The battle for the small casino licence in Scarborough, a seaside resort in North Yorkshire, has gone by default to Nikolas Shaw Ltd, operator of the casino on St Thomas Street. In August the company was denied an appeal to have rival licence bidder Apollo Resorts & Leisure Ltd excluded on procedural grounds. The district judge upheld a decision by the council’s licensing sub-committee to allow Apollo through to stage two of the process, allowing the two rival bidders to demonstrate the benefits they could bring to local residents.
Now Apollo Leisure has pulled out of the bidding, leaving Nikolas Shaw to be awarded the casino licence after a 5-year application process. The company hopes to be granted preferred bidder status for its plans to redevelop North Street next to its Opera House Casino. The project includes an expanded casino (with up to 80 gaming machines), hotel, restaurants and retail units as well as a multiplex cinema.
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Further south in West Yorkshire is the City of Leeds, which was granted one of the eight large casino licences by the Gambling Act 2005. Leeds City Council is hoping for major interest from potential operators and developers and applications are invited for the casino licence that will enable the operator to install up to 150 gaming machines. The deadline for applications has been set for 26th April. The Council expects to award the licence to the chosen bidder in Spring 2013. (E-02.01.12)
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