The owner of the Blackpool Tower, a potential casino site, reportedly contributed £200,000 to the Conservative Party of the U.K. Trevor Hemmings made the contribution in 2007, which made him the largest independent corporate sponsor at the time. The Times said the donation was made to the Tories in an effort to ease restrictions on slot machines that pay out £500.
Early last year, Tobias Ellwood, the Tory culture representative, demanded a review of the rules, backing the gaming industry’s call for the gaming machine stakes to be returned to £2, after the Labor government had lowered them to £1, and for the limit on payout of the machines to be dropped.
“Family arcades are a vibrant part of many seaside towns, and it is wrong that they have suffered from an unintended consequence of government legislation,” he said.
