Plans for a super casino' in Oxford have hit the skids.

Less than a month after former Oxford United Football Club chairman Firoz Kassam showed his hand and declared an interest in getting a licence, the city council has poured cold water on his dream.

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport's casino advisory panel has revealed a list of the 68 councils that want to be considered as locations for one of 17 new casinos and Oxford is not one of them.

Under new laws, the Government will issue licences for one super casino, eight large and eight small casinos, but it is up to councils to apply to host them.

Mr Kassam, who is based in Monaco and still owns the football stadium at Minchery Farm that bears his name, had approached casino operator London Clubs International about securing a licence.

Last month, the firm gave an informal presentation to which all 48 city councillors were invited, but only six turned up.

Ed Turner, vice-chairman of the council's licensing committee, said: "I don't think it would bring a great benefit to the city.

"The only people who expressed an interest were those who stood to make a lot of money out of it."

Swindon is among the towns to have applied for a casino.

Prof Stephen Crow, chairman of the Government's casino advisory panel, said: "These proposals represent a lot of hard work by the people who have prepared them.

"They all deserve nothing less than fair and thorough examination. Over the next few weeks all the proposals and the evidence supporting them will be considered very carefully to see how well they measure up. "