Following the announcement of casino gaming giant, Harrah's Entertainment, that the company has raised its asking price to buy ailing UK casino operator, London Clubs, it is becoming apparent that many international casino groups think the United Kingdom could become one of the most profitable gambling markets in the world.

The passing of the UK Gambling Act last year certainly ushered in a new and refreshing change for the English betting industry, which was hitherto bound by strict laws essentially permitting nothing more than small to average sized betting parlors, casinos and pubs stocked with fruit machines. The Gambling Act, however, will permit next generation casinos of much larger proportion and gaming offerings than any of those in the past.

A noticeable phenomenon of the Gambling Act's passing into law was an immediate increase of casino license applications from gaming operators seeking to expand or enter the English betting industry as regulatory laws are slowly relaxed and make way for the provisions of the Gambling Act to be fully enacted. In fact, England's Gambling Commission recently revealed that 111 gaming license applications were in the process of being approved, if not having been approved already. This is an 80% increase in the number of casinos that could potentially be in operation since the passage of the Gambling Act.

Culture Secretary, Tessa Jowell, said the Commission was bombarded with so many applications that an April cut-off date was issued for the submission of license applications. As for Harrah's Entertainment, they are one of just many reputable casino operators with their sites on a European market that could some day surpass the stature of Las Vegas.