Britain's leading gaming firm has staked its claim to run a huge Las Vegas-style casino in Brighton - with its own chaplain to watch over wayward gamblers.

Brighton and Hove has been short-listed for one of the Government's eight "large" or eight "small" casino licences - to be awarded tomorrow.

Representatives from the Rank Group, which runs two Grosvenor casinos in Brighton and Hove, have put the idea of casino chaplains to the city's church leaders - who have been vocal in their opposition to gambling.

Ian Chisnall, of Churches Together in Brighton and Hove, said: "They suggested if a new casino licence was granted then some sort of chaplaincy could be established to help people.

"Running a service like this is quite expensive. If they are saying they would be making provisions for a chaplaincy they would need to pay for it."

The Casino Advisory Panel, which will advise the Department for Culture, Media and Sport on where licences should be granted, will make its decision on the applications tomorrow. Brighton and Hove faces competition from 30 other towns and cities across the UK.

Even a small casino would dwarf any gaming venue currently operating in Sussex, with £4,000 jackpots and up to 80 machines - compared with the current legal limit of 20.

At up to 1,500sqm, a large casino would be twice the size, holding a maximum of 150 slot machines.

Rank senior general manager Peter Donnelly told church leaders in Brighton last week he would discuss financing in-house chaplains with Rank's board of directors.

Mr Chisnall said he applauded Rank's decision to approach the group but it would not be changing its anti-casino position. He said: "We already have four casinos in the city. That's probably as many as we need."

A spokesman for Rank said the idea for a casino chaplain had been raised in other meetings with church leaders elsewhere in the country. He said: "The church would have to consider whether it would be appropriate for the casino to pay for a chaplaincy.

It could be considered paying them off.

"Perhaps a trust could be set up to pay for it. It is too early to say whether it would definitely happen but you can't rule these things out."

Rank owns the leasehold of the King's West building in West Street, Brighton, which houses the Odeon Cinema and the Event II night club.

It is included in the proposed redevelopment of the Brighton Centre and has been earmarked by the council as a favoured location for any new casino.

A Rank spokesman said that should Brighton receive permission from the Government then Rank would be interested in bidding for a licence.

He said: "The Brighton Centre could well be a possibility. We would have to look at which sites are feasible. It's too early to specify.

"Any responsible operator should be doing what we are doing now. Whether it would have any impact on whether the council looks more favourably I don't know. It shows them we are willing to engage in a dialogue."

Rank's gaming division accounts for about 50 per cent of its total profits.