About casinos
There were over 140 land-based casinos in operation, when the
Gambling Act 2005 came into force on 1 September 2007. This means
that all the current casinos in Great Britain were established
under previous legislation. In addition there are a number of
premises which, although licensed, are not currently operating
as casinos.
The Gambling Act 2005 allowed for one regional casino and
an additional 16 casinos (eight large and eight small). Government
has decided not to go ahead with the regional casino for the time
being and to date, none of the 16 new casinos have been
developed.
More information about the casino industry is
available in
Gambling Industry Statistics 2008/09.
What gambling facilities do casinos offer?
Most casinos offer a variety of approved casino games, such as
American roulette and blackjack. Games of equal chance (such as
poker) are usually made available, in addition to gaming
machines. A small number of specialist casinos may only offer
electronic games and/or games of equal chance.
When introduced, depending upon their classification, the 16 new
casinos will be allowed to provide betting and bingo
facilities.
If a premises would like to offer equipment which allows
customers to play casino games by remote means, all equipment must
comply with the
Bingo and casino equipment technical requirements - July 2008.
Remote casinos
The Gambling Act 2005 permits
remote casinos to operate from
Great Britain. All relevant equipment used to facilitate remote
casino activities must meet the Gambling Commission's remote and gambling software technical
standards.
Further information about remote gambling.