There were no heated exchanges at yesterday’s Lords Select Committee hearing, just a relentless parade of questions and answers that threw little additional light on previously stated reasons for the Casino Advisory Panel’s selection of Manchester as the super casino location. Richard Caborn MP, Minister of State at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) was repeatedly pressed to say that the parliamentary vote on the CAP recommendations, due to be held in a few weeks time, could be split to allow a separate vote on the Manchester issue. However, the Minister stood his ground, insisting that it is all 17 licences that are to test the social impact of the new casinos and the one super casino is just part of the whole package.

Professor Crow, who answered questions before Richard Caborn, was less at ease in the hot seat, but presumably has had less practice than the politician at defending his actions in public. The Lords appeared to have major concerns about the expertise of the panel, following comments made by gaming expert Professor Peter Collins. They also questioned the content of the brief that the panel had been given in the assessment process and whether, in hindsight, it should have been different. The fact that Manchester had been awarded points for its preparations for problem gambling was highlighted, as minimising harmful effects had not been a part of the panel’s brief.

On the subject of destination casinos being preferable to inner city ones, it was pointed out that Manchester actually is a tourist destination and that a super casino would, in all events, become a destination attracting visitors from outside the area. Richard Caborn also commented that the questioning of the panel’s terms of reference for making its selections had not been queried in either House of Parliament when they were published in December 2004. On the matter of allowing further super casinos it was estimated that it would be nearly a decade before that could happen, taking into consideration the time line for building and a minimum three years’ research into the social impact of the 17 new casinos. (E-03.14.07)

© Copyright 2007 CasinoCompendium



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