by Renee Israel
The city of Leeds is in the process of
formulating the criteria on which it will base its decision to
award a lucrative license to operate what will be the city's
biggest ever casino.
It is believed that the Leeds council will award the license to
successful bidders by the end of 2012.
In 2008, Leeds was given permission by the government, along with
seven other towns and cities around the United Kingdom, to
construct a 'new generation' gaming complex.
The new casino in Leeds will be three times the size of a regular
gambling complex in the United Kingdom, and will be licensed to
offer up to 150 slot machines on its floor which will be able to
pay out a maximum jackpot of £4,000 each.
The new Leeds casino has the potential to create around 700 jobs
and attract over £20 million in private sector investment.
Up until now, the Leeds city council has been mulling the
different avenues to take regarding the new license and how to
begin putting it into action.
The council has now managed to draw up a timetable, which
indicates that by the end of next year, a license will have been
awarded to a company after a bidding process takes place.
In February next year, the Leeds council will start advertising
for potential bidders to run the new casino, and - if all goes to
plan - the license itself will be granted by the end of the year.
The city's licensing committee met this week to examine the new
timetable and see what could be done to ensure that everything is
done to keep on track with the building of the new casino.
Leeds Casino License Bid Criteria
The city council said that it will consider a number of factors
according to the Leeds casino license bid criteria. They
will be evaluated using specific criteria, such as the economic
and social benefits they will have on the city and its surrounding
areas, as well as the chances of the bidding group actually
delivering a finished product.
The city council stressed that all efforts will be made to ensure
that the decision process to find a successful bidder will be
"robust" and that it "mitigates the risk of legal challenge by
being fair and transparent."
Potential groups who may be interested in bidding for the new
Leeds casino include Grosvenor Casinos, Aspers and Stanley
Leisure.
