London Briefing: The government's decision to reform Britain's antiquated gaming laws has produced a predictable response. Hysterical forecasts of Las Vegas-style mega-casinos have been accompanied by dire warnings about the coming explosion in crime, gambling addiction and most other social evils, writes Chris Johns
The Labour MP for Ealing North, Stephen Pound, echoed these sentiments in an interview on Radio 4 when he forecast the arrival of Tony Soprano on these shores: "Hanging over us will be the shadow of the men in the chalk-stripe suits with names that rhyme with spaghetti."
If I was in the Mafia I would be complaining to the Commission for Racial Equality.
Britain's gambling laws are hopelessly out of date, particularly in an age when so much gaming activity is migrating to the internet. Another casino-related furore took place a few years ago when magistrates refused to grant licences on the grounds that there was no consumer demand for gambling. It is not hard to imagine what the economists made of that one.
Frank Dobson was at it again in the Commons on Monday when he stated that there was no demand for extra casinos: if that is the case they won't stay open for very long.
Done properly, the introduction of modern casinos elsewhere in the world has led to increased employment and the generation of lots of local tax revenues. The culture secretary, Tessa Jowell, has been complaining bitterly about the level of media misrepresentation of her proposals. She points out that we have had a four-year consultation period which, among other things, has produced an agreement that vulnerable groups need better protection from the dark side of the gaming industry, whatever the legal framework.
Tony Blair has not helped her cause by claiming in parliament that the new gambling bill was "90 per cent about tightening up regulation".
Nobody believes a word Tony says these days and immediately smelt a rat. The government has been talking to various interested parties about Britain's gambling industry for nearly five years. The catalyst for the outpouring of criticism began with the announcement a couple of weeks ago that a UK-US joint venture has been established to build a large casino next to the new Wembley Stadium.
Based on very little evidence, our wonderful press has published several stories about plans to build a casino in "every town".
What we do know is that there are tentative plans to build casinos in the ill-fated Millennium Dome in east London, White City in west London, Bristol, Glasgow, Sheffield and Manchester. The involvement of familiar US names such as MGM Mirage and Caesar's Palace has added to the sense that mega-casino is on its way.
The new law, if passed, will allow casinos a maximum of 1,250 slot machines, unlimited jackpots, 24-hour opening and immediate public access (at present you have to be a "member" of a casino for 24 hours before being allowed in). There is to be a new criminal offence of allowing children anywhere near gambling, new compulsory age checks and other new rules.
I'm not sure where all the forecasts of nationwide gambling addiction come from, nor do I see the link to Las Vegas: most of the casinos in that town have more than 1,250 slot machines in their toilets.
And we already have the Lotto, 126 (often grotty) casinos and thousands of betting shops.Anyone likely to acquire a bad gambling habit has had plenty of scope to do so already. The industry itself reckons that UK gamblers already turn over £63 billion (€91.2 billion) a year: that kind of business requires proper and modern regulation, something woefully lacking.
If the government is right about the tighter rules it is proposing, the benefits of the new casinos should outweigh the costs by a very long way. For example, financially troubled football club Leeds United will get £5 million from Stanley Leisure who want to buy ground next to Elland Road to build a casino, a project that will create 1,000 jobs. Other Yorkshire football clubs planning to take advantage of the new rules include Sheffield United and Hull City.
It doesn't look likely that much will happen before 2007 - if anything happens at all. The government faces a rebellion from both its own back- benchers and the House of Lords. Concessions will inevitably be made to the rebels and Gordon Brown is waiting until the dust settles before announcing the tax rules governing the new casinos.
But once the hysteria subsides the argument will be settled by employment creation and tax revenues.
