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Blair speaks out on supercasino decision

19/04/2007

Prime minister Tony Blair has told MPs that it is a "pity" that Manchester was chosen as the location for the country's first supercasino.

He told the House of Commons that although the decision by the casino advisory panel to select Manchester was entirely justified, he said that it was disappointing that Blackpool, which had built its regeneration plans around the casino, had been rejected.

However, he defended the wider casino policy and insisted that that one supercasino and 16 smaller casinos would bring much-needed investment and regeneration.

The prime minister also criticised those who opposed the casino measures on issues of morality, saying that there are plenty of other ways to gamble in the UK, reports newswire Thomson Financial.

"What we have to do is look very carefully at this issue and recognise that in a world where there is online betting that casinos are not something that are against the proper norms of society," he commented.

Mr Blair also revealed that a new casino plan would be proposed after the local elections in May.

Last month, MPs backed the government's gambling order by 274 to 250, while peers rejected the measure 123 votes to 120.



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