Rebel MPs and ministers are demanding that the Government drops from the Gambling Bill the proposal to allow a new breed of "mega-casinos" to be created.
MPs, Ministers threaten to vote against the 'ga-ga' Gambling Bill
More MPs signed the Commons motion tabled by Frank Field, the former minister, calling for pilot schemes before towns are given the freedom to allow for the construction of mega-casinos, The Independent wrote.
One minister said that the government has started sounding out Labour MPs to count the number of rebels.
Some MPs are also calling for an upper limit on the number of new casinos across the country to be written into the Bill.
"They are doing a head count and it looks pretty grim. They won't lose the Bill, but there will have to be concessions," the minister said.
The rebels are demanding that the Government drops from the Gambling Bill the proposal to allow a new breed of "mega-casinos" to be created.
Most members of the Labour left-wing Campaign Group of MPs are threatening to vote against the Bill's second reading on Monday. "We don't want the crime associated with the casinos and we know that the only pressure for this is coming from the big gambling companies in the US," said a member of the group.
A former cabinet minister has also indicated he will vote against the measure along with the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats.
One left-winger said: "It will be a sizeable revolt. A lot of Labour MPs just don't see the need for this. It is a self-inflicted wound."
The MPs are concerned that casinos could encourage poorer punters to get deeper into debt.
Kate Hoey, the former sports minister, joined a growing group of Labour rebels which will vote against the Government's bill to allow Las Vegas-style casinos in towns across Britain.
Hoey said: "Why do we need all these casinos? It seems crazy. I am going to vote against it. The whole deregulation proposal would have to be taken out before I would vote for it. Sports clubs will lose their slot machines. It's ga-ga."
Hoey has told friends that she believed it was "stupid" of the Culture Secretary, Tessa Jowell, to say at the weekend that opponents of the legislation were influenced by "snobbery".
If the bill is passed and giant Las Vegas-style casinos roll out across the UK, gross industry revenue is likely to rise to £17 billion in six years, generating tax revenue from betting and related activity of £3 billion a year, according to the Centre for Economics and Business Research, according to a new analysis, cited by scotsman.com.
The gambling industry estimates that between 20 and 40 new large-scale casinos will be created. The Bill will require them to be of at least 7,500 square metres, and with a substantial part set aside for gaming tables in addition to slot machines.
The current total gambling expenditure in the UK is around £9 billion, which generates £1.3 billion in gambling-related duties.
If the rate of gambling tax stays as at present and growth of gambling is in line with government predictions, then the real gambling-related tax revenue would rise from £1.3 billion to £2.1 billion. Adding in increased income and other taxes with new job creation would take the total up to £2.6 billion.
However, CEBR chief executive Douglas McWilliams reckons that the growth in gambling "is likely to be rather faster than the government's own assumptions – a rise to £17 billion by 2010. If these forecasts are correct, the tax revenue generated will be £3 billion rather than the £2.6 billion estimated on the government's predictions."
