Rank Group has delivered another encouraging trading update, with Mecca Bingo once again proving its resilience despite ongoing pressures.
The gaming giant, which owns Mecca Bingo, Grosvenor Casinos and Enracha, now expects to report underlying operating profit of at least £76 million for the year ended 30 June 2026 – comfortably ahead of market expectations – after group net gaming revenue increased by 6% to around £834.1 million.
Mecca Bingo Continues to Grow
Mecca Bingo delivered another solid performance, with like-for-like net gaming revenue increasing 4% during both the fourth quarter and the full financial year, taking annual revenue to £143 million.
The performance reinforces the strategy Rank has pursued over recent years: investing in club refurbishments, modern food and drink offerings, electronic gaming and digital integration while continuing to position bingo as the centrepiece of its venues.
The latest figures also suggest that customer demand for traditional bingo remains healthy when clubs continue to invest in the overall experience.
Beyond UK bingo halls, Rank’s digital business also delivered encouraging results.
Despite the increase in Remote Gaming Duty to 40% from April, UK digital revenue accelerated to 12% growth during the fourth quarter, while Grosvenor Casinos continued to benefit from investment in additional gaming machines.
CEO: “Progress Despite Significant Headwinds”
Newly appointed Chief Executive Richard Harris praised the company’s performance despite higher taxes and rising operating costs.
He 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.
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.
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.
The Group remains focussed on our ambition to deliver at least £100m operating profit in the medium term, evolving Rank’s longer term strategy and maximising shareholder value.”
The Bigger Picture
While Mecca’s latest performance is undoubtedly positive, it comes against a backdrop of continued club closures for the popular bingo brand.
Last month (June 2026), Mecca Bingo closed eight bingo clubs. That meant around 10% of its entire bingo venue portfolio was lost in just a matter of weeks.
In recent years, Rank has closed many (too many? Ed) lower-performing clubs as part of its strategy to focus investment on venues with stronger long-term prospects. Rather than maintaining a larger or oversized estate, the operator has concentrated on modernising clubs, which it deems capable of delivering sustainable growth.
From a financial view, those investments appear to be paying off. The latest trading update shows that fewer clubs do not necessarily mean lower revenues, with Mecca’s profits continuing to grow despite operating a much smaller estate than it did not that long ago. However, the long-term impact of disposing of long-held assets, once regarded as the heart of communities across the UK, and losing that hard-earned customer loyalty, remains to be seen.
However, for now, let’s celebrate some positive bingo news and hope that Rank Group has closed all the bingo clubs it needs to close, with further reinvestment in its bingo brand on the horizon.
The post Rank Group Posts Strong Trading Update Boosted by Mecca Bingo Growth appeared first on BingoDaily.