Rank Group Warns of £9m Annual Hit Following Gambling Duty Increase

Rank Group, the operator of Grosvenor Casinos and Mecca Bingo, has cautioned that the Government’s latest gambling duty increase will cost the company approximately £9m per year, as the sector adjusts to an escalating tax burden across its land-based and digital operations.

The warning follows the latest Budget, in which machine gaming duty (MGD) – the levy applied to slot machines and gaming terminals in casinos and bingo halls – was raised from 20 per cent to 25 per cent of gross gaming revenue. The change, due to take effect in April, adds to a series of duty increases announced in recent fiscal statements and places further pressure on the economics of land-based gaming venues.

The £9m estimate relates specifically to the machine gaming duty increase. It comes on top of earlier measures, including the rise in remote gaming duty from 21 per cent to 40 per cent, which Rank previously estimated would reduce its annual operating profit by around £40m, alongside the abolition of bingo duty.

Rank Group chief executive Richard Harris has previously stated that tax increases of this scale risk venue closures across the estate. He has warned that “much-loved bingo halls and casinos will be forced to close” if duty rises are implemented at the levels previously proposed. Earlier in the year, the company indicated that a rise of this magnitude could place roughly a third of its venues at risk, with around 2,000 employees – approximately 30 per cent of its UK workforce – potentially affected.