Rank Group Agrees £5m Regulatory Settlement with Gambling Commission

Rank Group has reached a regulatory settlement with the Gambling Commission, which will result in the operator paying a £5 million penalty to the British regulator in lieu of a financial penalty.

This follows a review into the Grosvenor Casinos owner’s operating license that was held by the Commission, concerning historical compliance failings.

Rank submitted a regulatory settlement proposal to the Commission on May 20, 2026 after receiving the Commission’s preliminary findings following the review, in which it proposed the £5 million payment. This proposal was subsequently accepted by the Commission.

How the payment was decided

The payment was calculated based on Rank’s gross gambling yield (GGY) during the reviewed period from November 1, 2024 to May 1, 2025. Rank said remedial actions were taken following the Commission's review, and that these were implemented in the first half of its 2025/26 financial year.

Richard Harris, Rank Group Chief Executive, said:

"We have engaged constructively with the Gambling Commission to address historical compliance issues dating back to a prior year and remedial actions were substantially implemented during the first half of 2025/26.”

Information regarding the regulatory settlement was included within Rank’s full year trading update for 2025/26, covering the 12 months to June 30, 2026. The group’s like-for-like net gaming revenue (NGR) for the year was £834.1 million, up 6%. Minor increases were reported across its brands, with Grosvenor venues contributing NGR of £397.3 million; an increase of 5%.

Mecca venues, which host Rank’s Mecca Bingo events, showed improved NGR of £143 million, up 4%, while Enracha, Rank’s Spanish casino brand, grew NGR 7% to £45.3 million. Meanwhile, Rank’s digital division NGR went up 8% to £248.5 million. Growth in digital was particularly noteworthy in Q4, going up 12% year-on-year to £63.9 million.

UK tax obstacle

Rank noted how this was achieved after cost mitigations that were undertaken in light of increased remote gaming duty (RGD) in the UK. From the start of April, RGD, which is paid on online casino bets, was raised from 21% of GGY to 40%.

This will be compounded in April 2027, when general betting duty, paid on online sports bets, will go up from 15% of GGY to 25%; bets on horseracing will be exempt from this increase.

Reflecting on Rank’s mitigation plans, Harris said:

"We have worked hard to mitigate the impact of the RGD increase, whilst protecting digital revenues and optimising performance in our land-based businesses.

“Our UK digital business has performed well since taxes increased in April and we are continuing to see growth in our Grosvenor business as the machine performance optimisation work progresses. The group remains focussed on our ambition to deliver at least £100 million operating profit in the medium term, evolving Rank's longer-term strategy and maximising shareholder value."

“Paying our fair share”

Ahead of the tax increases being announced by Chancellor Rachel Reeves in November, then Rank Chief Executive John O’Reilly was quoted as saying the group was already “paying its fair share” after paying local authorities £188 million in taxes the year prior. Following the announcement of the changes, O’Reilly said the operator’s annual tax burden would increase by £40 million.

In its Q3 results, Rank mentioned how mitigation factors against the increases have been implemented since April 1. Rank said it has made cuts in above-the-line marketing spend, supplier costs and headcount reductions. Performance marketing spend and customer incentives have been protected.