Having navigated March and April’s COVID storms, the betting industry was served a political whiplash across European jurisdictions as the months of May and June saw governments order tighter customer controls across all gambling verticals. SBC – European governments order tougher controls on gambling’s compliance duties Following direct orders from the government, the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) imposed a series …
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Rank Group Plc has migrated ‘Bella Casino’ onto its proprietary operating platform, thereby completing the first stage of the technology integration of its acquired Stride Gaming assets. The LSE gambling group underlined progress on the key technology directive of merging Stride Gaming’s multi-brand UK online casino and bingo portfolio with its proprietary systems to expand its ‘Rank Interactive’ business unit. …
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Rank Group Plc has quelled press speculation that it will undertake a new share placement to raise working capital to help its venues and properties mitigate autumn lockdown proceedings and further COVID-19 impacts. The LSE gambling group issued its response to a Sky News report, which detailed that Rank would pursue a £70 million emergency funding round, undertaken through a …
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Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has been warned by UK casino leaders that “hundreds of Scottish jobs’” have been placed at risk following the SNP’s enforcement that casino venues should be temporarily shut. New Scottish Government COVID-19 emergency measures enforced that any region placed under ‘Level 2’ requires local casinos to close entirely. Bosses have called on the Scottish First …
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The casino industry has been left reeling after yesterday’s announcement of further coronavirus restrictions, which have seen the government impose a blanket 10pm curfew on their venues. Responding to the measures, The Rank Group has called upon the government to urgently consider expanding the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme to support businesses affected by the new measures. Earlier this week, London …
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Rank Group has strengthened its commitment to supporting unpaid carers across the UK after extending its partnership with Carers Trust through until 2021. Since its inception more than six years ago in February 2014, Rank colleagues and customers have raised £2.6 million for the charity, with the money raised benefiting over 12,000 unpaid carers. Over the last 12 months, Rank …
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Rank Group Plc has issued a market update as it begins to reopen its Mecca Bingo venues across England from Saturday 4 July. Absorbing COVID-19 impacts and costs, Rank stated that its group underlying profits will fall at the lower end of its provided £48-58 million guidance for the year ending 30 June 2020. Despite the closure of its entire …
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Rank Group has ‘gifted’ its sponsorship of League One football team Ipswich Town FC to Carers Trust, with the charity’s logo due to feature prominently on the team’s home kit for the 2020-21 season. The team’s shirt currently features the logo of Rank online casino subsidiary, Magical Vegas. The sponsorship was donated to raise awareness of the organisation which supports …
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The Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) has called for ministers to guarantee the reopening of UK casinos in July to avoid industry job losses. BGC CEO Michael Dugher re-emphasised that UK casinos had undertaken all necessary steps to ensure that venues are ‘covid proof’ and able to reopen safely in July, with the majority of UK leisure and hospitality businesses. …
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Rank Group has announced that it will begin the ‘phased reopening’ of its Mecca Bingo venues operating across England from 4 July. In accordance with the government’s public safety measures, 36 Mecca venues will reopen on 4 July across England, as Rank re-establishes its retail footprint having been forced to close all gambling venues from mid-March as the UK entered …
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