A second court challenge has been launched to nullify the decision of the Newham borough council in East London to award a casino license to Aspers Group.
Aspers Group beat out two competitors for the license to operate a “large casino” as defined under the 2005 Gambling Act. The first challenge came from competing bidder Great Eastern Quays Casino. This latest effort is from the third bidder, Apollo Genting.
Both court challenges claim that the Aspers Group proposal falls short of the regeneration requirement of the bid.
Aspers will place its casino inside existing space at the soon-to-open £1.9 billion Westfield Stratford City retail, leisure and entertainment development being built in connection with the 2012 Olympics. The two defeated proposals called for new-build projects that included hospitality, residential and commercial elements.
According to the Financial Times, the Apollo Genting statement says that situating the casino in a nearly completed shopping center “appears completely at odds with the regeneration-maximizing policies behind the act.”
Court decisions on both cases are expected in a matter of weeks.
