JONATHAN LESSWARE

THE panel set up to advise the government on the location of the UK's first super-casino has been accused of secretly "singling out" Blackpool ahead of Glasgow and Cardiff.

The Casino Advisory Panel wrote directly to Blackpool council to gauge its interest in the only Las Vegas-type centre that will be allowed under the Gambling Act 2005.

Glasgow and Cardiff city councils, which also hope to land the super-casino which would provide 2,000 jobs, have not received a letter. It was sent in November 2005 - four months before the March 2006 closing date for applications.

In September 2005 Rangers Football Club unveiled a £200 million plan to bring the super-casino to Govan with a complex containing a football pitch, hotel and conference centre.

But now there are fears Blackpool has become the favourite after the letter was discovered following a freedom of information request by the Welsh shadow culture minister Owen John Thomas. The Plaid Cymru Welsh Assembly member acted after hearing rumours that the panel and Blackpool council had been in touch.

The letter to the council's chief executive refers to possible locations for the casino. It states: "The primary criteria laid down by the Secretary of State are to ensure locations satisfy the need for the best possible test of social impact (which may require a range of locations of different kinds such as seaside resorts, edge of town developments or inner city centres) and include areas in need of regeneration."

Mr Thomas wrote to the chief executives of Glasgow and Cardiff councils and they confirmed they had not received the letter.

He said: "Had this letter been sent to several local authorities, its content could be viewed as fairly innocuous. However, I contacted the chief executives of Cardiff council and Glasgow council, the offices of which both confirmed with some alarm that they have received no such correspondence.

"This clearly suggests that Blackpool has been singled out by the Westminster government to become the home for the UK's first super-casino. In the meantime, the local authorities in Cardiff and Glasgow are spending significant sums of money putting together strong bids for what may be 'a done deal'."

Bill Aitken, Tory MSP for Glasgow, said: "It's incumbent upon the panel to treat every application on an individual basis, but I would be confident that Glasgow's bid will be robust enough to see off all comers."

A spokesman for the Department for Culture, Media and Sport insisted that there were no favourites.


Date Posted: 30-Jan-2006