Although the Government is currently only allowing one regional supercasino, documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act reveal that the Government may plan to introduce more. In a letter, dated October 20 2005, the Deputy Prime Minister, John Prescott, wrote,
‘We have not ruled out the possibility of asking Parliament to approve an increase in the number of regional casinos at some future point. We will consider any evidence that is safe and prudent in regulatory terms to increase the number of regional casinos to anything up to eight.’
The Government has made it clear that they would prefer for the UK gambling industry to grow at an even faster rate. Culture Secretary, Tessa Jowell, wrote in 2004 that ‘gambling is a massive, global industry and is entitled to a regulatory framework that ensures continued growth.’ Elsewhere, astonishingly, she said the goal was to ‘[turn] gambling into a mainstream leisure activity.’
Despite Labour’s enthusiasm to turn Britain into one of the world’s most lucrative gambling hotspots, most Britons are against the intrusion of casinos. A YouGov survey conducted by the Daily Telegraph found that only 30% of those questioned believed that new casinos were a ‘good idea.’
