Grosvenor Poker Revenue Jumps But Blue Square Falls

Rank Group, which owns both Grosvenor Casinos and Blue Square Poker, has issued its half yearly trading statement to June 2009 which shows live poker booming at its casinos but online poker taking a hit.

Grosvenor Casinos, which hosts the Grosvenor UK Poker Tour, saw poker grow 56.5 percent to £3.6 million between January and June 2009 compared to the same period in 2008 when it was £2.3 million.

However the company says its profitability was undermined by changes to the taxation system in April 2009 which saw poker at its casinos across the UK subject to casino gaming duty of up to 50 percent. The company said this would have a material effect of £1.9 million on group profits.

Blue Square Poker, Rank’s online poker business, saw poker revenue fall 15 percent to £1.7 million in the first half of 2009 compared to £2 million in the same period, 2008.

Ian Burke, chief executive of The Rank Group said, "Rank performed well during the first half of the year, achieving profitable revenue growth in a difficult economic environment and further strengthening the Group’s balance sheet through debt reduction. We have set out a clear strategy for growth within the UK gaming market, expanding our portfolio of G Casinos, delivering operational improvements in Mecca Bingo and repositioning Rank Interactive to prioritise its gaming websites and meccabingo.com in particular.”

Overall group revenue at Rank for the first half of 2009 was £266 million compared to £257 million in the first half of 2008, with growth driven primarily by Grosvenor Casinos.

Related Articles

William Hill Rejects $4 Billion Takeover Offer

888 In Talks To Acquire Bookmaker William Hill

UK Casino Deal Falls Through

Most Viewed Articles