Will Swindon ever get that much-talked-about casino?

For more than two decades, our fine Wiltshire town has been linked with having the county’s first casino, with local council officials acknowledging the potential financial benefits it would bring to the area, as well as the influx of visitors to Swindon from surrounding areas.

So, just why has it never transpired? Back in 1996, the UK government opted to grant Swindon a casino licence, which never materialised due in no small part to a combination of the 1997 General Election and the dallying of the government and local council.

The town's close proximity to Bristol and even Cardiff — with a glut of casinos located there — combined with the quality of live action being restricted to the major UK cities such as London, Birmingham and Nottingham, and even further afield across Europe and Las Vegas, has left Swindon very much in the casino doldrums. It was hoped that the 2005 gaming legislation would help relax the existing legislation on casinos in the UK, with the 1968 Gaming Act stating that only 53 regions across the country were allowed casinos (those areas were selected by population size data from the 1960s).

However, towns such as Swindon were left frustrated when the 2005 law eventually mirrored the 1968 Act, curbing talk of “super casino” resorts cropping up across the country.

Those frustrations are based largely on the fact that population demographics have shifted hugely in the last half-a-century, with some areas now better placed to house a casino than they were in the 1960s. In more recent times, figures at Swindon Council have continued to remain receptive to the idea of a casino in the town centre, refusing to close the door fully on proposals.

That’s largely because of the considerable economic benefits that reports have shown a new casino would bring to Swindon. In 2006, Swindon Council’s own bidding document for a new casino forecast that it would bring 800 new jobs and transform previously run-down parts of town. At the time, Swindon was one of 41 local authorities bidding to become one of 16 new casinos licensed nationally.

Even more recently still, the council again reiterated in 2011 that it would welcome a casino in the town. Lionel Starling, head of licensing, Swindon Council, said back in 2011: “The council said we are not necessarily averse to having a casino. Quite a lot of local authorities have said never.” “Swindon Council has said if we are approached we will think about it, but at the moment they are not allowed to because the 1960 act says we are not allowed to.” It remains to be seen, however, whether the town could maintain demand for a bricks-and-mortar casino. Even London-based casinos established under the terms of the 1968 Gaming Act are finding themselves restricted in terms of the number of gaming machines they can offer their customers. And customers are now turning to online based gaming and using websites such as bonusinsider.com and Betsson Casino

The capital’s casino industry is therefore seeking legislation comparable to other world-renowned gaming cities such as Las Vegas and Macau, but the likelihood of this extending to regional casinos across the UK would be slim.