Rank Group Fend Off Gambling Tax Hikes With Promising FY26 Results

Rank Group has contested popular opinion about UK gambling operators by reporting significant online and retail growth in its financial year 2026 (FY26) results.

The London-listed company, which owns Grosvenor, Mecca, and Enracha, saw major leaps across all its business operations. And this was particularly encouraging given the group only changed its CEO last month, with Richard Harris succeeding John O’Reilly.

Key takeaways

The results at first glance showed continued trading momentum. Despite the challenging economic landscape, Rank’s can count on many successes over the past 12 months as illustrated by the numbers that jumped out:

• Like-for-like (LFL) net gaming revenue (NGR) rose by 6% to £834.1 million, with all businesses growing for a fifth consecutive year.
• Underlying LFL profit surged by 21% to £78.6 million from £64.8 million in 2024/25.
• Underlying earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) increased by 15% to £138.8 million compared to the previous financial year.
• Net debt was reduced by 5% to £147.2 million, having completed a full debt refinancing in June 2026.

Grosvenor rakes in the money

Grosvenor proved to be the star turn for Rank. The financial results indicated average NGR per week stood at £7.6 million across its venues, up 5% on the previous year.

Although its Reading Central venue is in danger of shutting down after making a combined loss of £2.3 million over the past six years, 850 machines were rolled out across 37 casinos. Continued performance optimisation work drove growth, even though Rank noted a slowdown in table gaming due to the conflict in the Middle East in the latter part of the year.

Meanwhile, Mecca venues saw a 4% uptick in revenue growth on an LFL basis, and this was due to positive investment in selected gaming machines and external signage schemes. Moreover, this was particularly encouraging as there were nine unviable venues that closed during the said period.

Swipe taken over stringent tax regime

Rank, along with its competitors, has been forced to pivot in order to absorb increased costs due to the steep tax rises implemented. A new era was ushered in April, where remote gaming duty (RGD) paid on online casino bets shot up from 21% to 40% of gross gambling yield (GGY).

Last year, Rank contributed £225 million in taxes and duties, making it one of the industry’s highest contributors. Harris inferred to this, bemoaning the “material impact” it would have on the commercial success of venues moving forward.

More pertinently, the UK government drew up battle lines earlier this week to curb retail betting. The Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, has mentioned gambling venues in the same breath as other rogue businesses, such as vape shops, and several measures are being proposed, such as revoking the ‘Aim to Permit’ rule that was enshrined in the 2005 Gambling Act.

New CEO strikes positive tone

Despite the regulatory and tax pressures facing the industry, Harris sought to strike a positive note. Although Rank erred on the side of caution in terms of reiterating that digital profitability could decline in 2026/27, Harris is confident Rank can continue to make significant strides.

He said: “Across the Group, the efforts and commitment of my colleague continues to inspire, and I look forward to working with them as we evolve our strategy that is focused on providing excitement and entertainment to our customers.

“With this in mind, I am confident we will deliver further improvement in financial outcomes and strong shareholder returns.”

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