Casino battle as law passed

The fight is on to create a casino in Wolverhampton after plans cleared their final parliamentary hurdle.

Government legislation for the creation of 16 new casinos was approved last night by the House of Lords, including one small casino in Wolverhampton with 80 slot machines and £4,000 prizes.

Once the Gambling Act 2005 is signed off by the Queen, Wolverhampton City Council can begin the bidding process to decide where it will be built and who will run it.

Wolverhampton Racecourse hopes to win the licence to create Europe's first "racino", and developers behind the forthcoming transformation of the city's railway station will also battle for it.

Today it emerged Rank Group plc, which owns Grosvenor Casinos, is also set to join the race to run a casino at another location - although the firm will not reveal where at the moment.

Chief executive Ian Burke said: "We believe that a new casino is a welcome opportunity for Wolverhampton and we are keen to work in partnership with the council and the local communities."

The legislation also paves the way for seven other small casinos, plus eight large casinos including one at Birmingham's NEC with 150 slot machines offering the same jackpots.