Clarion Gaming, organisers of January’s International Casino Exhibition in London, have awarded stewardship of the annual post-show Ball to the British Casino Association and announced that, as from January 2008, the event will be renamed ‘Casino Ball’.

The British Casino Association has called on Gordon Brown to “look again” at his policies after the Prime Minister told MPs that regeneration might be "a better way of meeting the economic and social needs" of deprived areas than a super-casino. The trade association also urged the government to resolve the uncertainty “quickly and decisively” without penalising existing businesses.

The British Casino Association (BCA) is due to learn whether it has succeeded in its High Court challenge over the legality of the Government's new gaming policy. Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell was accused during a recent hearing of treating existing gaming establishments with "blatant unfairness" as she pushes ahead with plans for 17 new casinos, including the first Las Vegas-style "super-casino".