The US trial of British firm Wembley, which is accused of planning to bribe influential Rhode Island politicians into passing expansion plans for its slot machine lottery operations, has been put back to January.
The trial had been scheduled to start this month in Providence, Rhode Island, but has been stalled by legal argument. The delay extends the uncertainty surrounding Wembley, which was the subject of a bidding battle between MGM Mirage and the US consortium BLB, including South African gaming tycoon Sol Kerzner. BLB abandoned its £309m bid in July, despite having won approval from shareholders representing 83% of Wembley. It blamed the "political environment" in Rhode Island for the change of heart.
Wembley chairman and chief executive Claes Hultman yesterday confirmed the US state would be forced to strip the company of its licence to operate the video lottery terminals should it be convicted. However, he added the state would "have to reinstate the licence immediately" because of its heavy reliance on revenues from the thousands of lottery slot machines at Wembley's Lincoln Park site.
Lincoln Park generates more than 90% of Wembley profits and is the third-largest revenue source for Rhode Island, after sales tax and income tax. Wembley had attracted bidders after securing assurances from the US courts that it would not face a fine greater than $8m (£4m).
Wembley benefited from a recent court ruling which is likely to delay a Rhode Island ballot over whether to grant Harrah's Entertainment a licence for the state's first casino - a move thought likely to draw punters away from Lincoln Park. Mr Hultman said he believed a ballot would be delayed at least two years. He was speaking after Wembley posted a 4.7% drop in pre-tax profit to £17.6m. The average weekly revenue from Lincoln Park lottery terminals rose 14.5% to $5.8m. Shares in the company closed down 3.5p at 659p.
