Dunstall Park racecourse today submitted plans for a £23 million expansion with the building of a casino and the creation of 280 jobs.It places the Wolverhampton racecourse in pole position to create Britain’s first “racino” on the back of a gambling licence won by the city last week.

Arena Leisure said the “significant expansion” would see the development of an enlarged hotel with 170 bedrooms, a “destination casino” and additional horseracing and conference facilities.

Today’s planning application would incorporate a ‘small’ casino granted to Wolverhampton by the Government’s Casino Advisory Panel.

Gamblers would be able to choose from 80 slot machines offering jackpots of up to £4,000. And gaming tables would fill a casino space of 750 square metres.

The new application incorporates a fundamental redesign to overcome the reasons for a previous plan being refused by the then Secretary of State John Prescott in 2005 after an inquiry, mainly because of its impact on the green belt.

The concept of the extension had previously been supported by the local planning authority, the inspector at the inquiry and the Secretary of State.

Arena said today it had been “delighted to note” that the City of Wolverhampton had last week been recommended as a location for a small casino by the Government’s Casino Advisory Panel, and that Wolverhampton Racecourse had played such a prominent role in its successful application.

The proposed racino is big enough to accommodate a small casino, and Arena said it had noted the panel’s comments that a casino at a racecourse would “add to its uniqueness”.

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