Rank Group Plc Regulatory News (RNK)

9 Dec 2009 15:05

9 December 2009

Rank welcomes reduction in bingo duty

The Rank Group Plc ('Rank' or the 'Group') welcomes today's announcement in the Pre-Budget Report that the rate of bingo duty will be lowered from 22% of revenue to 20%.

The change, which takes effect at the time of the Government's 2010 Budget statement, will result in an estimated £2.5m full-year benefit to operating profit for the Group's Mecca Bingo business. Mecca Bingo operates 103 licensed bingo clubs across Great Britain.

Ian Burke, chief executive of Rank said:

"Today's announcement is a step in the right direction. However, it is still not clear why Britain's bingo clubs should be subject to a higher tax rate than that applied to other forms of gaming and betting."

ends

Contacts:

The Rank Group Dan Waugh, director of investor relations  01628 504053 

Financial Dynamics Ben Foster/Marc Cohen 020 7831 3113 

Notes to editors: 

Gambling taxation in Great Britain

The table below sets out the range of duty rates applied to gaming and betting activities in Great Britain.

About The Rank Group Plc 

The Rank Group Plc is a leading European gaming and betting business, based in the UK and listed on the London Stock Exchange (RNK.L). Its principal activities are the operation of bingo clubs and casinos with complementary interactive gaming and bookmaking services. 

Rank's operations comprise:

Grosvenor Casinos - 35 casinos in Great Britain; two casinos in Belgium

Mecca Bingo - 103 bingo clubs in Great Britain

Top Rank Espana - 11 bingo clubs in Spain

Rank Interactive - online and mobile gaming and betting. Branded websites include bluesq.com, meccabingo.com and gcasino.com.

In 2008, Rank's businesses received more than 20 million customer visits and the Group employed around 8,000 team members.

For more information about The Rank Group, visit www.rank.com.