Britain to lose international investment after Bill U-turn

11.04.2005, Lesen Sie hier den Bericht über «Britain to lose international investment after Bill U-turn».

Accordign to analysts researches

(UK).- Britain stands to miss out on billions of pounds of investment by international casino operators after the latest U-turn on the government’s gambling policy, analysts warned. With the government cutting the number of Las Vegas-style resort casinos it will allow from eight to one, Deloitte, the professional services firm, said gaming groups would look to invest elsewhere.


After Bill U-turn, Britain will have only one Las Vegas style casino.

"The UK will no longer be on top of the US gaming industry’s investment list," said Alex Kyriakidis, head of tourism, hospitality and leisure at Deloitte. "The US operators, many of whom have made substantial investments in land options, will channel their development dollars in other emerging jurisdictions such as Macau and Singapore."

Until the policy change this week, MGM Mirage, the world’s largest gaming operator, had extensive plans to invest in the UK having acquired options to develop super-casinos in cities including London, Newcastle and Sheffield. Newcastle United had struck a deal with MGM Mirage to build a casino next to its St James’ Park stadium but this project too looks doomed following the government’s policy change.

Meanwhile, Caesars Entertainment has plans to develop a casino at the new Wembley stadium, while Kerzner International is in talks to build a resort gaming property at the Millennium Dome.

Las Vegas Sands International has been in talks with Manchester United, Glasgow Rangers, West Ham United, Sheffield United, Birmingham City about building casinos on their land. These plans could be jeopardised following changes to the bill.

With only one licence to be granted for a "regional" casino, the largest classification in the gambling bill, Kyriakidis added that the government could encounter legal challenges once a site had been earmarked for development.

There was better news for UK gaming operators, however, with KPMG, the professional services firm, forecasting 40 per cent growth in gaming revenues following the government’s decision to allow operators to double the number of slot machines on their premises. Nick Patie, a KPMG director, said: "The casino industry still has the potential to grow, albeit it at a fraction of what the industry was hoping for. Slot machines present a golden opportunity to be the greatest source of revenue for gambling operators."

PwC, the professional services firm, said it would revise estimates that the gambling bill would create 75,000 jobs and attract us$ 8.5 to us$ 10.3 bilion of investment.

Über Glücksspiele in Macau - Gambling in Macao:

Macau (englisch Macao) liegt rund 50 Kilometer westlich von Hongkong und ist das Glücksspiel-Paradies in Asien.

Macau hat rund 40 Spielcasinos. Die grössten Casinos sind The Venetian Macao, MGM Macao, Wynn Macao, Galaxy StarWorld, City of Dreams, Sands Macao, Casino Lisboa.

Neben den riesigen und farbenfrohen Casinobuildings ist eines der Wahrzeichen der Macau Tower (Fernsehturm mit 338 Meter) mit atemberaubenden Ausblicken auf die Stadt.

Macau erstreckt sich über eine Fläche von 115.3 km2 und hat rund 620'000 Einwohner.

--- Ende Artikel / Pressemitteilung Britain to lose international investment after Bill U-turn ---


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