Government scraps supercasino plans

My Account
Logout

Create an Evening Standard Account

Use your social network

Save time by using your existing account to sign in to Evening Standard

We'll never share your information or post anything to your account without your permission

Welcome! Sign in here

Use your social network

Save time by using your existing account to sign in to Evening Standard

We'll never share your information or post anything to your account without your permission

Forgot your password ?

Registration

* indicates fields that are mandatory

Email *

Password *

Confirm Password *

First name *

Surname *

Postcode *

Country *

Mobile phone number

Username *

Gender *

Year of birth *

When you sign up...

You will have access to all our online competitions, discounted offers and can post comments on our site.

You will also receive The Weekender newsletter sent every Thursday - it’s full of fantastic offers and ideas for the weekend. You can update your email preferences in your account page when you log in.

Other newsletters and emails

Homes & Property Newsletter - Yes I want to receive the weekly email with all the latest news on property in the capital

Occasionally we would also like to send you relevant emails detailing specific offers either from ourselves or carefully selected partners. If you would prefer not to receive these then please tick the appropriate boxes below. We will never pass on your details.

I do not want to receive additional offers and information from the Evening Standard

I do not want to receive additional offers and information sent by Evening Standard on behalf of carefully selected partners

Terms and Conditions

* I have read, understood and agree to be bound by the terms and conditions of Evening Standard

Registration

Mail Sent for Registration Confirmation.

A confirmation email has been sent. Please activate your account by clicking on the activation link sent in your mail box.

But Culture Secretary Andy Burnham confirmed 16 smaller venues will go ahead in towns across the country.

The embarrassing U-turn comes 13 months after Manchester fought off stiff competition from Blackpool and the Millennium Dome in Greenwich to win the right to host the UK's first regional "supercasino". The scheme was put on ice later when peers rejected it by just three votes.

Whitehall insiders then pronounced it "dead in the water" in July after Prime Minister Gordon Brown said regeneration might be a better way forward.

Speaking in the Commons, Mr Burnham insisted there was "no consensus" over whether a supercasino should be built, and the risks could not be ignored.

"On the basis of the current evidence about the uncertain levels of risks surrounding a regional casino, I do not intend to authorise a regional casino," he said. "I know that my decision will disappoint many in Manchester and particularly East Manchester, one of the most deprived areas of the country."

Mr Burnham said there were "important differences" between the supercasino - with 1,250 unlimited stake and jackpot machines - and the smaller casinos, which did "not pose the same level of risk to the public".

But he stressed the Government wanted to proceed with "caution". There will be safeguards to protect young and vulnerable people, including a ban on using credit cards to buy chips and play gaming machines, he said.

Casinos will also be prohibited from opening more than 18 hours a day, obliged to provide "non-gambling" areas, and barred from handing out free drinks to customers.

Mr Burnham insisted the UK would have the "toughest regulatory controls for gambling in the world".