In the early 1970s, the British casino industry had to be whiter than white. A British/South African was denied a dealers’ licence because of a traffic violation in Johannesburg. A young girl, now a respected casino manager, was denied a dealers’ licence several times because of an unsubstantiated rumour of shoplifting. Today the new Gambling Commission has the job of keeping the British casino industry above reproach, and yet a comment in a feature published by The Observer suggests that standards have already slipped.

A report prepared for PricewaterhouseCoopers in March 2006, as part of a study into the possible social impact of a regional casino in Greenwich, quotes a top police officer, Detective Inspector Darren Warner of the Metropolitan Police’s Gaming Unit. Apparently DI Warner criticises the practice of hiring East European staff, saying that background checks cannot go further back than the day they entered Britain. This state of affairs, if true, is a far cry from those rigorous licensing procedures previously conducted.

The ‘secret’ police report, which will be part of a Channel 4 production ‘Dispatches: Labour's Gambling Addiction' to be shown later this month, also questions the government’s relaxation of the casino membership rules without making identification by passport or driving licence compulsory. The publication of the report and the Channel 4 programme seem to have been timed to cause the maximum disquiet to both the public and the government just before the Casino Advisory Panel discloses its choice of location for Britain’s first super casino.

The police have expressed concern that antisocial behaviour could increase, as could money laundering, organised crime and easier access for children and vulnerable groups – all things the government stresses will be guarded against under the Gambling Act 2005. Warner also believes that undertakings by the casino industry to limit the way they attract customers will be undermined by market forces.

It will be some time before the dire predictions of the anti-gambling lobbies can be tested. In the meantime the council that wins the super casino prize, as well as those awarded the 8 large and 8 small casino licences, will have much planning to do. The government, the Gambling Commission and the new local authority licensing bodies will have to prove that Britain’s casino industry is still whiter than white. Then, if they are successful, more super casinos could be on the cards. (E-01.15.07)

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