The largest casino in the country, Star City in Aston, has racked up a £1.1 million loss as approval of the Government's once-radical Gambling Bill continues to be held up.
The latest loss at Star City was revealed to the market yesterday as its owner Stanley Leisure unveiled a group profit before tax of £25.1 million during the six months to October 31, up 14 per cent.
But it also confirmed its full-year haul was unlikely to beat the £ 41.8 million reported last year and said the full potential of the Birmingham site would only be achieved once the industry is deregulated.
A Stanley spokeswoman told The Post the loss at Star City had been in line with market expectations.
"It was built as a postregulation casino," she said. "The market understands that until the deregulation goes into swing its profile will be slightly loss-making."
The casino could suffer as proposed amendments to the Gambling Bill barred existing casinos from increasing the number of slot machines - a key component in the original Star City plan. But she added Stanley was not looking at scaling back the huge operation which opened to great fanfare in November 2003 and the group was expecting the loss to narrow this year.
It received three million
visits over the past year and even if the Government's deregulation package - when finally approved - is not as wide-ranging as had once been hoped, the casino should still benefit from the scrapping of the current 24-hour cooling down period, she said.
Yet CSFB analyst Tassos Stassopoulos was wary about the Birmingham casino.
" We believe that the restrictions in the number of small, large and regional casino licences make it hard to see a quick turnaround in Star City," he said.
Reacting to these proposals, Stanley said it would consider tendering for all 24 new casinos permitted under the relaxation of UK gaming laws.
Stanley signalled its intentions after the Government scaled back its deregulation plans last month to allow only eight "super casinos" and a further 16 medium or small sites.
It has already linked up with Malaysian firm Genting to pursue the development of regional casinos in the UK, but is now looking at extending the relationship to weigh up " all new casino opportunities".
Chief executive Bob Wiper said: "We will consider tendering for all 24 new casinos as currently proposed in the Government's latest Gambling Bill."
In addition to a winning streak by a high-roller at one of its casinos, Stanley has also suffered from unpaid debts at its casinos and adverse sporting results at its chain of 600 bookmakers.
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