It plans to expand its sites and has considered developing its Brighton casino in to a regional resort. With Government proposals to restrict the number of slot machines and the payouts they offer, London Clubs may struggle to differentiate itself from other casinos.Isle of CapriIt may not be as well known to UK punters as MGM, but Isle of Capri was one of the first to spot the potential of the UK casino market and was the first US operator to be granted a licence to develop a casino in the UK – within Coventry City’s stadium. The company, whose chairman and chief executive is Bernie Goldstein, pictured, majority-owns another Midlands casino and has plans for the medium-size market It too could be forced to rethink its plans.. There were hopes that dereg-ulation would give Stanley the opportunity to expand to the mass market and make its earnings stream less volatile This seems to be less likely now. No one from the company was prepared to comment on the Government’s proposals yesterday.London Clubs InternationalThere was no comment from London Clubs International, another player in the small-casino market, whose MD is Barry Hardy. Rank has a ready-built casino network that can open its doors the moment the new Gambling Bill is passed, giving it a time advantage over the larger US-style resorts which have to be started from scratch.Stanley LeisureShares in Stanley Leisure, whose chief executive is Bob Wiper, fell nearly 6 per cent yesterday on concerns that it, too, is dependent on provincial casinos that have now had their opportunities cut back.

The owner of London’s Crockfords casino has been hit by profits warnings following a winning streak by a number of high-rolling customers at its exclusive venues. It is delighted that it will, at last, be able to advertise its casinos and their wares, and will no longer have to block entry to customers until they have been a member for more than 24 hours. But it is infuriated that the regional casinos will be able to offer better games with bigger prizes to their customers.”It makes no sense to ban some casinos from having certain types of slot machines on account of their size. All casinos should be able to offer the same machines,” David Boden, of Rank, said yesterday. “We have been dealt a competitive disadvantage, because why would customers come to us when they can win more somewhere else?” Despite the odds in favour of regional casinos, Mr Boden is sceptical of the appetite among the British public for a Las Vegas in every seaside town. It is about to submit a planning application in Sheffield and would like to have up to four regional casinos.

It says it can create 1,500 jobs on each development, in which it invests up to £150m. “We have had concerns that there would be a plethora of large casinos on every street corner as a result of the changing law, but the Government seems to have avoided that with the restrictions it has put in place,” Peter Byrne, executive director of Sun International, said yesterday.Rank GroupMike Smith, the chief executive of Rank Group, which operates Mecca Bingo and Grosvenor Casinos has the same concerns as Gala over the prize money restrictions on slot machines in smaller, existing casinos. Only regional casinos will be allowed slot machines that let punters bet unlimited stakes and pay out unlimited prizes. Small and medium casinos will be stuck with their current highest payout of £2,000 and medium casinos will be allowed no more than 150 machines. “This has created an unfair playing field for existing casinos in favour of new developments,” said John Kelly, the chief executive of Gala.Sun InternationalInterest in UK punters has come not just from Las Vegas.

Sun International, South Africa’s largest hotel and casino operator, run by chief executive Peter Bacon, pictured, has also got a seat at the table in the bidding for a number of casino development projects in the UK. With up to 50,000 sq ft of gaming space, there would further entertainment outlets such as cinemas and restaurants. It has so far pledged to invest some $1bn (£552m) to develop gaming in the UK, creating thousands of jobs and offering the Government millions in tax revenues.But while Gala, which has existing casinos, yesterday welcomed the proposals for investing in regional casinos, it was less than pleased with the Government’s plans for small and medium-size casinos. The initial cap on the number of machines in regional casinos will limit the size and scale of any complex.”But for all the US players, the biggest barrier to their entry is the tax regime the Government will stick on slot machine gains.Hurrah’s Entertainment/GalaUnder Gary Lovemen, its president and CEO, the largest casino operator in the US has teamed up with the bingo company, Gala, in a joint venture to develop up to eight regional casinos. The company opened another 10 stores and now trades from 115 sites, including three in France.With scope in the UK for at least 175 outlets, including eight more this year, its impressive organic expansion plans should ensure profits growth flows for years to come. Its imaginative approach to choosing sites – last year saw openings in a former pine furniture warehouse and an old boozer – means that the main risk is competition from property developers.