Manchester's supercasino bid is back on track after a legal challenge claiming new casinos would be unfair to existing venues was thrown out. The British Casino Association (BCA) had claimed plans for 17 new casinos - including a Las Vegas-style casino near Sportcity - could cost jobs across the country. But High Court judge Mr Justice Langstaff ruled against the challenge on all counts.

London (Reuters) - Britain's high court dismissed a challenge to government plans to build a new wave of Las Vegas-style casinos in the UK on Monday, after a casino industry body claimed the plans were badly thought out. The British Casinos Association (BCA), which represents 90 percent of Britain's casino operators, had sought a review of the government's new gambling policy.

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".

The minister in charge of gambling has admitted the government has 'not got a position' on how to take forward Manchester's supercasino bid. Richard Caborn told the M.E.N. his department was still considering its next steps after the House of Lords blocked the plan, which would have brought 3,000 jobs to a deprived part of east Manchester near SportCity. "We have not got a position on it at present," he said. "We want the 17 casinos determined by the Casino Advisory Panel (CAP).

Tony Blair gave a clear hint the Government was looking to revisit the decision to award only one licence for a supercasino. The Prime Minister said it was a “pity” that Manchester had been chosen as the sole location for the Las Vegas-style gambling complex. And he indicated the Government may come forward with new proposals after the local elections next month giving Blackpool or the Millennium Dome a second chance.

Tessa Jowell, the culture secretary, is seeking to stave off an embarrassing defeat on her plans to build a supercasino in Manchester by suggesting a joint committee of both houses consider the case for building more casinos, including large ones, sooner than originally envisaged. The government faces possible defeat in both the Lords and Commons today over the supercasino site recommended by an independent advisory panel. The vote also covers less controversial plans for 16 smaller casinos around the country.

One of the world's leading experts on gambling will this week denounce the decision to award the first supercasino licence to Manchester. Prof Peter Collins, who helped to draw up the Government's gambling legislation in 2003, will tell a committee of peers that the conclusions reached by the Casino Advisory Panel (CAP) about the merits of bids by the city and its six rivals were "often arbitrary, highly disputable, and based on reasoning which is frequently inconsistent, superficial and ill-informed".

Pressure was today intensifying on Tessa Jowell to reverse Blackpool's supercasino snub. So far the Culture Secretary has stood firm in her belief the Casino Advisory Panel was right to recommend Manchester as the location for the UK's first Las Vegas-style gambling mecca. But there's a growing rebellion by MPs and Lords.

London (Reuters) - Ladbrokes could announce an interest in running Britain's first Las Vegas-style supercasino when it unveils its 2006 results this week, an industry source said on Monday. Last month, Manchester was the surprise winner of a competition to host the supercasino, which although small by Las Vegas standards, is likely to be huge in UK terms, with 5,000 square metres of gaming space, 1,250 slot machines and 2,700 workers.

Nachdem die UK Gambling Bill im vergangenen Jahr das House of Commons passierte, hat sie nun auch die nächste große Hürde genommen. Nach erfolgreichen Marathon-Verhandlungen im House of Lords scheint der Gesetzesentwurf zur Regulierung des Glücksspielrechts in Groß Britannien (U.K. Gambling Bill) in trockenen Tüchern. Nun muss er noch das Parlament passieren. Ob dies allerdings noch vor der Parlamentswahl am 5. Mai 2005 geschehen wird, ist fraglich.