DCMS draft proposals lead to early signs of UK casino rebound

LSE gusts have lifted Rank Group’s share prices in wake of new land-based casino draft reforms proposed by the UK policymakers.

The Grosvenor Casino operator saw its share price on the London Stock Exchange (LSE)  grow almost 6% in the early hours of this morning, 14 May, in an encouraging sign for the wider brick-and-mortar sector as we see it slowly losing ground to iGaming.

This comes days after the UK’s Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) put forward draft proposals to update UK casino provisions within the Gambling Act 2005 – a move separate from the Gambling Review White Paper.

In its proposals, DCMS has featured continuous calls from UK casino operators to modernise the outdated framework with a package of reforms that would ensure the land-based sector’s long-term profitability and commercial appeal. 

Some of these reforms include permission to allow sports betting on-site, expanded number of electronic table games allowed, and more room for venue diversification plans, among others.

Rank Group responds

Rank has of course welcomed the ‘very positive’ DCMS proposals, which have set 22 July as the target date to implement the statutory instruments that would increase the number of gaming machines permitted and allow on-site sports betting in venues across both England and Wales. 

The company stated that this will allow for the rollout of 882 new gaming machines over the coming months to the current 1,367 located across its Grosvenor UK estates, adding up to a total of 2,249 units.

There is potential to increase that total number to 3,112 machines, with Rank confirming that it remains at the ready to fully realise that potential through a dedicated casino investment strategy being rolled out over the next “two to three years”.

Rank also stated that it will enter into regular communication with government officials in Scotland to devise a plan on how its casinos there can benefit from the reforms at the earliest convenience.

John O’Reilly, Rank CEO, said: “The publication of the Statutory Instruments for land-based casino reforms is very good news for Rank. 

“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.”

Local authorities beg to differ

While the new measures offer a glimpse of hope for the sustainable future of UK casinos, they could also add fuel to the smouldering political fire involving both local English councils and Westminster politicians.

A total of 38 councils recently co-signed a letter addressed to Lisa Nandy MP, DCMS Secretary, asking for more local autonomy in controlling high-street betting shops and casinos, including licensing permissions.

This call stands out in stark contrast to the latest DCMS proposals around casinos, which envision simplified licensing rules for land-based venues.