Rank Group has reported a 5% year-on-year (YoY) increase in fiscal Q3 2025-26 net gaming revenue (NGR), alongside a reduction in marketing spend and staff layoffs to mitigate UK tax hikes on online gambling.
NGR came to £205.4m in the three months ending 31 March 2026, while on the digital front NGR climbed 4% to £60.9m, with a 2% uptick in the UK.
It’s in the UK that Rank has to grapple with the new 40% duty on remote gaming duty rate after the government increased the rate from 21% from 1 April.
The Maidenhead-headquartered business said “key mitigations” to offset the impact had already been implemented.
These included “significant savings in above-the-line marketing spend, supplier costs and headcount reductions”, bosses noted, though performance marketing spend and customer incentives have been ringfenced.
Grosvenor venues were the major driver of NGR with £95m, representing a 5% increase YoY.
The leadership team said that while the conflict in the Middle East will “create ongoing uncertainty around international travel”, there is the expectation the segment will grow in fiscal Q4.
To that point, land-based gaming machines in Grosvenor venues were the fastest-growing segment in Q3, up 10% YoY.
Meanwhile, NGR at Mecca venues rose 5% to £37.8m, with the projection for the division to deliver double-digit operating profit in 2026-27, thanks in part to the UK government’s abolition of the 10% duty for bingo venues.
Enracha, Rank’s Spanish operations, posted a 9% YoY increase in NGR to £11.7m.
Groupwide digital NGR was up 4%, while land-based NGR increased 6% during the reporting period.
On a year-to-date basis, NGR showed a 6% gain to £625.2m. Grosvenor (+6%) represented the lion’s share at £299m, with digital behind on £184.6m.
Rank expects full-year 2025-26 operating profit to hit at least £68m, as well as “further year-on-year revenue growth in Q4”.
Speaking on the performance, interim CEO Richard Harris said: “It was pleasing to see continued revenue growth across all businesses and strong profit conversion in Q3, despite a tough macroeconomic backdrop.
“The results demonstrate the resilience of the business, the strength of the customer proposition and the growth initiatives we have in place.
“Having implemented the actions required to mitigate much of the impact of higher remote gaming duty in our UK digital business, and with clear plans in place to drive sustainable revenue growth, the group is well placed to deliver the medium-term objective of generating at least £100m operating profit.”
Harris took up the reins in January following the retirement of industry veteran John O’Reilly, who had been running Rank since 2018.
Rank will announce its full-year 2025-26 results on 12 August 2026.
News of the financial performance triggered 8% gain in company’s shares to 98p, at the time of writing.
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Grosvenor Casinos owner confirms cuts to above-the-line marketing spend, adjusted supplier partnerships and headcount reductions to offset new 40% remote gaming duty
The post Rank Group implements tax hike mitigation plans while Q3 NGR rises 5% first appeared on EGR Intel.