Vegas-style Super-Casino in Manchester, UK

Back in October 2004, the British parliament approved a law that has since been known as ‘the Gambling Bill’. The bill addressed many gambling issues - both online and offline, and some of its effects are only starting to be felt today. Most notably, the bill paved the way for Vegas-style ‘super-casinos’ to be built and operated in the U.K.

The three main differences between a ‘super-casino’ and other casinos are: the size of the customer area, the number of slot machines, and the jackpot size allowed. Britain currently has over 150 casinos, operating slot machines with jackpots limited to £2,000. The largest casino is ‘Star City’ in Birmingham which has a customer area of just over 929 sq m. The new bill, along with its new ‘super-casino’ definition, will change all that and take Britain one step closer to the American dream.

Once the bill passed, the Casino Advisory Panel offered licenses for one super-casino, eight large casinos and eight small casinos to be built around Britain. The super-casino will have a minimum customer area of 5,000 sq m and up to 1,250 slot machines. But the biggest advantage that comes with the ‘super-casino’ license are gaming-machines with an unlimited jackpot. Large casinos will have a minimum area of 1,000 sq m and a maximum of 150 slot machines, each with a maximum jackpot of £4,000. The small casinos will have a minimum customer area of 750 sq m and up to 80 slot machines with a maximum jackpot of £4,000.

The Advisory Panel accepted applications from over 85 local authorities going after the various casino licenses, and invited regional planning bodies to submit their views on the proposed sites by June 2006. Of these applications, 27 were aimed at the coveted single ‘super-casino’ license. Applications were sent in from two sites in London - Wembley Stadium and Millennium Dome. Other sites on the list were Blackpool, Cardiff, Glasgow, Manchester, Newcastle and Sheffield.

Late last week an unexpected winner was announced. After being a 16-1 outsider at the bookmakers to win the race, Manchester surprised many when it was chosen to be the destination for UK's first ‘regional resort’ casino.

Stephen Crow, chairman of the Casino Advisory Panel, explained why Manchester had been chosen over the other applicants: "Manchester has a very thorough consultation with the local community, and the way it dealt with questions of problem gambling" were the two advantages that Manchester had over the other sites.

The super-casino is to be based in Sportcity, which is in the Beswick area, close to the City of Manchester Stadium. The site will also contain other Vegas-like attractions, all to be found in an entertainment complex filled with many facilities. These include swimming pools, a multi-purpose arena, and an urban sports venue. Due to the obvious demand, the complex will also include many restaurants and bars, a nightclub and a hotel. Manchester's bid organizers said the project would regenerate a poor area in the east of the city. With an investment of over £265m, the super-casino is expected to generate 2,700 direct and indirect jobs.

To the dismay of the other applying cities, Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell has made it clear that additional super-casino licenses will not be granted during this Parliament. She said that “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. Las Vegas is not coming to Great Britain” she said, adding that “British casinos will be subject to new controls, which will be the strictest in the world."

Licenses were granted for new ‘large’ casinos to Great Yarmouth, Hull, Leeds, Middlesbrough, Milton Keynes, Newham, Solihull and Southampton.

Licenses were granted for new ‘small’ casinos to Bath and North East Somerset, Dumfries and Galloway, East Lindsey, Luton, Scarborough, Swansea, Torbay and Wolverhampton.

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