Followers of the leisure and gaming sector will have noted that a short-list of eight possible sites for Britain's first Las Vegas-style ‘super-casino’ has been announced.

From 27 applications, the likes of the Millennium Dome and Wembley Stadium in London, as well as Cardiff, Blackpool (one of the front-runners), Manchester and Newcastle are on the list, but only one site will snare the green light for a super-casino with unlimited jackpots. The Government originally posited there should be eight super casinos, but after a backlash on worries of fuelling gambling addiction, the plans were scaled back to one in order to save the Gambling Bill.

A further 16 licenses for small and large casinos with jackpot limits of £4,000 will be granted (more than 60 local authorities applied for these licenses). Sector watchers expect the Casino Advisory Panel’s final decision to be handed to Ministers
in December.

The UK’s largest casino operator, £453 million second liner Stanley Leisure, has reassured investors that trading in the year to April met expectations, with provincial casinos performing well and increased attendance levels seen following the removal of the 24-hour membership rule. Though it’s too early to call the long-term effects of the recently implemented smoking ban in Scotland, chief executive Bob Wiper said attendances at casinos north of the border have remained strong and the London casinos recovered most of their first half shortfall in half two.