The Rank Group has presented plans for what would be Northern Ireland’s first casino, although the law there still prohibits this form of gambling.
According to the Belfast Telegraph, Rank’s proposals for a multi-million pound development in the region’s largest city include a theatre, a cinema, bowling lanes, bars and restaurants, bingo and casino games.
The company described the project as a “prototype model.”
“It would be a leisure and entertainment campus,” Dan Waugh, Rank Group’s strategic development adviser, told the newspaper. “We would aim to bring all the components of a great night out together – somewhere to eat, drink and be entertained in comfort and security.”
Belfast is the only major city in the UK that does not have the choice to license this kind of development, he continued.
“We are saying that Belfast should have the right to choose whether to have a casino or not. Given that we're talking about fairly significant job creation and fairly significant investment, it would seem that it is beneficial for Belfast City Council to have the right to have the flexibility to choose whether to license this."
Northern Ireland’s gaming laws made casinos illegal in 1985 and, even if the city council was to approve the development, the Department for Social Development would need to change the law in order for it to go ahead.
At present, there are no plans to legalise casino properties.
