City beats Greenwich Dome and Blackpool to host first Vegas-style casino in the UK

Manchester has been chosen as the surprise winner in the battle to host the UK’s first supercasino, the independent Casino Advisory Panel revealed in a report today.

The Dome in Greenwich, south east London, and Blackpool had previously been considered as frontrunners to win the Las Vegas style casino which will be at least 5,000 sq m. However, it was pipped to the post by Manchester.

Other shortlisted cities included Glasgow, Sheffield, Newcastle and Cardiff.

One of the key factors in the selection process was that the area had “clear potential” for regeneration.

The CAP has also recommended that the right to host large casinos of around 1,500 sq m should be awarded to Great Yarmouth, Hull, Leeds, Middlesbrough, Milton Keynes, Newham, Solihull and Southampton.

The recommended areas for small casinos of 750 sq m are Bath and north east Somerset, Dumfries and Galloway, East Lindsey, Luton, Scarborough, Swansea, Torbay and Wolverhampton.

Manchester City Council has identified the Sportcity site in east Manchester as the preferred location for the casino.