The United Kingdom is seeing increasing liberalization of the casino business; visits to United Kingdom casinos topped 11 million last year and seem set to increase further in coming years, buoyed by changes in the law which will see many new casinos built, including a so-called “supercasino,” the location of which has still to be decided. There are also increasing numbers of casinos in the regions of the country, such as Scotland and Wales, a national lottery, a thriving sports betting sector, and online gambling, which is increasingly popular with Britons. This diversification is expected to continue in the coming years.
Until recently, United Kingdom casinos required visitors to apply for membership at least 24 hours in advance of playing; this could be done in person or in writing (or e-mail), and required the customer to provide a name and address, as well as two forms of identification, at least one of which must carry a photo. This requirement was designed to prevent “impulse” gambling, but was widely agreed to be outdated and was discontinued in 2005.
Under Britain’s Gambling Act of 2005, there will be three classes of new...