THE number of new Las Vegas-style regional casinos was cut from eight to one yesterday as ministers were forced into a dramatic climbdown to save their gambling legislation.

Anti-gambling campaigners expressed their delight at the move, which followed the Government’s reluctant decision last year to put a limit of eight on proposed new “mega-casinos”.

The Bill to pave the way for ID cards was also abandoned in a day of horse-trading that saw 12 of the Government’s 28 Bills dropped in the “wash-up” before Parliament dissolves on Monday.

The Conservatives dug in over the number of casinos as the price for allowing through the rest of the Gambling Bill, which ministers were desperate to save because of wideranging new regulations it will bring in.

Both the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats ensured that ID cards could not go through on the Government’s rushed timetable.

The last rites were also pronounced for the Consumer Credit Bill, the Charities Bill, the Equality Bill and the section of the Serious and Organised Crime Bill that would have created a new offence of incitement to religious hatred.

Sources close to Tessa Jowell, the Culture Secretary, said that she was determined to save the parts of the Bill that would regulate internet and mobile phone gambling.

Her climbdown completes a Government U-turn on gambling reform that began last year as market-led liberalisation but has become a very tightly controlled experiment.

In October The Times revealed that 172 casino planning applications had been made, five times the Government’s highest estimates, including plans for a casino on almost every high street in Britain.

John Whittingdale, the Shadow Culture Secretary, said: “The provisions of the Bill relating to casinos remain highly controversial and have not had proper scrutiny. Regional casinos are an entirely new concept for the UK and there are real fears about the impact they may have on crime and gambling addiction. We have therefore told the Government that we will accept the establishment of just one regional casino as a prototype, in order to assess its impact.

“The case for locating such a casino in Blackpool is very strong.”

Don Foster, the Liberal Democrat culture spokesman, said: “Once the supercasino pilot is over we will be in a much better position to judge the impact on problem gambling of this untried and untested form of gaming.”

Jonathan Lomax, of the Salvation Army, said that he was pleased with the deal.

“These new casinos are going to house some of the most addictive forms of gambling and if they are going to be introduced into the UK at all it is better to do it very slowly to minimise any potential explosion in the number of problem gamblers,” he said.

Patricia Hewitt, the Trade and Industry Secretary, said that Labour would reintroduce its Equality Bill early in the next Parliament if re-elected. The Bill would establish a commission for Equality and Human Rights to “champion equality and human rights for all”, Ms Hewitt said.

Peter Hain, the Leader of the House, said that if discussions with the opposition parties reached a satisfactory conclusion, 16 Bills would reach Royal Assent.

The Budget-enacting Finance Bill would go through all its parliamentary stages in just one day today.

He added that, because of Conservative and Liberal Democrat opposition objections, making incitement to religious hatred an offence would be lost unless “there is a change of heart in the next few hours”.

Mr Hain said that he wanted Royal Assent for the Mental Capacity Bill, but “it might not be achievable because of the sensitivities involved”.

The Consumer Credit Bill was another measure they would have liked to become law. “Loan sharks are now a scourge right across the country and we wanted to deal with them through this Bill,” Mr Hain said.

• Conservative attempts to give extra protection to householders who tackle burglars completed their committee stage and will receive a third reading on Friday.

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