Earlier this week it was announced that of 28 Gala casinos in the UK, the Gala Rotunda in Glasgow was top for customer satisfaction. Gala operates four casinos in Glasgow and runs Scotland’s largest casino, the Gala Casino Merchant City, which was opened this September. Glasgow City Council has determined to go one better and back a bid to host the largest casino in the UK, the first and only super casino under present Gaming Act 2005 laws. The Glasgow City Marketing Bureau has already done a great job in promoting the city and altering consumer perceptions since the launch of ‘Glasgow: Scotland with Style’ in March 2004, and in September this year the city won the Conde Nast Traveller award when it was voted Best UK City.

The local council has recently published a report that says that a world class casino resort in Glasgow would generate around £200 million (US$353 million) for the economy in the west of Scotland, and create some 4,000 jobs. VisitScotland, the official site of Scotand’s National Tourist Board, is backing the Glasgow regional casino bid as a way to engender regeneration. Deep Sagar, a director of the Glasgow Employer Coalition, is a member of the newly appointed independent panel to advise the government on the location for the first UK casino resort.

At a meeting this week of Glasgow’s Chamber of Commerce, the chairman of VisitScotland, Peter Lederer, stated that there were potential ‘knock-on effects’ if a regional casino attracted visitors from around the world. He also said that there is a ‘tendency to underestimate the interest’ that a truly world class casino resort would bring. It is estimated that such a casino resort could bring annual tourist numbers for Glasgow up to two million.

Glasgow is far from being the only British city to want the lucrative super casino development. This week a group of MPs, businesses and community groups has started a campaign to claim the regional casino for Coventry, in the heart of England. They only foresee 1,000 new jobs for the area if the Ricoh Arena is granted the licence. Isle of Capri, Biloxi-based before Hurricane Katrina prompted a future move of headquarters, has been chosen to run the casino.

The 5-member Casino Advisory Panel started work at the beginning of last month and will make its report by the end of 2006. The Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport will specify the areas for the 17 new casinos (1 Regional, 8 Large and 8 Small) in a Parliamentary order at the beginning of 2007, based on the advice of the panel. The order must be approved by Parliament. Once the approval has been given, the relevant local authorities or licensing boards will run competitions for the new casino premises licences. (E-11.04.05)

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