In the mid-noughties the Labour government under Tony Blair had ambitious plans to make the UK a hub of international gambling. Keen to reap the same economic benefits as Las Vegas, the British government set out their intention to open a minimum of 6 super casinos in the country.
16 years on, that plan from the government lies in tatters with just one super casino in operation in the UK. One of the cities that was left disappointed by the failure of the super casino plan was Swansea.
Swansea City Council approved plans in principle to open a 100,000 square foot gambling facility in the city which would have provided a major cash boost to the local economy along with an extra 500 jobs.
Despite those plans fading into history, some still claim that Swansea could benefit from a new, large-scale casino. In this article we examine the legitimacy of those claims.
2004 to 2020: What’s changed?
When MPs were debating the pros and cons of a casino building scheme in 2004, the gambling industry was experiencing enormous growth. The demand for gambling facilities seemed higher than ever before, so superficially building more casinos seemed like a good idea.
However, what many MPs didn’t understand at that time was that the growth of the gambling industry was coming from the online sector, rather than land-based gambling venues.
At the turn of the millennium millions of pounds were invested by gambling companies into the online market. Online poker and blackjack sites were the first to attract large numbers of customers.
However, over the coming year’s bingo, sports betting and dedicated online casino sites would begin to rise in popularity. In 2020 the average customer is spoilt for choice when it comes to online gambling with hundreds, if not thousands of sites like HighStakesBlackjack.co.uk offering their services.
The most recent figures released by the Gambling Commission showed that the industry in total was responsible for yearly revenues of just under £15 billion. The largest proportion (one third) of that figure consisted of online revenues, mainly slots and casino games.
The national lottery and associated scratch cards also accounted for a large proportion of the country’s gross gambling yield. Whilst growth and revenues for land-based casinos remained healthy, they were undoubtedly dwarfed by the online sector.
The aforementioned figures highlight the current trend that online gambling is vastly more popular than traditional, land-based gambling. If then, customer’s interest is more focused to mobile apps and betting websites, what would be the benefits of a physical casino in Swansea?
Jobs
In 2004 reports in the press suggested that Swansea would receive a jobs boost of around 500 with the creation of a new super casino. Labour market statistics from the beginning of this year showed the unemployment rate in Swansea to be standing at 5,225.
With the diminishing fortunes of the high street, unemployment figures are expected to rise in the coming years.
Building a super casino in Swansea would not only account for a 10% decrease in unemployment numbers, but it would provide a boost to local businesses. Large-scale gambling venues not only attract local customers, they attract players from all over the country, and sometimes abroad.
A Swansea based super casino would therefore be likely to stimulate the local economy massively, seeing a decrease in unemployment and an increase in hotel occupancy rates and high-street shop revenues.
Online casinos do not provide this sort of direct boost to the Swansea economy, firstly because they often employ 90% less staff, and secondly because most online casinos offering their services in the UK are based off-shore.
International Profile & Status
Swansea City’s time in the Premier League was not only beneficial to supporters of the club, it also provided a boost to the city in general. The money on offer to clubs for TV rights and on-field performances are well documented, but something that is often overlooked is the wider effect that Premier League football has on the city.
More than 100,000 away fans would visit Swansea every season, spending their cash in local shops, pubs and restaurants. This, in combination with other factors like external investment led to a yearly contribution of £212 million to the local economy.
Whilst a super casino may not provide the same sort of economic boost to Swansea, its contribution would be significant. Super casinos are often the venue for prestigious international gambling tournaments like the World Series of Poker.
If a Swansea based super casino were to host one of these events then the boost to the local economy would be phenomenal. Along with that, the global profile of Swansea would be raised, leading in turn to more tourism and more investment in the area.
The alternative
Whilst the benefits of a super casino may sound more than appealing to the local economy of Swansea, it is important to remember the overriding trend of global gambling.
Since 2004, online gambling has overtaken traditional land-based gambling, so what could happen in the next 16 years? Could a super casino find itself nothing more than an eye sore to Swansea locals in 2036? Quite possibly.
Therefore if Swansea City Council and local investors are insistent on reaping the economic benefits of gambling, they should seek to appeal to online providers.
The council therefore would be better placed to encourage national and local gambling providers to base themselves in the city. Or, if that were to prove too difficult or unfeasible, then the council should explore other ways to make the city centre more appealing to locals and tourists from further afield.
Councils and governments are notoriously slow to adapt to, or even notice wider market trends. Therefore an ultimately doomed super casino enterprise in Swansea would not be entirely unexpected.
