- Wakefield
- West Dunbartonshire
Wembley has since been ruled out, according to the BBC "The decision came after the local council withdrew its support for the proposed £335m ($632m) gambling venue". This brings the number of potential venues down to 7.
