What gambling law change could mean

From Hastings to Bognor, the county's resorts have a gambling tradition.

For decades, day trippers have flocked to the coast to try their luck in the various amusement arcades and slot machines on the piers.

This is expected to expand following a relaxation in the regulations imposed on gaming.

A Government White Paper will make it easier for casinos to be opened and they will be allowed to become Las Vegas-style venues where people can play roulette, bingo or one-arm bandits under one roof.

Resorts could be created in British holiday destinations such as Brighton and Hove following the announcement of the biggest shake-up of betting laws since the Sixties.

Changes proposed by Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell will allow operators to offer live entertainment and alcohol on betting floors, along with bingo and slot machines with unlimited jackpots.

The announcement was welcomed by Geoffrey Adlam, club director of Rendezvous Casino at The Marina, Brighton, which opened last month.

He said: "If you are an adult you should be able to make up your own decisions about where you spend time.

"There are currently lots of things that inhibit us as an industry and we are hoping that as a result of the changes these will be swept away.

"The changes will mean an end to the prohibition of advertising, prohibition of alcohol on the gaming floor and the 24-hour rule.

"The 24-hour rule means people have to become members of clubs 24 hours before they want to use them, so people visiting Brighton for the day miss out.

"At the moment we also cannot have any form of live entertainment on the premises. We have a space of 20sqft downstairs that we are hoping to turn into a 500-seat auditorium for live entertainment.

"When we opened the casino we tried to emphasise to people to see us as a destination for a night out where there is gambling - a mainstream leisure activity.

"The changes will mean people will be able to come to Brighton for the weekend and have all their entertainment in one building."

The proposals are a result of a report by the Budd Gambling Review Body, whose focus was to relax Britain's antiquated gambling laws.

On top the changes suggested by Mr Adlam, visitors to casinos will be able pay with credit cards and a Gambling Commission will be set up, with powers to oversee the industry and enforce a new code of conduct.

Other resorts in Britain have already planned new ventures which could transform their towns and while Brighton is unlikely to follow suit on such a grand scale, it could pave the way for more casinos - in a similar style to Blackpool's plan for an American-style gambling strip.

At the centre of Blackpool's plans is a 1,000 bedroom hotel on the town's Golden Mile. Under the working title Pharaoh's Palace, plans have been drawn up for a massive casino with space for 2,500 slot machines and 70 gaming tables.

Tourists will then be enticed to stay within the walls of their hotel building with rows of shops, restaurants and entertainment venues at their disposal.

The £150 million hotel is to be built on the site of the town's old Central railway station.

The longer-term development of such complexes in the town could stimulate up to £2 billion of total investment and create up to 25,000 jobs.

Mr Adlam said: "If, in the fullness of time, people think they can build hotel-style casinos there is no reason why they could not work in Brighton."

Tight regulations were originally imposed on gaming in the Sixties amid concern about gangster involvement in the industry.

Analysts, including Channel 4 racing pundit John McCririck, are predicting an expansion in the gambling industry will be good news for the British economy.

He said the decision will help transform the British way of life for ever and will bring in new industry, private investment, employment and tourism.

However, Gamblers Anonymous have expressed concerns about the relaxations.

A spokesman said: "We do not wish to ban gambling in any way and accept it is fun.

"We would like the Government and public to recognise that up to three per cent of the population, which is 1.5 million people, have the potential to have a gambling problem and the more they are exposed, the more likely their potential for disaster.

"The more you relax the rules, the more people will be able to try different forms of gambling.

"What starts as a pastime can become an addiction."

The Government has not adopted all of Budd's report, to the relief of many owners of amusement arcades.

Suggestions were made to stop children's entry to amusement establishments, get rid of coin-in, coin-out machines and prohibit blanket banning, which would have given councils powers to ban gambling premises.

Jeffrey Sanders, owner of Family Leisure in West Street, said: "These were the issues that we were really concerned about. We have campaigned long and hard against the changes and are really pleased the Government has seen sense.

"If they had gone ahead it would have stopped family people coming in and that would have caused the demise of our business.

"We are really relieved and happy."

Other features in the White Paper include allowing bookmakers, who already sell soft drinks, to serve any food and the 150-year-old restrictions which make gambling debts legally unenforceable will be abolished.

Betting shops and punters will both be able to enforce the debts.

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport is planning a Bill in 2003-4 and will put through minor legislation over the next few months, which will achieve interim deregulation.