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Bishop says Britain rushing down road to gambling hell
Michael Brown Religious Affairs Correspondent BRITAIN is heading towards "gambling hell" and the Government is to blame, according to a former Archdeacon of Sheffield.
The Bishop of Hulme, Stephen Lowe, has said the proposals for new Las Vegas style casinos, including one in Sheffield, is "an unholy alliance between government and rich, often multi-national, gambling giants" and will increase high levels of gambling addiction already in existence in Britain.
Writing in the August issue of Crux, the Manchester diocesan monthly, Bishop Lowe said around five per cent of gamblers eventually become problem or compulsive gamblers and the present turnover of the gambling industry is 42bn a year - or 115m a day.
He said this is "a licence to print money for all those involved in the industry and, of course, the Government which collects 1.5m in taxes", he declares.
Bishop Lowe said: "The law certainly needed tidying up and improving. But what values are guiding Government policy? Why aggravate the problem of irresponsible gambling? I don't understand why we are rushing down this road to a new gambling hell."
Sheffield is one of only eight cities – and the only one in Yorkshire – to have been included on a shortlist to host the new regional casino from an original list of 27. An initial report by the Casino Advisory Panel - which will decide which city gets the venue - has said it is running in fourth place, behind bids from London's Millennium Dome, Glasgow and Blackpool and in front of applications from Brent, Newcastle, Cardiff and Manchester.
The panel marked venues on criteria including social impact, need for regeneration, willingness to license, probability of implementation, regional context, community benefits, unique characteristics and range of areas.
After the shortlist was announced last week the Panel extended the deadline for submissions from local authorities which did not make the list, something Leeds Council is expected to take advantage of.
It has been reported the next stage of judging will not be affected by the results of the first round.
A final decision will be made by the Government in December.
Critics, led by the Campaign Against Super-Casino Expansion (CASE), say the creation of a super-casino will simply encourage problem gambling and employment and social benefits it will bring will be negligible.
In Sheffield the council has received three full planning applications from different operators and for different locations.
Opponents claim the city's submission is "weak" and if Sheffield were awarded the casino it would have a detrimental effect on the area and could lead to the closure of several businesses.
They say there is no "plausible evidence" that a super casino would bring significant economic benefits to Sheffield.
Sun International, one of three operators which
have submitted applications, says the venture would
create 2,500 jobs and wide regenerative benefits for the city.
The Sheffield First Partnership Casino Task Group is looking at the scheme and will report its findings in October.
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Saturday 26 May 2012
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