§ Mr. GroganTo ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what estimate she has made of the number of bingo halls which occupy more than 10,000 sq ft and would be eligible to convert to a casino under the terms of the draft Gambling Bill. [172046]
324W
§ Mr. CabornThere is no central record of the total area which each licensed bingo club covers; but we have seen estimates that over half of the current total of about 700 clubs have a total area in excess of 10,000 sq ft. We indicated last August that, under the proposed Gambling Bill, the minimum size of the area set aside for table games in a new casino should be 5,000 sq ft. We are now looking again at that requirement in the light of the views of the Joint Scrutiny Committee on the Bill and the points made by interested bodies and individuals in commenting on the Bill proposals. It is, however, relevant to note that a 5,000 sq ft minimum table gaming area would entail a total casino size considerably in excess of that, particularly if the casino also wanted to provide bingo for its customers.