Report bets on green light for ‘casino-resorts’
Thursday, December 23, 2010
LAWS allowing "casino-resorts" with up to 1,500 gambling machines, hundreds of gaming tables,
The laws would pave the way for the proposed €460 million Tipperary Venue resort and two or three other super-casinos.
Justice Minister Dermot Ahern said it’s unlikely the laws would be passed before the next general election, expected in March, but did not rule it out. He also said it was "facile" to suggest the report was published as a result of negotiations with independent TD Michael Lowry who agreed to support the Government in the budget vote and has lobbied for the building of a super-casino in his north Tipperary constituency. The development near the village of Two-Mile-Borris has received planning approval, with a replica White House as its centre-piece. But the law needs to be changed to allow developer and former garda Richard Quirke to proceed with the project.
Yesterday’s report, Options for Regulating Gambling, said: "The law should provide for at least the possibility of large-scale casinos being permitted."
It said: "This jurisdiction is not so large that it could reasonably sustain a Las Vegas style development."
It’s understood the Government believes two, or possibly three super-casinos would be appropriate, and the report said the question of how many would be permitted "will have to be decided in the future".
A panel of experts in planning, finance, law, health, community and consumer areas would be appointed to decide on licensing and location of casinos. Each development would have to go through the normal planning process and would require Government and Dáil approval. A one-off licence fee of €1,000 per table and €500 per machine apply, as well as a tax of €2 for each entry, paid to the local authority, and a betting tax to the exchequer.
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