The High Court has thrown out a legal challenge to the government’s plans for 17 super-casinos.
In R (on the application of British Casino Association (BCA) Ltd and others) v Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, the BCA, which represents the interests of gaming businesses, brought a judicial review challenging the legality of part of the transitional order made under the Gambling Act 2005.
Existing casinos claim the plans are discriminatory since they allow even the smallest new casino four times the number of gaming machines allowed in any existing casino. The new casinos will be allowed between 80 and 1,250 machines, while existing casinos will be limited to no more than 20 machines from 1 September 2007.
Michael Beloff QC, appearing for BCA and four of its member companies, told the court there was insufficient consultation on the impact on existing casinos, and that the secretary of state was “in material error of fact” in thinking few existing casinos were of sufficient size to qualify under the new licensing regime.
However, Mr Justice Langstaff ruled that the legal challenge had failed, stating the transitional order was “properly made, whatever the merits of arguments about its consequences”.
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