Monday, March 26, 2007

STANLEY Leisure and the rest of Britain's gambling and casino sector were
yesterday coming to terms with a major blow dealt to them by this week's
Budget.
Rank's share price suffered further losses yesterday on the stock market as
news sank in, and Liverpool-based Stanley Leisure will also be hit by the
higher taxes.
Rank looks set to lose as much as £8m a year extra in gaming duty after the
Chancellor announced it would axe the 2.5% lower band and introduce a flat
15% tax, with a new, higher levy of 50% on casino revenues above £10m.
Shares in the group dived a further 6% yesterday to 211.5p, compounding the
4% losses seen on Wednesday afternoon. Analysts described the Chancellor's
announcement as a "kick in the teeth" for Rank and the wider casino
industry. The Treasury is set to net another £35m a year from the move, but
has defended the tax changes as being vital to ensure the growing casino
sector continued to make a "fair" contribution to tax receipts.