Atlantic City, New Jersey - The city's 11 casinos would be able to temporarily police themselves if state government ever shuts down again under a bill being pushed by a state senator who is a former Atlantic City mayor. As tempting as that might sound for casinos to cut corners - or worse - while state inspectors are not on the job, the law would enable the governor to shut down a casino for serious wrongdoing.
The federal government has warned an Oklahoma Indian tribe not to open a planned off-reservation gambling casino along an interstate highway in southern New Mexico. The National Indian Gaming Commission told the Fort Sill Apache Tribe on Thursday that it cannot legally open the casino and risked enforcement action if gambling is permitted on the tribally owned land in New Mexico. The commission issued its letter a day after Gov. Bill Richardson ordered state police to block access to the tribe's casino if gambling was started.
Plans for a casino in the Black Country to boost regeneration are an "insult", according to a local MP. Ken Purchase (Lab Wolverhampton North East) said it was wrong to base local economic strategy on "a game of pitch and toss". He spoke out after the Government revealed it was giving the green light to 16 new casinos across the country, including in Solihull and Wolverhampton.
William Hill's new chief executive shrugged off government warnings about the addictive nature of lucrative betting terminals, calling instead for ministers to broker the bookmakers' feud over levy contributions with the racing industry. Ralph Topping, the one-time "Saturday boy" elevated last week to the top job, said the Gambling Commission had studied the impact of new gaming technology such as fixed-odds betting terminals and found no rise in problem gambling.
Only a handful of the 16 small casinos given the government go-ahead on Tuesday are ever likely to see the light of day, because of serious doubts harboured by operators about their likely returns. Andy Burnham, the culture secretary, finally killed off the supercasino planned for Manchester but gave the go-ahead to 16 second and third-tier casinos in locations such as Leeds, Milton Keynes and Newham in east London.
London (Reuters) - The UK government finally axed controversial plans for Britain's first Las Vegas-style supercasino on Tuesday as it gave the green light to build a new generation of 16 smaller casinos. The supercasino was set to be built in Manchester before the idea was effectively killed off by Gordon Brown last July, shortly after he became Prime Minister. Culture minister Andy Burnham finally confirmed the government was scrapping the idea in a statement to Parliament, ending almost a year of deliberation and confusion.
The Sikkim Government has come up with an innovative plan to lure more hospitality players to develop five-star hotels in the state. It will be the first Indian state to offer casinos at five-star hotels license for in-territory gambling. According to latest reports, Royal Plaza managed by Sarovar Hotels Pvt. Ltd. and a five-star resort built by DLF Hotel Holdings have already received a nod from the government for the Casino license.
The number of casinos is set to nearly double despite a Government promise to restrict openings. Gaming firms have applied to build 125 smaller casinos and 16 "regional" centres to add to the 144 they already run. The total of 285 is almost double the cap of 150 set by the Government when introducing new gambling legislation in January 2005. Culture Minister Richard Caborn told MPs during a line-by-line debate on the Gambling Bill: "We can say with certainty that there will be no more than 150 casinos."
The Turkish Government finally has set its National Lottery, Milli Piyango, in the display window for the (pre-) privatization. The Government has reconfirmed that Ernst & Young, and for the technical gambling facets, QLot Consultants, will assist the Turkish Privatization Authority (IPA) to realize this great ambition. Plans to privatize the National Lottery were already discussed under the administration of Turgut Özal in 1985, but so far has been too hot a political potato to be actually consumed.
Former owners of video slot machines widely called "Bada Iyagi" (The Sea Story) Tuesday lodged a lawsuit against the government with the Seoul Central District Court, alleging the government's inconsistent regulations left them bankrupt. A total of 19 former slot machine owners filing the lawsuit said the government, which had once encouraged people to invest in the business, turned their backs on the business as public sentiment turned against the gambling business.
The government of Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) has no plan to revise its gaming tax nor it is considering the issue, said a senior official on Friday. Secretary for Economy and Finance Francis Tam Pak Yuen made the remark when asked to comment on the topic brought up by Macao gaming magnate Stanly Ho at a Lunar New Year reception hosted by the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Macao SAR.
It seems the time is not right for the government’s plan to launch 16 casinos, as uncertainly over its gambling policy reigns and cash-strapped casinos have other things on their mind. The question of casino policy remains unresolved. Gordon Brown, who axed proposals for a Las Vegas style super-casino shortly after becoming Prime Minister, is poised to unveil plans for 16 smaller “Gambling Palaces”.
