Britain Gambling Developing Into Unholy Alliance

Britain is heading towards " gambling hell" and the Government is to blame according to a former Archdeacon of Sheffield.

Bishop Stephen Lowe said the proposals for new Las Vegas style casinos, including one is Sheffield, are "an unholy alliance between government and rich, often multi-national, gambling giants."

Bishop Lowe said around five percent of gamblers become addict. The turnover of the gambling industry is 42 billion UK Pounds a year - or 115 million UK Pounds a day at present.

The Bishop said "The law certainly needed tidying up and improving. But what values are guiding Government policy? Why aggravate the problem of irresponsible gambling? I don't understand why we are rushing down this road to a new gambling hell."

Sheffield is the only one in Yorkshire and is one of the eight cities to have been included on a shortlist. The Casino Advisory Panel has said Sheffield is running in fourth place to get a venue for a casino.

The criteria for venues includes social impact, need for generation, willingness to license, probability of implementation, regional context, community benefit, unique characteristics and range of areas.

A final decision will be released on December for whoever will be given a license. One of the operators which have submitted an application says they would create 2,500 jobs and wide benefits for the city.