Rank Group revenue hits record despite £5m settlement charge

• Rank Group’s full-year like-for-like net gaming revenue rose 6% to £834.1m, a new annual record.
• The operator expects underlying operating profit of at least £76m, ahead of prior guidance.
• Rank has proposed a £5m settlement with the Gambling Commission over historical compliance failings at Grosvenor Casinos.

Rank Group has confirmed full-year like-for-like net gaming revenue climbed 6% to a record £834.1m for the year to 30 June 2026. Underlying operating profit is now expected to beat guidance, coming in at no less than £76m.

The trading update, published Tuesday, is the first under permanent chief executive Richard Harris, and also discloses a proposed settlement with Great Britain’s Gambling Commission.

Shares in Rank rose around 5% following the announcement, according to Reuters. The Gambling Commission settlement relates to historical compliance failings at Grosvenor Casinos, and will show up as a £5m provision in the full-year accounts.

Digital takes the lead

The Digital division was the standout performer, with full-year revenue up 8% to £248.5m. Fourth-quarter revenue rose 12% year-on-year to £63.9m, with UK Digital revenue also up 12% in the quarter, a sharp acceleration from 2% growth in the third quarter.

UK digital growth was driven by the Grosvenor and Mecca cross-channel brands running on Rank’s proprietary technology platform. The group sharpened its focus on in-house tech after disposing of its non-proprietary UK “multi-brands” digital business in December 2024.

Internationally, Rank’s Spanish Yo brands, including YoBingo and YoCasino, continue to expand. YoBingo soft-launched in Portugal in November 2025, becoming the market’s first licensed online bingo brand, with full commercial launch following in February 2026.

That growth came despite a steep rise in the remote gaming duty, which took effect on 1 April 2026. Rank protected performance marketing and customer incentives, while cutting above-the-line marketing spend, supplier costs and headcount elsewhere to offset the tax rise.

Grosvenor venues generated full-year revenue of £397.3m, up 5%, with fourth-quarter revenue rising 3% to £98.3m. Gaming machine revenue growth reached 12% in the quarter, up from 10% previously, following an expansion of the machine estate by 850 terminals during the first half.

Mecca Bingo venues added 4% revenue growth for the year, and Spain’s Enracha venues grew 7%.

Paying for the past

Rank said the Gambling Commission investigation covered historical compliance failings at Grosvenor Casinos identified over a period spanning November 2024 to May 2025. The £5m settlement proposal was submitted in May, and remedial actions were substantially implemented in the first half of the financial year.

The regulator has indicated it intends to accept the proposal, Rank said, and the operator is now awaiting formal confirmation.

Richard Harris, chief executive of Rank Group, said:

“Our expected profit outturn for the year reflects the progress we have made in executing our plan for growth, despite the significant cost and taxation headwinds that we have incurred during the year.”

On the tax backdrop and land-based opportunity, he added:

“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. Gaming machine revenue growth remains a significant opportunity for the Group.”

The result marks a sharp acceleration from Rank’s previous trading update, which had already flagged growth across the group’s four divisions. It also gives Harris a strong opening statement one day after his confirmation as permanent chief executive, closing a five-and-a-half-month interim spell.

The Grosvenor settlement adds Rank to a growing list of UK operators facing Gambling Commission scrutiny over anti-money laundering controls. Betfred’s retail arm was fined £825,000 for similar failings earlier this year, a smaller, standalone penalty compared with Rank’s proposed £5m group-level settlement.

Rank has reiterated its medium-term ambition of at least £100m in operating profit, with full preliminary results due on 13 August.