Two public hearings are due to take place in the North-west to examine bids by Manchester and Blackpool for a super-casino.
Manchester City Council's proposal for the casino will be subject to a public meeting on September 7, while a hearing will be held into Blackpool Council's plans the day after.
Professor Stephen Crow, of the Government's Casino Advisory Panel, will chair both meetings.
He will hear evidence from the councils and any other interested bodies as to whether a licence should be granted for their areas.
The hearings will help the panel to make its recommendation to the Government as to where the sole regional super-casino should be located.
The Government has ruled that there will be only one super-casino licensed in the UK and drew up a shortlist of eight locations: Blackpool, Brent, Cardiff, Glasgow, Greenwich, Manchester, Newcastle and Sheffield.
The venues for the public meetings are yet to be confirmed. People will only be able to speak at the hearings if they have previous written permission from the panel.
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