Give us a level playing field say casinos

01 June 2006
Give us a level playing field say casinos

Traditional casinos won't be able to compete on a level playing field with the 17 new UK venues that are planned, according to the British Casino Association (BCA).

The BCA said restrictions on payouts and machine numbers at existing sites meant they would struggle if newly licensed casinos were built nearby.

The warning comes as the Casino Advisory Panel announced its shortlist of candidates for new licences, which include one supercasino, eight "small" sites and eight "large" sites.

BCA chairman Penny Cobham said: "The majority of the local authority areas shortlisted already have operating casinos. The existing estate faces severe restrictions on its development."

A Casino Advisory Panel spokeswoman said the group was open to objections about the location of new casinos.

\* There were few surprises in the shortlist of eight areas bidding for the supercasino licence published last week. Brigid Simmonds, chief executive of Business in Sport and Leisure, said: "The fact that four are in the North of England shows that economic regeneration is the key issue." Areas shortlisted are Blackpool, Brent, Cardiff, Glasgow, Greenwich, Manchester, Newcastle and Sheffield.

By Tom Bill

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