The government appears set to get its reform of the UK's gambling legislation on the statute book after an 11th-hour concession to Conservatives.
Ministers have agreed to pilot plans for regional casinos - testing one as a prototype before others are introduced.
Following the concession, the Tories said they would stand down their troops in the Lords and allow the bill to pass.
The legislation has already been watered down following intense lobbying from both the pro and anti-gambling lobbies.
Culture secretary Tessa Jowell was initially opposed to a cap on the number of the new mega-casinos.
Opposition dropped
But she climbed down following a stalemate which could have resulted in the legislation being lost when parliament is dissolved early next week.
Without the super casinos, the opposition said the legislation would strengthen measures to combat problem gambling.
"We have always made clear that there is much in the Gambling Bill we support. In particular, the establishment of a Gambling Commission and the regulation of remote gambling are necessary and uncontentious," said culture secretary John Whittingdale.
Whittingdale said far more consideration about the future of super casinos was necessary before they could be rolled out around the country.
"The provisions of the Bill relating to casinos remain highly controversial and have not had proper scrutiny in parliament," he said.
"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 opposition said the case for locating the first super casino in Blackpool was "very strong".
