Pre-Budget Report

RNS Number : 8587D

Rank Group PLC

09 December 2009

9 December 2009

Rank welcomes reduction in bingo duty

The Rank Group Plc ('Rank' or the 'Group') welcomes today's announcement in the Pre-Budget Report that the rate of bingo duty will be lowered from 22% of revenue to 20%.

The change, which takes effect at the time of the Government's 2010 Budget statement, will result in an estimated £2.5m full-year benefit to operating profit for the Group's Mecca Bingo business. Mecca Bingo operates 103 licensed bingo clubs across Great Britain.

Ian Burke, chief executive of Rank said:

"Today's announcement is a step in the right direction. However, it is still not clear why Britain's bingo clubs should be subject to a higher tax rate than that applied to other forms of gaming and betting."

ends

Contacts:

The Rank Group
Dan Waugh, director of investor relations 01628 504053

Financial Dynamics
Ben Foster/Marc Cohen 020 7831 3113

Notes to editors:

Gambling taxation in Great Britain

The table below sets out the range of duty rates applied to gaming and betting activities in Great Britain.

Activity	Duty rate
Bingo (in a licensed bingo club)	22% (reducing to 20% in 2010)
Bingo (online)	15%
Betting (in a betting shop)	15%
Betting (online)	15%
Football pools	15%
Casino games (in a licensed casino)	15% to 50%
Casino games (online)	15%

About The Rank Group Plc

The Rank Group Plc is a leading European gaming and betting business, based in the UK and listed on the London Stock Exchange (RNK.L). Its principal activities are the operation of bingo clubs and casinos with complementary interactive gaming and bookmaking services.

Rank's operations comprise:

Grosvenor Casinos - 35 casinos in Great Britain; two casinos in Belgium
Mecca Bingo - 103 bingo clubs in Great Britain
Top Rank Espana - 11 bingo clubs in Spain
Rank Interactive - online and mobile gaming and betting. Branded websites include bluesq.com, meccabingo.com and gcasino.com.