Britain may be ready to roll the dice

Ed Johnson

Tuesday, Nov. 2, 2004 | 9:15 a.m.

LONDON -- Legislation that would allow giant Las Vegas-style casinos to operate in Britain cleared an important Parliamentary hurdle Monday, despite fears the new law could lead to a rise in gambling addiction.

Lawmakers voted by 286 to 212 to back the gambling bill and send it to a special House of Commons committee for further scrutiny. It faces a lengthy journey through Parliament's upper and lower chambers and further votes, but the government hopes it will become law by the middle of next year.

Major gaming interests, including industry giants such as Caesars Entertainment Inc. and MGM Mirage Inc., have eagerly awaited the reforms, which would allow casinos to have slot machines with unlimited jackpots.

The two main opposition parties and a group of lawmakers from Prime Minister Tony Blair's Labour Party voted against the legislation, fearing it would lead to an influx of huge casino complexes.

But in a lengthy debate preceding Monday's vote, Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell insisted Britain's antiquated gaming laws must be modernized.

"Three years ago, 250,000 Britons traveled to Las Vegas. Next year that is likely to have doubled to 500,000," Jowell told the Commons. "We do not want to drive gambling underground or offshore ... People will keep on choosing casino games whether we like it or not. The question is how we direct that demand."

Under Britain's 1968 Gaming Act, casinos operate as private members' clubs and gamblers must apply for membership 24 hours before they can enter. Rules banning live entertainment and alcohol served at gaming tables have been lifted recently, but the clubs are still restricted to eight slot machines, with a 50 pence (90 cents) maximum stake and jackpots limited to 2,000 pounds ($3,600).

The legislation scraps the 24-hour rule and lets casinos larger than 53,820 square feet install up to 1,250 slot machines with unlimited stakes and jackpots.

The government says 90 percent of the legislation is about protecting vulnerable people, taking slot machines out of some 6,000 premises easily accessed by children, and regulating Internet gambling.

But critics have focussed on the plans for super casinos and fear an explosion of gambling addiction in Britain.

The British Amusement Catering Trade Association, the largest gaming industry body in Britain, says there are currently some 350,000 "problem gamblers" in Britain. According to an economic and social impact study, which BACTA sponsored in February 2004, that figure could rise to more than 700,000 by 2010 if the new law is adopted.

Influential Labour lawmaker Donald Anderson urged Jowell to proceed cautiously.

"Does not my friend see the world of difference between ordinary families who want to go to bingo halls, and the proliferation of mega casinos? Why cannot she have a few pilots so she can test her own views about what will happen in the real world?" he asked during the debate.

The government insists it will closely monitor the impact of the new casinos. There are currently some 120 small casinos in Britain and the government says it expects between 20 and 40 new complexes to be built, if the legislation is approved by Parliament. Some opponents have called on the government to cap the number of new casinos, rather than leave it up to market forces.

The Gambling Bill will now be passed to a special committee of lawmakers for further scrutiny, before facing a further vote in the Commons. It will then be debated and voted on by the House of Lords, parliament's upper chamber.