Leisure business information provider, the Amusement Trades Exhibitions group (ATE), has released a new report, called Gaming & Betting UK 2005, detailing how UK casino revenues could dramatically drop once a smoking ban comes into force.

According to in-house figures compiled by the ATE, revenues for casino operators in the US, Australia and New Zealand have dropped markedly following the adoption of smoking prohibitions.

While a number of initiatives have softened the blow, the ATE predicts that Scottish casino operators can expect similar downturns when a ban is enforced with those sites closest to the English border being worst affected.

The report – which also reveals that there have been around 100 applications made in the UK for the one regional casino licence since the first reading of the Gambling Bill – is published periodically and also focuses on other gaming industry sectors.

The ATE believes that the long-term decline of the seaside arcade sector will continue. This is partly due to greater controls on child gambling and greater caps on Category D machine stakes and prizes.

The group also highlighted how William Hill’s recent legal victory over the British Horseracing Board (BHB) with regards to the BHB’s database rights was a “victory for all bookmakers” and, in future, will have a far wider impact on all other sports rights holders. Details: www.ateonline.co.uk