MGM snaps up Sheffield casino

LESS than a week after snapping up gaming and greyhound track operator Wembley, US giant MGM Mirage has unveiled plans for a £250m casino complex in Sheffield.

The move by the Las Vegas company underscores the rising interest from international players in Britain's £40bn-a-year gambling industry ahead of planned Government deregulation.

The first major overhaul of gambling laws in more than 40 years should see the scrapping of rules determining where casinos may be located and the requirement that players join clubs at least 24 hours before they place bets.

MGM Mirage said it would build the complex in association with developer British Land, adjacent to the company's vast Meadowhall shopping centre. The retail development, among the largest in the country, attracts up to 800,000 visitors a week.

The project, including a hotel, convention centre and restaurants, could create 4,500 construction jobs and up to 2,000 leisure-related positions when it opens. MGM Mirage, the third-largest US casino operator, said its commitment to the venture depended on gaming laws being amended.

'Completion...is contingent on timely implementation of proposed gaming-law reforms and obtaining required planning approvals,' it said.

Lloyd Nathan, head of MGM Mirage's European development, said: 'We believe that on completion the region could benefit from a large number of new jobs, inward investment and enhanced tourism.'

The two companies did not specify their separate shares of the projected construction cost of up to £250m. Nor was there a projected opening date.

Last week, Wembley's board agreed a $493m (£268m) takeover from MGM Mirage. The deal, after Wembley ran into charges that executives had attempted to bribe US officials, requires shareholder approval.

MGM Mirage owns and operate 12 casino complexes in the US and Australia and employs about 40,000 staff worldwide. Its best-known assets include the MGM Grand and The Mirage, gambling meccas located on the main thoroughfare in Las Vegas.

The Government published a draft of its new gaming bill last November. It is now before a parliamentary committee and a final vote is expected late this year or early in 2005.

The Bill envisages the creation of a single industry regulator, the Gambling Commission. Remote gambling, via the internet, mobile phones or interactive TV, would be licensed and regulated properly for the first time.