Supplier News
UK – British casino exec calls for ‘supercasino’ overhaul
By Phil - 1 June 2015
A top executive in the British casino sector has called for the Conservative government to revisit decade old plans to introduce ‘super-casinos.’
Roy Ramm, Public Affairs Director at Caesars Entertainment, believes gaming operators have improved their standards since the failed bid to bring Las Vegas sized wide area progressives to British gaming floors.
He slammed the current 2005 Gambling Act as being a ‘complete failure’ that had failed to deliver casinos to communities that had wanted them. Only two of a total of 16 approved licences have opened in Westfield Stratford City and Milton Keynes.
Mr Ramm believes a new initiative called Playing Safe had boosted the industry’s protection program with a certification scheme, independent assessors and staff trained to watch out for problem gamblers.
Caesars recently became the first UK casino to win a certificate of good practice.
Mr Ramm said: “This is about making sure gambling is a pastime not a problem for people. For a tiny percentage, less than three per cent, it becomes a problem. There is an urgent need to revisit the Gambling Act. We want to see responsible gambling embedded in the casino industry in the same way food hygiene is in the restaurant industry. If you fleece people there is a chance they will lose their jobs and homes. We do not want that. The industry has changed greatly since 2007 and become much more committed to responsible gambling.”
