Member Article

Brown to review casino plan

Gordon Brown has announced a review of whether casinos are needed to regenerate deprived cities and towns. There will be a report on gambling in September and Mr Brown said he would look at other ways to regenerate areas. In January Middlesbrough was named as a site for a ‘large’ casino, and Newcastle was one of the cities that lost out to Manchester.

Mr Brown was responding to a question during Prime Minister’s questions from an MP who said most people thought super-casinos would make gambling addiction worse.

The prime minister said: “This is an issue on which there is no consensus found in the two Houses of Parliament. And it is an issue now subject to reflection over the next few months. In September we will have a report that will look at gambling in our country – the incidence and prevalence of it and the social effects of it. I hope that during these summer months we can look at whether regeneration in the areas for the super-casinos maybe a better way of meeting their economic and social needs than the creation of super-casinos.”

The policy had been backed by former Prime Minister Tony Blair, who said in May that he thought both Manchester and Blackpool should get super-casinos, if there was sufficient investment.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .