Stanley Leisure outlines UK casino plan

Gaming group Stanley Leisure today said it would consider tendering for all 24 new casinos permitted under a relaxation of UK gaming laws.

Stanley signalled its intentions after the British government scaled back its deregulation plans last month to allow only eight “super casinos” and a further 16 medium or small sites.

Proposed amendments to the Gambling Bill also barred existing casinos from increasing the number of slot machines, dealing a blow to Stanley which operates 41 casinos in the UK.

Stanley has already linked up with Malaysian firm Genting to pursue the development of regional casinos in the UK, but is now looking at extending the relationship to weigh up “all new casino opportunities”.

Chief executive Bob Wiper said: “We will consider tendering for all 24 new casinos as currently proposed in the Government’s latest Gambling Bill.”

Details emerged as Stanley offered little evidence that its luck was turning after a string of setbacks, including heavy losses to a major player at its London casinos, forced it to warn on profits earlier this month.

Although pre-tax profits before goodwill were up by 14% to £25.1m (€36m) during the six months to October 31, the group confirmed that its haul for the full year was unlikely to beat the £41.8m (€60m) reported last year.

In addition to the winning streak by the high-roller, Stanley has also suffered from unpaid debts at its casinos and adverse sporting results at its chain of 600 bookmakers.

A small number of casino gamblers have not settled their accounts and these debts might not be recovered fully before the end of its financial year in March, the company said.

Stanley added that racing results have been poor at a time when Premiership title challengers Arsenal, Manchester United and Chelsea were enjoying winning runs.

Chairman Lord Steinberg said: “Although individually these factors could be described as normal fluctuations, in aggregate they have had an impact on our outlook for the financial year.”

Stanley operates four casinos in London – Crockfords, The Colony Club, The Mint and The Palm Beach – as well as 37 regional sites in cities including Bristol, Liverpool and Birmingham.