For the three months ended 31 March 2026 like-for-like net gaming revenue at Rank Group grew to £205.4 million.
Strong profit conversion leaves Rank confident it will surpass 2024-25’s operating profit (removing the impact of club openings, closures, foreign exchange movements and discontinued operations) of £63.7m in its current fiscal year ending 30 June 2026.
Grosvenor Casinos benefits from expanded machine rollout
Of that £205.4m, Rank Group’s Grosvenor Casinos business contributed £95.0m, a 5% year-on-year increase. The UK government enacted legislation allowing casinos to increase the number of gaming machines on property in July last year, and for Q3 gaming machines were the operator’s fastest-growing vertical NGR up 10% after around 850 additional machines were switched on across the estate.
These legislative changes also allow sports betting, and Rank is rolling out in-person wagering at 38 of its 50 Grosvenor venues. Trials are under way in Luton, Leicester and Reading ahead of a wider rollout.
While the war in the Middle East “will create ongoing uncertainty around international travel”, Rank is confident revenue growth will continue in Q4.
Rank’s reaction to RGD hike: Time to invest?
Digital followed as Rank Group’s second-largest business unit, with NGR up 4% to £60.9 million. However this segment will be hit hardest after Remote Gaming Duty was increased from 21% to 40% of gross gaming revenue this month.
The operator expects an annualised impact of around £46 million from this increase before mitigation. This would wipe out the profitability of its UK business, which reported a like-for-like operating profit of £25 million in its 2024-25 fiscal year.
Rank has therefore taken action to mitigate its impact, reducing headcount, cutting above-the-line marketing spend and TV sponsorship, as well as renegotiating supplier deals, while protecting performance marketing investment and customer bonusing.
Stronger Spanish performance shores up Digital
Digital performance in the UK was soft, with NGR rising just 2%, although it faced tough comparatives from Q3 2024-25. A strong performance from the Spanish digital business, where NGR rose 14% thanks to improvements to the offering, mitigated this weaker showing from the UK.
However analysts at Regulus Partners argued Rank needs to support the investment in its land-based business “while ensuring that customers are not disappointed online by a me-too offer”.
“This will require investment more than mitigation,” Regulus said, arguing that investing in favour of long-term topline growth instead of cutting capability to preserve short-term profits would solve its problem far more effectively.
Mecca, Rank’s bingo business, was one of the few sectors to benefit from Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ budget in November 2025 thanks to the abolition of bingo duty from 1 April. This is expected to drive double-digit growth in operating profit for the division, saving the operator around £6 million a year in duties, and Q3 revenue rose to £37.8 million, a 5% year-on-year improvement.
Over in Spain Rank’s Enracha business reported a 9% increase in revenue to £11.7 million, driven by the performance of gaming machines. Revenue for the product grew 27% during the quarter.
Rank CEO: Business on track to hit £100 million operating profit
For the nine months of the operator’s fiscal year to 31 March 2026, group like-for-like NGR stands at £625.2 million, up 6% from the prior year. With revenue growth projected to continue through Q4, underlying operating profit is expected to reach £68 million, which factors in energy price volatility relating from the Iran war.
The Q3 trading update, released ahead of Rank Group’s 2025-26 full year results on 13 August this year, demonstrates the resilience of the business, the strength of the customer proposition and its growth initiatives according to interim chief executive Richard Harris. Harris took on the CEO role from 29 January, after John O’Reilly retired.
“Having implemented the actions required to mitigate much of the impact of higher RGD 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 £100 million operating profit,” Harris added.
Investors have reacted positively to Rank Group’s Q3 trading update, with shares in the operator trading up 12.27% at 101.50 pence per share in London this morning.
Original article: https://igamingbusiness.com/finance/quarterly-results/rank-group-revenue-up-q3-2025-26/
