In the UK, Milton Keynes Council expects to announce the winner of its large casino licence in the first quarter of 2012.

The opportunity to develop a large casino in Milton Keynes, 50 miles north of London, generated a great deal of interest when it was announced, with five applications proceeding to the second stage of the process. By the time stage two closed in October, however, this number was whittled down to just three – Apollo Resorts and Leisure, Aspers and Grosvenor Casinos.

Each of the three submitted plans for a casino in different locations, with Apollo seeking a licence to build a casino at Stadium MK, Aspers setting out plans for the Xscape indoor skiing centre and Grosvenor choosing the Leisure Plaza site.
InterGaming has learned that the council has this week requested certain details to be clarified further by each of the applicants by the first week of January.

Once this has been done, the council will then evaluate each of the applications before preparing a report for committee, possibly in February.

The council’s assistant director of regulatory services and MK casino project leader, Philip Winsor, told that February is not an “absolute and definitive deadline” and that the decision may be put back to March.
“It’s about getting the best outcome for Milton Keynes, he said.