Following the relatively recent recommendations of the UK Gambling Commission to Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, Tessa Jowell, as to which UK cities and boroughs would be deemed the most fit to hold any of the seventeen casino licenses called for under the Gambling Act 2005, UK casino kingpin, Stanley Leisure, has announced it will be bidding on the super-casino license awarded to Manchester.

A bold move for Stanley Leisure, all things considered, the impetus for the decision most certainly came from Genting International, who acquired Stanley last year for £639 million. On the heels of Genting's contract to build a £3 billion casino in Singapore, the prospect of Stanley Leisure being endowed for what will invariably be a giant undertaking (the word super-casino is not to be taken lightly) is looking quite favorable.

Stanley Leisure expressed hope that Manchester would be conducting a transparent bidding process - one that will likely involve bids from even higher profile casino operators based in Las Vegas. Finance Director, Michael Riddy, openly concurred that a standalone UK casino operator would have an enormous challenge outbidding any of the Las Vegas giants like Harrah's or Wynn Resorts. However, thanks to Genting, Stanley Leisure now has the backing of a multi-national group that will give any other bidders a good run for their money.

When asked how Stanley Leisure would react to an "explosion" in problem gambling - as critics of the UK Gambling Act are proclaiming - Riddy sided with Jowell's view that the United Kingdom now operates the most strictly regulated casino gambling industry in the world. Riddy then followed up with a foot-shooting comment by blaming the online casino gambling industry for the increase in problem gambling over the years.

Considering the UK Gambling Act governs both land-based casinos (a prospective Stanley Leisure super-casino) and land-based gambling destinations, one would hope Riddy was only referring to days of ore when no UK online gaming regulation was yet in place. And yes, in the good name of UK nationalism, one would hope that Stanley Leisure takes home the gold in Manchester.