Rank Group, which owns well-known casino and bingo brands, has faced a major issue in Spain. Earlier this week, the company disclosed the discovery of a fraud scheme involving €7.1 million in payouts. Following this announcement, Rank’s share price on the London Stock Exchange dropped by almost 9% during morning trading. The incident affected the Spanish subsidiaries Enracha and Yo, both part of the group’s structure.
Rank’s management stated that it has already contacted Spanish law enforcement and is fully cooperating with the authorities. At the same time, the company has launched its own internal investigation, involving an independent law firm. Rank emphasized that the financial impact of this incident will be recorded as a separate item in the 2025/26 financial year report.
Financial impact
This case has dealt another blow to Rank following recent tax policy changes. Last autumn, authorities announced an increase in remote gambling tax from 21% to 40%. According to company estimates, this will reduce annual profits by about £46 million. Some of the losses will be offset by the removal of the bingo tax, which will bring in around £6 million, but the net negative will still total approximately £40 million.
Despite these challenges, Rank continues to invest in product development and improving its client risk management systems. In August, the company noted that these investments are already yielding positive results, and that new casino reforms announced by the government this summer are expected to accelerate this progress.
Reforms and outlook
Among the key changes are the easing of restrictions on the number of slot machines and sports betting in casinos. Thanks to these reforms, Rank plans to install an additional 850 slot machines at its venues across the country this year. This is expected to help partially offset the negative impact of the tax reform.
Analysts note that despite the fraud incident, the company’s profit forecast remains unchanged. Since the detected losses will be recorded as an exceptional item, they will not affect the overall business trends. Rank is set to announce its interim financial results in the near future, and experts believe these will show sustained growth and the initial impact of reforms in its land-based casinos.
Internal audits
The company emphasizes that the fraud investigation is ongoing and all circumstances are being thoroughly examined. Rank assures that it is taking all necessary measures to prevent such incidents in the future. Security and transparency in financial operations remain a top management priority.
It is still unclear how the perpetrators managed to carry out the fraudulent scheme or how many employees may be involved. The company has promised to provide additional information as the investigation concludes and the final report is published.
