Rank Group, the owner of Mecca Bingo and Grosvenor Casinos, has warned that further rises in UK gambling taxes would force land-based venues to close. Chief executive Richard Harris criticised proposals from anti-gambling campaigners to raise the tax on gaming machines, saying the business runs on thin margins.
Tax burden
Remote Gaming Duty rose from 21% to 40% in 2026. The Social Market Foundation is discussing lifting Machine Games Duty from 20% to 40%, a step it puts at £460m for the budget. Rank paid more than £225m in taxes and duties last year.
'Raising taxes for clubs like ours, which have a high level of control and narrow margins, would quickly turn into lower tax receipts, because bingo halls and casinos loved by local communities would be forced to close,' Harris said. Rank said any increase in MGD would hit the viability of Grosvenor and Mecca sites and cut tax receipts within 12 months.
Full-year results
For the year to June 2026, gaming revenue rose 5% to £835m and underlying operating profit rose 21% to £78.6m. Profit after tax fell 23% to £29.9m as the tax burden grew. Digital NGR was up 8% to £248.5m. The group closed nine unprofitable bingo halls and put 850 new machines into 37 casinos. Group revenue rose 8% in the first six weeks of the new financial year.
Entain, the owner of Ladbrokes, has also said higher taxes on online gambling are weighing on profit.
