Bannatyne To Invest In New UK Casinos

Millionaire entrepreneur Duncan Bannatyne plans to spend £18m developing three UK casinos once the details of new gambling legislation are unveiled on September 1.

Mr Bannatyne launched his casino empire when he converted one of his health clubs on Newcastle Quayside, which opened in February.

It has already attracted over 5,000 members and generated £750,000 turnover.

The fitness club owner-turned TV celebrity is looking to cash in on new laws which will relax rules governing membership, advertising and casino size.

Mr Bannatyne said: "We are not looking at the huge super-size casino - we'll leave that to the large international operators. But we are looking at the next size down. We are negotiating to acquire two to three sites at the moment and would spend around £5m-£6m developing each site."

Government legislation, passed before the election, will grant licences for 17 new large casinos to be established around the UK from September 1, including one super casino, eight medium sized casinos and eight smaller casinos.

Paul Edwards, managing director of Bannatyne Casinos, said: "At the moment gamblers are only allowed to gamble at a casino if they have taken a membership 24 hours in advance. This will change. There will also be other relaxations, including on advertising which will enable on-shore casinos to compete more effectively with on-line gambling providers domiciled offshore. The changes will be phased, though, and it remains to be seen which of the changes will be coming in straight away. How quickly the changes are fully implemented will dictate the speed of the roll-out."