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12 June 2008 / Alex Gunning
Issue: 7325 / Categories: Features , Public , Competition , Commercial
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Taking a gamble

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When can licensing authorities use their discretion to grant a casino licence? Alex Gunning reports

The Gambling Act 2005 (GA 2005) ushered in a new era for casino gaming and, with it, an initial restriction on the number of new casino licences. Under GA 2005 new licences have been initially limited to eight large, eight small casinos and one regional (or super) casino, though the proposal for the latter has been mired in controversy and (for the time-being at least) shelved.

Fearing the closing of an opportunity to obtain casino licences as a result of the implementation of GA 2005, a number of operators decided to make applications for new licences under the transitional provisions of the preceding Gaming Act 1968 (GA 1968), in which a considerable discretion is conferred on the licensing authority (ie the local licensing justices and, on appeal, the Crown Court).

Those applications have led to fundamental questions being raised about the meaning and effect of GA 1968 40

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