UK leisure group Rank today offered further evidence that its Mecca bingo clubs in Scotland were being affected by the smoking ban north of the border.

The company, which today sold its Hard Rock Café business to focus on gaming, said revenues growth had been held back by the performance of its Scottish clubs as it reported on trading during the 48 weeks to November 26.

THE door has been left open for a casino in York, following a vote by the full council.

City businessmen welcomed the decision - which they say could bring hundreds of jobs to York.

In a vote on gambling policy, City of York councillors decided not to overturn an earlier decision allowing casino applications.

Britain’s biggest bookmaker Ladbrokes has said that they would be investing in a €100 million joint venture in the Italian market for expansion.

However, they added that the plan to enter the US market has been postponed after the recent crackdown of the US government on the operations of BetOnSports.

The race to build Britain's first super-casino has been condemned as a fix.

The man who will decide which of the seven bids will win the lucrative licence admitted that the U.S. tycoon with close links to John Prescott had been given a major head start.

Professor Stephen Crow, chairman of the Casino Advisory Panel, suggested that the joint bid by Dome owner Philip Anschutz and Greenwich Council was in the lead because building work had already started on the Las Vegas-style casino.

Developers have scrapped plans to open a super-casino near the site of London's new Wembley Stadium.

The decision came after the local council withdrew its support for the proposed £335m ($632m) gambling venue.

Las Vegas-based casino giant Caesars had submitted the joint plans with UK developer Quintain Estates.

Merger talks between Stanley Leisure, London's biggest casino operator, and London Clubs International are stalling over LCI's pension deficit. The two companies said at the end of June that they were in talks to form a £630m gambling giant but nothing has since been announced.

According to executives close to the talks, LCI's £24.7m pension deficit is proving to be one of the main hurdles. Last month, Stanley Leisure revealed in its annual report that it had no pension liabilities.

The Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Mr Michael McDowell TD, announced today that the Government has agreed his proposals for the establishment of a Committee (the Casino Regulation Committee) to report on the possibilities for a legislative basis for the strict regulation of casino-style operations in the State.

The Minister said, "The unregulated nature of casino-style activities is a major concern of the Government. The establishment of this Committee is a major step towards addressing this situation and I look forward to the report of the Committee in the coming months. I expect that the legislative proposals will bring about strict regulation over the establishment of and operation of casinos while ensuring that public and local interests are served."

Gambling fever has found its way deep into Russian society. The turnover of the Russian gambling industry stands at $5-6 billion annually, according to expert estimates. Alexander Lebedev, a deputy of the Russian parliament, says that this is the sum that flows through Moscow casinos and slot machine halls alone, and even here it is just the tip of the iceberg.

The gambling question leaves no one indifferent. The Militseiskaya Volna radio station commissioned a survey which showed that only 19% of people above the age of 18 approved of slot machines, while 52% said their number should be reduced and access to them limited. Another 26% favored a total ban on gambling machines.

The London Times reported on Sunday that the Las Vegas-based company was studying a proposal to buy Stanley Leisure Organization , which is in talks to acquire London Clubs International in a deal estimated at $1.2 billion.