Grosvenor Casinos’ Staff Vote to Strike Across Busy Christmas Holidays

Staff at Grosvenor Casinos’ three largest venues have voted to strike across the festive period, in an attempt to secure better pay.

About 140 employees, who are members of the Unite union, will refuse to work in two separate 48-hour strikes, having rejected a 2.5% pay increase, arguing it is below inflation. The staff in question operate three Grosvenor venues in London; the Rialto in Leicester Square, the Victoria on Edgware Road, and the Gloucester, Gloucester Road.

The first strike will take place on Boxing Day and December 27, and the second strike is set to occur on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day, with the members specifically targeting busy days across the Christmas holiday period.

Unite makes its case

The Unite members cover roles including running poker rooms and roulette tables at the venues. In its statement confirming the strike action, Unite made the argument these are specialist jobs which require training and a legal requirement to hold a license in order for the staff to be able to work in the industry.

Unite also pointed to financial results posted by Grosvenor Casinos’ parent company Rank Group. In the 12 months ended June 30 2025, Rank Group made an underlying like-for-like operating profit of £63.7 million, and weekly net gaming revenue from Grosvenor venues went up to £7.3 million from £6.4 million.

Unite alleged members of senior management at Grosvenor’s London casinos were treated to an all-expenses paid trip to South Africa, making it difficult to justify the 2.5% pay rise. It is also worth noting capital expenditure at Grosvenor increased 17% to £35.8 million in 2024/25, although it was not made clear to what extent this was on Grosvenor’s land-based operations and staffing costs.

They have history

This is not the first time Grosvenor Casinos’ staff have planned to take strike action. In 2022, 150 Unite members who worked at seven Grosvenor venues went on strike for 72 hours after rejecting retention bonus payments of £600 and £800. On that occasion, Grosvenor attempted to bring in workers from elsewhere to work in London venues. Unite is targeting the Christmas season in an attempt to prevent similar action this time.

Sharon Graham, General Secretary for Unite, said:

"Grosvenor Casinos is a very profitable company which can well afford to offer its staff more than a real-terms pay cut masquerading as a miserly pay rise. Our members will have Unite’s total support throughout this industrial action."

Janet MacLeod, Regional Officer for Unite, said:

“This strike is entirely the fault of Grosvenor Casinos prioritising greed. Unite has offered talks to resolve this dispute, but instead of coming to the table with a decent pay offer this Christmas, Grosvenor Casinos has shown its hand in choosing to play Scrooge.”

Incoming tax burden

Rank Group CEO John Reilly recently spoke about the impact of incoming tax increases for UK operators. From April 2026, remote gaming duty paid on gross profit from online casino betting will increase from 21% to 40%, while general betting duty from online sports betting will go up to 25% of gross profit in April 2027, up from 15%.

While this does not directly impact Grosvenor’s land-based operations, it could indirectly lead to costs being cut. Reilly said:

"The announced increase in remote gaming duty in the UK Budget represents a very significant blow to the regulated betting and gaming industry in the UK.

"Whilst we are pleased that the government has abolished bingo duty which will help to sustain jobs and investment in the land-based sector, the far more significant impact on the group is the hit to digital profitability.”

Betting.co.uk has reached out to Rank Group for comment on the planned strikes.