It has always been the case that once a local authority has been chosen to host Britain’s only regional casino, they must organise a tender process to select an operator. It needs to be the case in order to comply with European competition laws, and even then one super casino may well fall foul by being a monopoly. This fact has not prevented many local authorities from aligning themselves with particular gaming companies in their projects. Even Manchester and Cardiff, which claim to have already undertaken a bidding process, have jumped the gun by making their selection before the application stage.

Cardiff has already selected Aspers as the winning bid for their city; Manchester City Council has named Kerzner International, as has Greenwich but without a tender process. According to Greenwich Council, no other operator had approached them about a casino at the Dome site. Developers AEG say they are happy to go through any process but believe their partnership with Kerzner is so far the only applicant.

Just as in Chile, where a new and seemingly clear casino licensing process has been beset with legal challenges, the UK appears to be heading towards court cases in due course. Apart from European competition and monopoly laws, potential operators are likely to resort to litigation. Las Vegas Sands has already been to the High Court to get an injunction to prevent an exclusivity agreement between itself, Birmingham City Council and Birmingham Football Club from being released to a local newspaper. As it happens it lost its case, but could appeal right up to the House of Lords and delay the outcome, and Birmingham was not shortlisted anyway.

International gaming companies have already spent a great deal of money on projects for regional casinos. Many of the studies used by councils to back their applications have been funded by casino operators. Years of working together on casino schemes could make a future tender process biased in favour of the operator which already has its project ready to run. Signed contracts between operators, developers and councils will also face legal challenges.

In December the choice of the Casino Advisory Panel should be made public. It will then be for the Government to decide and for the next stage of proceedings to start. It may well also herald the start of both a media and a legal furore. (E-09.04.06)

© Copyright 2006 CasinoCompendium



>>> return to archives
>>> return to frontpage