Rank hit by €7.1m fraud at Spanish gaming units, shares tumble

(Sharecast News) - Shares in Rank Group fell sharply on Monday as the UK gambling operator said its Spanish businesses had been hit by a payment fraud costing it €7.1m. The Mecca bingo and Grosvenor casinos owner said it had reported the incident at the Enracha and Yo gaming operations to law enforcement agencies and was supporting investigations, as well as carrying out its own internal probe with the help of an external law firm.

Shares in the firm slumped as much as 9% in London trade on the news.

"Given the exceptional nature of this incident, Rank Group expects to treat the financial impact as a separately disclosed item in relation to its 2025/26 performance," the company said in a short statement on Monday.

AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould said the share price reaction "likely also reflects some uncertainty about whether this will prove to be a more extensive issue for the company".

"Investors will be on tenterhooks as they await the results of an investigation like a bingo player desperately waiting for the number which will let them call 'house'.

"The fraud issues in Spain follow on from the impact of a (UK) Budget which gave to Rank with one hand and took away with the other as the abolition of bingo duty was accompanied by an increase in the digital gaming levy."

Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com