Supercasino project officially scrapped
27th February, 2008
Culture secretary Andy Burnham officially threw out plans to develop Las Vegas-style supercasinos across the UK yesterday when he spoke about the matter before parliament.
Mr Burnham relayed the stance of many senior government officials - including prime minister Gordon Brown - that the large-scale casinos were likely only to have "marginal regeneration benefits".
Manchester city council last year won its bid to develop the UK's first casino and had succeeded in forcing a temporary reprieve ahead of the culture secretary's announcement, hoping to win over sceptics and drive ahead with the project.
Now that prospect of Vegas-style casino gambling houses is dead in the water, however, local officials will press on with legal action aimed at retrieving the £250 million investment they claim to have lost.
They have accused the government of hypocrisy over allowing 16 smaller, regional casinos to be developed while rejecting the supercasino bid - but culture secretary Andy Burnham defended the policy by arguing that smaller institutions would be easier to regulate.
He singled out a ban on using credit cards to buy chips as one way of ensuring gamers will be encouraged to enjoy gambling in moderation.
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