The rules of the game were made clear before the competition started but vocal opponents of the Casino Advisory Panel’s selection of Manchester for the regional casino are agitating to get a re-run. The fact that the independent panel of experts considered all the criteria and made a judgement based on their brief is not good enough for those Members of Parliament jumping on the bandwagon in support of Blackpool’s claim for the title.

Lord (Tim) Clement-Jones, Liberal Democrat Culture Spokesperson, has tabled a motion in the House of Lords and also written to the Chairman of the House of Lords Liaison Committee asking for a proposal to convene a Select Committee in both Houses of Parliament to be considered. Many MPs have decided they want to discuss the CAP recommendation to award the super-casino to Manchester. Of course what they actually want is more than a discussion – they want to overturn the result.

The Liberal Democrat Shadow Culture Secretary Don Foster MP commented, "The recommendation of the Casino Advisory Panel should be looked at by a Joint Committee of Parliament because of the increase in online gambling and the current number of casinos, which are changing the face of British gambling. The Government previously promised that there would be no more than 150 casinos, but the extra 17 new casino licenses recommended by the Casino Advisory Panel will exceed that limit.”

He added, "The Government must allow a Joint Committee to make sure the Casino Advisory Panel has made the right decision." Allowing a Joint Committee to examine the CAP recommendation is tantamount to discounting the abilty of a panel of experts in favour of non-experts taking a vote. The conclusions arrived at by CAP were fully explained in its published recommendations, and its choice of Manchester would seem to stand on its own merits.

As has been said countless times, Blackpool would make a great destination casino resort and hopefully, in due time, will be allowed to develop as such. It’s very nature as a destination means it cannot be accurately used to test the social impact of a Las Vegas style casino. If the government is forced to rename Blackpool as the winning applicant, it has been defeated in its aim to regulate gambling to bring maximum benefit with minimum adverse social impact which, of course, is what many anti-gambling groups desire.
(E-02.27.07)

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