Casino group sees more visitors in UK

Gaming group Stanley Leisure said today the number of people attending its casinos outside London had jumped by more than 15% since laws requiring gamblers to be members for 24 hours before attending venues were scrapped.

The announcement came as the company reported a 9% dip in pre-tax profits to £22.2m (€32.2m) for the six months to the end of October.

Losses were largely due to poor attendance at its three “high roller” London casinos in Mayfair and one in South Kensington, which Stanley linked to the aftermath of the July 7 bombings.

Today it also announced it had bought two new casinos in Southend, Essex, and one in Bristol for a combined total of £29.8m (€43.3m).

The period saw Stanley sell its betting shops business to William Hill for £504m (€732m).