Let casinos offer credit to bring the high-rollers to London, says Rank boss

Rank Group called today for a law change to help attract more high-rolling international gamblers to its casinos, as it reported a doubling in profits.

 

Its chief executive, John O’Reilly, said that visitors to the capital from the Gulf “are nowhere near the levels they once were”.

 

He told the Standard that was because of legal restrictions on offering credit.

 

 “We’re hoping, with the new government’s growth agenda, we could persuade them to change a tiny bit of legislation and enable credit to be reintroduced for high-net-worth international travellers. It would be a big boost for London.”

 

He said: “Anywhere else in Europe, pretty much anywhere else in the world, the casino will give you credit. You play with the casino’s money and you settle up at the end of the trip, with a bank transfer at the end for the net amount, whether you’re winning or losing.

 

"But in London, we require the customer to write a cheque. The challenge with cheques is that nobody has them anymore. The days of cheques are long gone. Everybody recognises there is need for change.”

 

However people are paying, Rank had more money coming in for the year to the end of June.

 

Casinos in the capital led the rise in underlying operating profit of  £46.5 million. Like-for-like underlying operating profit for the year was £46.5 million, slightly ahead of analysts' consensus and more than double the prior year's £20.1 million. 

 

Its Mecca Bingo chain had 2% more visitors, with ike-for-like net gaming revenue up 8% and spend up 6%.

 

Group-wide net gaming revenue was up 9%.

 

O’Reilly also pointed to plans to refurbish the world famous Vic Poker Rooms on the Edgeware Road, a venue which runs every day of the year except Christmas Day. It will keep that record up, staying open  throughout the £15 million works carried out over the next 12 months

 

The investment in what he called “the home of poker:  comes as “London has been more buoyant”. 

O’Reilley called the Vic “a great casino today” and said it would be “fabulous going forwards.”

 

On wide trading in the capital, he said: “The high footfall, volume business is very strong. So venues like the Rialto in Leicester Square, St Giles near Tottenham Court Road and the Vic have been super-strong.

 

“But at the higher end, internationally, we in the UK don’t punch our weight because we can’t offer credit.”

 

But there has been help for London to draw in the  big money  from a surprising source on the other side of the English Channel this summer. “In the last few weeks, London has had more high-net-worth players,” O’Reilly confirmed.

 

“And. I think the reason for that is them not visiting Paris during the Olympics.”

Shares in Rank raked in gains of 5p to 75p, a rise of over 7%.