David Williams, Director of Public Affairs at Rank Group, stated that more reform is needed within the UK casino industry, saying several improvements “cannot come a moment too soon”.
In a blog post on the Betting & Gaming Council’s website, Williams added that while the changes are needed quickly, casinos in the UK “are not blessed with time” due to financial adjustments coming in 2024 such as an increase in national living wage.
The Rank Director noted that while the group, which operates Grosvenor Casino and Mecca Bingo venues in the UK, welcomes many of the proposals within the UK government’s gambling white paper – such as the statutory levy, gaming machine allocations, casinos being able to offer sports betting and electronic payment methods – the implementation of these proposals must be timed correctly.
Many of these reforms could be brought into play as the national living wage in the UK increases by 9.8 per cent, which Williams says will cost Rank almost £10m on an annualised basis.
In addition, he also expressed disappointment in the casino duty band freezes from the Autumn Statement, as while the Chancellor stated it would generate £5m for the Exchequer, “fragile consumer confidence and wider inflationary pressures all combine to impact casinos”.
“The key mitigation that we have against these pressures is the delivery of the public policies in the White Paper, some of which will really make a positive difference,” the Rank Director commented.
“At the top of the tree is the long-overdue change to gaming machine allocations. Casinos will also be able to offer sports betting, whilst electronic payment methods (rather than the current over-reliance on cash in our clubs) will help to give customers a more contemporary casino experience and one which is the norm almost everywhere else in the world.
“These improvements cannot come a moment too soon and it is precisely why the industry is urging the Government to keep its foot to the floor in delivering their response to the land-based consultation, laying the necessary statutory instruments and getting the legislation delivered in the first half of 2024. It all takes time, and whilst timing is everything, we are not blessed with time on our side.”
Williams added that modernisations that can deliver revenue for casinos are needed most to mitigate the upcoming financial adjustments.
“We are playing catch-up with casinos elsewhere in the world, and much of the wider gambling ecosystem here in the UK. Only when the legislation is delivered can we set about making our casinos more modern and appealing.
“With timing comes sequencing. We simply cannot withstand the cost increases that are all but certain without knowing when the promised modernisations are going to land. In short, we need the modernisations which will help to drive revenue which will help us to absorb the costs. That’s the only sequence of events that works.
“As we reflect on a busy 2023, we lean into the first half of 2024 knowing that it’s likely to be even busier. By the summer, providing the Government delivers the casino-modernising policies that were so long in the making, it will have been worth the wait.”