Online Casino Gambling News - by Gamblers Lodge

UK Gambling Bill Pushes Casinos Away

As the UK Gambling Bill nears its finalization of becoming a law, components of the bill are coming to light which may be telling why a few large casinos like Harrah’s are pulling out of negotiations to operate Vegas-style casinos in the U.K. As it stands now, the bill would allow up to eight super-casinos like the casino resorts in Las Vegas to open their doors by the year 2010. However, Cultural Secretary Tessa Jowell has been stating all along that the bill will impose tight regulations on these casinos if it goes into effect.

Of these impositions, the main safeguard is to prevent casinos to use underhanded tactics and excessive temptations to get gamblers to spend money at the casino. Las Vegas casinos are notorious for offering gamblers free dinners and rooming if they stay a while in the casino. And a "while" in the casino can be more like hours on end, for another tactic casinos like to use is to not have clocks anywhere on the gambling floor, nor to never change the lighting inside. The idea is to get gamblers to forget the time, and therefore how much money they have spent. It may sound ludicrous, but it works. And the Gambling Bill will not stand for it in its campaign to bring in more gambling revenue, but at the same time, to curb down problem gambling.

Jowell has directly referenced casino gambling in America by actually using Las Vegas casinos as a model for what the Gambling Bill does not want to create. When the news first came out that Britain was going to allow for more gambling and drastically relax its punting laws, many casinos were biting at the bit; Up to 225 casino companies have expressed interest, including plans to relocate to Britain. However, with this large amount of competition, not to mention the existing betting parlors and bookies, and the strict impositions of the bill, the hype has died down quite a bit, sending a few prospective casino bidders back to their homeland.

The bill is expected to pass, which the Gambling Gaming and Betting Association says will bring in 2 billion of investment funds to the economy. However, unless there are certain components of the bill that undergo some reformation, this amount is expected to drastically drop as feasible investors start to back out.

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