City is in line for five new venues FIVE new applications for casinos in Liverpool have been submitted ahead of strict new government restrictions which came into force last week. Casino operators rushed through their applications for UK venues to the Gambling Commission to meet the midnight deadline on Friday. The regulatory body received 41 applications in the last week alone – with some arriving by courier late into the evening. A spokeswoman for the Gambling Commission said: “We received 41 in the last week, which means in total we have 62 applications outstanding. Five applications are for the Liverpool area.” Until midnight on Friday, owners of Britain’s 140 casinos had been free to apply for new licences under the 1968 gaming laws. But with the legislation overhaul – the introduction of the new Gaming Act – casino operators will now only be able to apply for one of 17 licences for the larger casino and leisure venues. One of these venues will be a Las Vegas-style supercasino. The other main change is that all casinos – the 17 new ones and the existing venues –will be subject to strict new rules being brought in by the Gambling Commission. Many of these are designed to combat problem gambling. Liverpool-based Stanley Leisure is one of the casino firms believed to be behind at least one of the five Liverpool bids made before the deadline. The Dale Street-based operator is keen to expand its casino empire after selling its betting shops last year to focus on gaming. Stanley struck a £504m deal with rival William Hill and shortly after revealed it was investing £100m to upgrade its casino estate. Last night, however, the firm refused to comment on whether it had made any new applications. Last month the group announced it had been granted permission for its third casino in Liverpool, as well as its first venues in Sheffield and Nottingham. Stanley is the UK’s biggest casino operator, with 44. Applying for a casino licence is a two-stage process. Operators must apply to the Gambling Commission for an operating licence and once that is granted they must apply to their local magistrates court for a premises permit to open that casino. sophiefreeman | 
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