An MP last night accused Great Yarmouth council leaders of gambling with jobs and economic prosperity by allowing the town to slip behind in the race to build the first large casino.

An MP last night accused Great Yarmouth council leaders of gambling with jobs and economic prosperity by allowing the town to slip behind in the race to build the first large casino.

Tony Wright, MP for Yarmouth, spoke out after it was revealed that under a revised timeline, the borough council would not be launching the bidding process for the prestigious large casino licence, one of eight to be awarded nationally under the 2005 Gambling Act, until September.

And following two rounds of assessment, the winner would not be known until September next year - more than a year later than had originally been hoped.

Meanwhile, Newham council in London became the first large casino venue to invite applications for the licence in an advert published on February 5 and is planning to choose the developer of a complex on the 2012 Olympics site as early as December 23.

Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council in the West Midlands is set to be the second large casino venue to start the bidding process, subject to a cabinet decision on March 24.

Among eight small casino venues permitted by the new legislation, Scarborough is also poised to begin advertising, stealing a march on Yarmouth in the race to build the first of the new casinos on the East coast.