CHURCH bosses are urging the public to fight plans for a new casino in Kirklees.
Leaders of the Salvation Army, a Christian church and registered charity, are encouraging people to sign a petition or write to Kirklees Council to voice their objections and ask the council not to submit a formal proposal to the Government's Casino Advisory Panel.
Huddersfield Salvation Army leader Capt Ernest Huby said: "The Salvation Army has said consistently that any rise in gambling opportunities is likely to lead to a rise in problem gambling and we don't want that for our community."
The new Gambling Act has given the green light to the creation of one regional "super" casino, eight large venues and a further eight smaller centres.
The regional "super" casino will contain forms of gambling which have never been seen before in the UK including £1m jackpots.
Kirklees has submitted an initial note of interest to say it would be keen on hosting either a large or small casino, but has ruled out any application for a "super" casino.
The Examiner understands officers are now working on putting together a formal application which has to be submitted by the end of March.
The decision on which locations will host the new gambling venues will be made in the summer.
Capt Huby said there were already 370,000 problem gamblers in the UK and in a survey commissioned by The Salvation Army, 56% of the population, and 64% of women would not be happy for a casino to open where they live.
He added: "We are concerned that a casino will potentially cause more social problems, such as debt-related crime, unemployment and family breakdown.
"According to the Casino Advisory Panel, Kirklees Council will be submitting proposals for a large or small casino and we do not wish for this to happen."
Huddersfield already has a successful casino at the Folly Hall leisure complex.
CASINO expansion in the UK will cause severe economic and social problems that the Government has not given adequate consideration to, a new report concludes.
The report, by economic consultants Hall Aitken, questions whether the proposed new Regional Casino allowed under the Gambling Act 2005 risks undermining Government aims on economic regeneration.
The analysis by Hall Aitken suggests that while construction of casinos will create temporary jobs, the main economic effect will be to divert money and jobs from other leisure businesses in the area, with any profits created returned to overseas shareholders, generally in the USA.
These damning conclusions are contained in the report published into the social and economic impacts of casino expansion.
The report also concludes that existing estimates of positive economic benefit are both optimistic and potentially misleading and that casino developments do not meet the Government's stated regeneration objectives.
It also claims the social costs of Regional Casino development are "potentially high and for most locations, would outweigh any perceived economic benefits".
