Shares in Rank Group gained more than 7 per cent in London Wednesday as the casino operator looks to benefit from favourable land-based casino reforms in the United Kingdom.
Earlier this week, the UK government published three Statutory Instruments to enable the land-based casino reforms in the government’s review of the 2005 Gambling Act.
The Statutory Instruments identify Tuesday 22 July as the date on which the increase to the number of gaming machines and the opportunity to provide sports betting will be permitted in casinos in England and Wales.
For Rank, the company expects to add 882 gaming machines to its current Grosvenor estate of 1,367 machines over the coming months, the timing of which will be subject to completion of variation applications for its casino licences.
The total opportunity within its current estate is 3,112 machines, requiring investment in its casinos that the company expects to gradually complete over the next two to three years.
Rank will engage with government officials in Scotland as the operator work towards ensuring that its Scottish casinos can also benefit from the reforms at the earliest opportunity.
“The publication of the Statutory Instruments for land-based casino reforms is very good news for Rank,” said Rank Group CEO John O’Reilly. “The modernisations will enable us to improve the Grosvenor customer proposition, helping to grow jobs and generating investment in local communities.
“We have a detailed roadmap of investments which we will now accelerate as we begin to roll out these reforms over the coming months.”
The draft Casinos (Gaming Machines and Mandatory Conditions) Regulations were laid before Parliament in draft on 12 May, and form part of a package of interlinked statutory instruments which make changes to the regulatory framework for land-based casinos.
The other two linked statutory instruments are being published alongside the draft Casinos Regulations to enable proper scrutiny of the whole package of changes.
These are: the Gambling Act 2005 (Commencement No. 6 and Transitional Provisions) (Amendment) Order, and the Gambling Act 2005 (Premises Licences and Provisional Statements) (Amendment) (England and Wales) Regulations.
If the draft Casinos Regulations are approved by both Houses, Ministers intend to make the No.6 Amendment Order prior to signing the draft Casinos Regulations.
As these statutory instruments are in draft, they may be subject to change.
Shares in Rank Group plc (LSE:RNK) gained 7.33 per cent to 113.55 pence per share in London earlier Wednesday following the announcement.