MORE than 70,000 gambling addicts could be created across the west of Scotland if a cluster of Las Vegas resort-style casinos is built in Glasgow, according to campaigners fighting plans to deregulate the industry.
Five new casinos are planned for the city as the government presses ahead with proposals that would allow giant casinos with (pounds) 1m jackpot slot machines.
However, trade unions and anti-gambling groups have joined forces to warn the proposals could create slot junkies and threaten jobs.
Steven Bate, of the Campaign Against Gambling Expansion (Cage), said research in the US showed up to 10% of the population could suffer gambling problems.
''Research just concluded by National Economic Research Associates estimates that five casinos in the north-west of England would increase the number of pathological gamblers by 20,000,'' he said.
''That figure could be as high as 70,000 in the west of Scotland. Also, if the operators are instructed to use slot machine revenue to subsidise attached resort facilities, this will displace 6000 jobs from the region into the casino resorts.''
He said a ring of boarded-up cafes, bars, hotels, restaurants and traditional amusement arcades would be created around resort casinos in Glasgow, according to lessons learned in the US.
''No jobs will be created overall. Evidence indicates that low-income local residents are the most prone to trying to gamble their way out of poverty,'' said Mr Bate.
''Detroit has had three similar-sized casinos for five years. Ten per cent of the population near them are now classified as problem gamblers.
''Hotels and up-market restaurants near the casinos in Detroit report no increase in trade at all. Budget restaurants have been unable to compete with loss leader meals in the casinos and have closed down.
However, Lesley Sawers, chief executive for Glasgow Chamber of Commerce, said Las Vegas resort-style casinos were good news for Glasgow.
''If the city is to remain competitive it must set its sights at international level. It's all about making sure that we have a 24/7 destination.''
Dr Sawers said she was mindful of concerns about gambling. ''These can be addressed in other ways - not by stopping casino or leisure developments.''
She added that the people behind the developments were not targeting local gamblers.
Dr Sawers singled out the proposed (pounds) 162m destination resort casino at the SECC, which is expected to include a five-star 150-room luxury hotel.
''We are talking about developments which will offer hotels, restaurants and broader entertainment. We don't have enough five-star hotels and our overspill is going to Edinburgh,'' she said.
While Glasgow City Council cannot comment because it is the planning authority, Charles Gordon, its leader, gives tacit approval on the SECC website.
He said: ''The SECC already offers exhibition, conference and entertainment facilities unrivalled on a single site anywhere in the UK, and the addition of the new arena and resort casino helps confirm the SECC's position as a leading venue in Europe.''
The Herald recently revealed that Mark Griffiths, Europe's only professor of gambling studies, feared Glasgow, which has five casinos planned, could follow South Africa, where deregulation of gambling and the growth of the super-casino has created an addiction epidemic.
Some concerns of campaigners appeared to have been heeded by the government following a report by the joint committee on the draft Gambling Bill (Regional Casinos).
John Greenway MP, the committee chairman, said that instead of 40 to 45 leisure destination casinos being developed across the country, the revised plans may reduce the figure to 20 or 25.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article