Casino Giant Loses Millions to Spanish Scam

Rank Group, the owner of leading casino and Mecca Bingo venues, has reportedly fallen victim to a substantial payment fraud amounting to £6.2 million. This incident occurred across its Spanish operations, specifically targeting its Enracha and Yo businesses. The financial impact of this fraud is expected to be disclosed as an exceptional item in the company's 2025-26 financial results, affecting the overall earnings for that period.

The fallout from this fraud has led to a notable dip in Rank's share value, with a 4.7% decrease reported. In response, the Maidenhead-based company has confirmed its full cooperation with ongoing police investigations. Furthermore, Rank is conducting a thorough internal investigation, enlisting the expertise of an external law firm to ascertain the full extent of the situation.

This financial blow comes at a challenging time for Rank, following a recent increase in the remote gaming tax from 21% to 40%, projected to reduce annual earnings by approximately £46 million. However, the company anticipates offsetting some of this by the £6 million benefit from the scrapping of bingo duty.