UK Parliamentarians Want Tighter UK Casino Controls

British parliamentarians called on the government on Wednesday to put tighter controls on UK casinos and slot machines as it prepares to deregulate an industry worth more than £40 billion.

A cross-party parliamentary committee scrutinising a draft gambling bill, designed to overhaul laws dating from the 1960s, said the bill would bring a rise in "problem gambling".

It recommended an amendment that would put a cap on the number of Las Vegas-style slot machines a UK casino can install and proposed restricting larger "resort" casinos to areas where they can bring regeneration, such as ailing seaside towns.

The government is not obliged to accept any of the committee's suggestions, but its report will inform the political debate as the bill makes its way through parliament.

Hilton Group, Rank, London Clubs International and Stanley Leisure are among the major UK companies that could benefit from the long-awaited deregulation of Britain's gambling industry.

Upper limits on slot-machine numbers and restrictions on where resort casinos can be set up could deter larger operators, including U.S. companies expected to pour billions into Britain.

The 1968 Gambling Act allowed for strict restrictions on the use of casino premises for purposes other than gaming, the hours they could open, where they could be sited and how they could advertise. It also restricted pay-outs on fruit machines.

The government's draft bill, published in November, proposes wholesale deregulation, supervised by a new Gambling Commission that would be given strong enforcement powers.

Remote gambling via the Internet, mobile phones or interactive television would be licensed and regulated properly in the UK for the first time under the government's bill.