Christians celebrate after Government axes supercasino plans

Christians have expressed their delight at the Government's announcement on Tuesday that it is abandoning plans for the UK's first Las Vegas-style supercasino.

Gordon Brown indicated not long after he became Prime Minister last July that plans for a supercasino in Manchester would be scrapped.

The Secretary for Culture, Media and Sport, Andy Burnham, put an end to almost a year of flip-flopping on the issue in a statement to Parliament on Tuesday, although plans for 16 new casinos will still go ahead.

The Evangelical Alliance said the announcement was a "victory for local communities" and that it was delighted that its repeated calls for more stringent safeguards on casinos and gambling to protect children and the vulnerable had been heeded by Parliament. These include restrictions on credit cards, alcohol and cash machines in casinos, as well as the provision of non-gambling chill out zones.

Gareth Wallace, Parliamentary Officer for the Evangelical Alliance, said: "Over the last four years the Government's proposals on super casinos have gone from an unlimited number, down to one and now today, down to none.

"This is a victory for local communities and the vulnerable in society and is a tribute to the pressure placed on the Government by campaigning journalists and concerned church groups."

The Government has now pledged £10 million to regenerate Manchester, while Blackpool will receive £300 million. It also reaffirmed its commitment to ensuring that the gambling industry contribute £4 million out of its £10 billion-a-year turnover towards the support of problem gamblers, a commitment Mr Wallace welcomed.

"However, the minister failed to address the elephant in the room, the liberalisation of gambling advertising that runs entirely contrary to this welcome statement abandoning super casinos," he added.

Dr Marijke Hoek, from the Evangelical Alliance's Greater Manchester City Fellowship, said: "Andy Burnham said that many in Manchester will be disappointed with this decision, but I for one, and many of my friends and colleagues in Manchester, are delighted."

The Salvation Army said, meanwhile, that it was pleased that the Government had U-turned on its supercasino plans.

"We hope this will lead ultimately to creative thinking around community regeneration. Hard gambling is not the answer," the Church said in a statement.

The Salvation Army remains concerned over the 16 new casinos, however, which are substantially larger than existing casinos in the UK.

"The alleged 'regenerative benefits' of these new casinos are yet to be proved and the onus is on local authorities and operators to ensure they have taken all necessary steps to identify and address the social consequences in their communities," it said.

The Salvation Army has led a lengthy campaign against the new generation of casinos, warning that gambling may have a long-term detrimental effect on individuals and communities that far outweigh the possible financial benefits.

"We remain concerned about a normalisation of gambling in our society, which could negatively affect many vulnerable people and draw them into serious debt. Problem gambling already has a negative impact on the lives of hundreds of thousands of people in this country and as a society we should be doing all we can to reduce not increase that number," The Salvation Army said.