LONDON - British casino owner London Clubs has been awarded a licence to run a casino and restaurant complex in London's West End, the company said on Friday.
The Leicester Square site is expected to open at the end of 2006, taking advantage of Britain's deregulation of gaming.
Chief Executive Bill Timmins told Reuters it would be one of a new style of casinos that the industry is banking on, where gaming, restaurants and bars co-exist in one large leisure complex.
"I think gambling has become more mainstream," he said. "These are the new kind of leisure destination and this is going to be the first of them. It's a great location and it's going to be a big place."
London Clubs now has six licences for new casinos, including Nottingham, Leeds, Glasgow, Blackpool and Manchester, with the latter due to open in November 2006.
"We've now had six applications and we've had six successes," he said.
Shares in London Clubs closed at 140 pence on Friday, having gained 3.7 percent during the session, valuing the group at around 310 million pounds ($550 million). But this gain was largely due to bid rumours, which Timmins denied.
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