Odds turn against UK Las Vegas

CASINO operators banking on a gaming free-for-all are likely to be big losers when details of the Gambling Bill emerge on Wednesday.

MPs and peers who scrutinised plans to liberalise the industry are believed to have reined in measures that would have opened the way for Las Vegasstyle resorts in places such as Blackpool. It is thought they were worried about problems that arose in Australia after it liberalised the market.

Casinos are likely to be more restricted in size and number than expected, which is bad news for international operators planning to enter the UK market.

'The Government is not anti-gambling but it is likely to modernise, not deregulate,' said one source. 'It's a knee in the groin for casinos.'

Controversial online betting exchanges are also likely to come under stricter controls.

MPs and peers spent months poring over the fine print in the long-awaited draft Bill. But it is not just the details that will make for interesting reading - the list of interests declared by the 16 joint committee members reveals just how dedicated MPs and peers are to the world of gambling.

No fewer than six of the members are part-owners of racehorses - Lord Donoughue, Lord Falkland and MPs Jeff Ennis, Alan Meale, Anthony Wright and Richard Page, who owns several horses.

Several members like a flutter too. Lord Brooke has a phone account with Ladbrokes, Page has an account with online bookmaker Betfair and Wright is a member of an unnamed casino.

But as every punter knows, the real excitement is to be had at the trackside and committee members certainly threw themselves wholeheartedly into the task.

Falkland enjoyed hospitality at Newmarket and Plumpton racecourses; Baroness Golding and Page have also been taken to Plumpton.

Chairman John Greenway enjoyed 'various events' thanks to York Race Committee, the Tote, Ladbrokes, Betfair.com, Yorkshire Television, the Association of British Bookmakers (ABB) and the ever-obliging Plumpton racecourse.

Donoughue received days out courtesy of Ascot, Cheltenham, the Tote, Ladbrokes, William Hill, Coral, Trading Sports, the ABB and, of course, Plumpton. Ennis restricts his entry to declaring he has been 'the recipient of hospitality at various racecourses'.

Some are also shareholders in the industry. Brooke has shares in London Clubs International, Donoughue in casino operator Stanley Leisure and Lord Wade in Arena Leisure.