by Renee Israel
ThisIsMoney.co.uk ran an interesting interview with the 65
year old boss of Genting UK, Peter Brooks, this week, where he commented on the
current state of the UK gambling industry.
Brooks made some interesting predictions about where the industry
is heading and how certain changes could bring about the creation of thousands
of jobs for Britons.
Genting UK, which forms part of the multinational giant, Genting,
runs 44 casinos in Britain, including London's Crockfords and the brand new
Riverlights in Derby casino, which is the company's latest venture.
The UK Genting boss when speaking of the changing industry,
said that his biggest objective is "the modernisation of gaming."
"We don't want it to be intimidating and male-dominated, we want to
be seen as a genuine leisure choice," he is quoted as saying. "This is where
casino should be in the 21st Century."
Brooks believes that the UK gambling industry should create jobs,
pay taxes and cater for all types of customers, whether tourists or high
rollers.
"We want to demystify casinos, but we mustn't create a rowdy
environment where people don't want to gamble," he said. "So here [in Genting's
Palm Beach Casino off Piccadilly, London], people can just drink, or migrate to
the gambling area. We hope we're getting the model right."
Lobbying Government About Responsible Gambling
Brooks, who studied law before turning his profession to the
business world, not only runs Genting UK. He is also active in the general
gambling industry, and has lobbied Minister John Penrose regarding responsible
gambling policies and other challenges facing the industry.
Brooks, according to the article, believes that the government
should allow existing gambling licenses to move between different regions of the
UK.
"This chimes with the government's localism agenda and could
create several thousand new jobs by allowing casinos to be built where there is
local demand," he said.
He said that he was also in discussions with Penrose regarding
virtual gaming, and asked why virtual roulette, for example, is allowed, while
virtual card games are not. "Why can't casinos offer that when you can do it
everywhere online?" he asked.
Brooks also commented on the UK gambling industry's taxation
regime, and hoped that the current tax burden would not increase after the
government completes its review in the coming weeks.
He said that the UK gambling industry is having a hard time
competing with other countries such as Singapore and China, especially when it
comes to attracting high rollers, and that tax breaks should be part of the
government's solution to this problem.
