Grosvenor Casinos wins big in profits for Rank Group

Many Britons spent the last year of recession gambling away at the roulette tables, if figures from the Grosvenor casino chain today are anything to go by.

Rank Group, which owns Grosvenor and bingo brand Mecca, said profit for 2009 would come in "significantly higher" than a year earlier, hitting the top end of the City's range of forecasts.

Total revenue for the last 12 months rose three per cent on 2008.

The increase was helped by openings, but takings from bingo halls, casinos and websites that had been running for more than a year were still up one per cent across the 12 months. In the final 12 weeks of the year, revenue rose two per cent.

Rank's 37 branches of Grosvenor Casinos, and web offerings such as the betting site Blue Square, were the main drivers for success.

Bingo was not as popular — Mecca takings were flat across the year. But Rank said the Chancellor's pre-Budget report plans to cut bingo duty from 22 per cent to 20 per cent would help it save £2.5 million this year.