Scotland = Slotland?

Packer to chip in £300m for casino roll-out

RUPERT STEINER


MEDIA tycoon Kerry Packer, Australia’s richest man, is planning to open a series of casinos in Scotland as part of a £300m assault on the British gaming market.

Packer is in talks over a site in Aberdeen and is also assessing locations in Glasgow and Edinburgh. He is planning five casinos under the brand name Aspers with joint venture partner Damian Aspinall, aimed at cashing in on changes to Britain’s antiquated gaming laws, which are about to be relaxed.

The two entrepreneurs have also had discussions about listing Aspers on the stock market, although no decision has yet been taken.

In Aberdeen, Aspers has secured an option agreement through its agent Donaldson on an 85,000sq ft site in the InnsLink Leisure Park.

Last week the casino operator announced plans to build a £50m leisure complex at Brierley Hill in the West Midlands. It already has plans for two small casino complexes in Newcastle upon Tyne and Swansea, costing about £12m each.

News of the additional £300m investment will put Packer and Aspinall in the big league. They are jostling with some of the world’s largest casino players to grab a major piece of the action in what is one of the few remaining markets left to be deregulated.

But while experts predict Britain is on the cusp of creating its own Las Vegas-style gaming Meccas, the new Gaming Bill has yet to be published by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport.

On Wednesday Tessa Jowell, the culture secretary, said: "We urgently need a Gambling Bill because new gambling technology is making a mockery of our outdated laws. I’m confident we will be able to introduce a bill to Parliament soon."

But operators such as Packer, who already owns Melbourne’s Crown and Perth’s Burswood casinos in Australia, cannot afford to allow competitors to take a lead in the emerging market. Many, along with him, are already committing funds and breaking ground.

Packer is renowned for his love of casinos, and has spent most of his life putting his cash on the house rather than in it. In 1999 he reportedly lost £11m on a single visit to Crockfords - an upmarket London casino.

He owns Australia’s Nine Television network and has had a long association with Aspinall and his late father John, who started Aspinall’s Casino in London’s Mayfair in 1962.

Consolidated Press Holdings (CPH), Packer’s private family investment vehicle, has a stake in Aspinall’s as well as Aspers.

Aspinall, 44, is a colourful figure on the London scene. He was close to the billionaire, Sir James Goldsmith, and keeps a framed photograph of Goldsmith’s daughter, Jemima Khan, in his office.

He has been linked to various supermodels, including Naomi Campbell, and television presenter Donna Air.

Aspinall is a keen conservationist and owns two zoos established by his father. He has some experience of mass-market casinos, having owned one in Australia and another in New Zealand - both of which he has now sold.

Andrew MacDonald, director of gaming at CPH, says he is keen to do business in Scotland and anywhere the authorities welcome a high quality urban casino development.

"We are looking at a number of opportunities at the moment which are at different stages," he said. "There are discussions in Glasgow and Edinburgh. While we are involved with about 12 potential projects we expect to pursue five. We have an option in Aberdeen which will remain good for the next few months."

Packer and Aspinall are joining the casino elite, who are piling into the British market. Kerzner International has been negotiating to open a complex at the Millennium Dome.

MGM Mirage, one of the largest US operators, is planning to invest about £1bn in five regional casinos.

Harrah’s Entertainment, another huge US operator, has formed a joint venture with Gala, the UK gaming company, and is planning to build eight giant casinos, investing £600m. Rank, and South Africa’s Sun International, are also making plans.

They all want to take advantage of the outdated laws and irrational rules that were created decades ago.

At the moment casinos are allowed just 10 slot machines with a maximum prize of £2,000, but gamblers are not allowed to come in off the street and play for this bounty.

The law says they need to have a 24-hour cooling off period - and only then when they return, after having registered their name and address, can they play. Casinos also have advertising restrictions and are only permitted in 53 areas of the country.

Gambling in casinos has not exactly taken off. Only 2% of the population visit a casino each year. Operators believe that figure could increase tenfold.

If the law changes, Goldman Sachs estimates that £6bn of investment could flow into UK casino development within the next five years.

The international gambling industry has hired an army of lobbyists to stack the odds in its favour. Operators are betting on being allowed up to 1,250 slot machines for ‘regional casinos’ with a gambling floor area of at least 1,000sq metres and 40 gambling tables.

So-called ‘large casinos’ are likely to be restricted to 150 machines and prizes will be capped. It is unclear what smaller casinos will be allowed to offer.

Abolishing the rule requiring gamblers to join a casino 24 hours prior to placing bets should bring in new customers. Relaxed restrictions on alcohol and live entertainment may also be delivered.

The physical restrictions on casinos has meant online gambling has been popular in Britain. The high street bookies have used the internet to expand into online casino gaming.

Ladbrokes now runs the most popular online poker site in Europe. The site is growing by 20% per month and draws around 6,000 players daily.

The National Lottery has changed attitudes to gambling, propelling it into the mainstream as entertainment rather than a bad habit.

Verbatim from www.scotsman.com