Land-based
Grosvenor Casinos venues
Grosvenor is the largest land-based casino operator in the UK with 50 venues in most of the largest towns and cities across the UK. The total number of operating casinos in the UK is 111, giving Grosvenor a 45% share of the UK market in terms of venue numbers.
The Gambling Act Review reforms will deliver material benefits to the Grosvenor business. Additional gaming machines will be rolled out in our venues, commencing in Q1 2025/26. We also plan to offer sports betting in 38 of our casinos.
In recent years, the UK market has been constrained by the maximum limit of 20 gaming machines per casino licence which, all too often, has resulted in demand for machines exceeding supply. The modernisations will address that imbalance and will also provide a welcome stimulus to international gaming machine manufacturers for whom the UK market has hitherto been unappealing. More suppliers will create more competition and customers will ultimately benefit from a more vibrant gaming machine experience as part of the wider casino appeal. Larger casinos will be able to benefit from higher machine numbers than smaller venues, according to a sliding scale of machine allocations and, over time, this has the potential to lead to larger venues.
We currently utilise 70 licences across our 50 venues, using two and, in our Nottingham and Glasgow Merchant City casinos, three licences to better meet our customers’ expectations, specifically in terms of gaming machine supply. We currently have seven unused/dormant licences. As we roll out more gaming machines across our estate in the coming months and years, as a result of the changes enabled by the Gambling Act Review, we are likely to see an increase in the number of dormant licences as a result of the removal of second and third licences in our casinos.
There are considerable barriers to entry in the UK casino sector, with the number and location of licences tightly controlled by legislation. The extra provision of dormant licences, however, will provide us with opportunities for new openings within permitted areas, subject to local authority planning permission.
Mecca venues
There are 247 operating bingo venues in the UK, of which Mecca operates 50.
Ultimately, bingo is a liquidity game and the over-supply of bingo clubs has now been largely addressed, with remaining clubs increasingly vibrant with strong liquidity and, consequently, strong prize boards which sustain the liquidity.
The mainstage game of bingo remains the primary driver of customer visits, but customers also enjoy good value food and drink and a gaming machine offering that we have invested in significantly over the course of the year. Alongside this, we provide live entertainment in clubs as part of the rounded Mecca experience.
In Spain, the landscape is different. More clubs operate and there are many more operators compared to the UK.
Our nine Enracha clubs are high quality, flagship venues in the towns and cities where they are located. Bingo remains popular across a wide demographic in Spain and the growing popularity of gaming machine arcades and sports betting has offset some of the traditional bingo decline.
Spanish venues are often less bingo-centric with a ‘multi-game’ proposition increasingly popular, which is particularly relevant to a younger demographic in Spanish venues. We are confident that our flagship Enracha venues, with the scale and ability to flex the customer proposition, will continue to enjoy competitive advantage.
Enracha venues
The Spanish digital gambling market is highly competitive.
Legislative changes in 2024, enabling more advertising and promotion within the market, increased the extent of competition, particularly in terms of new market entrants. YoBingo, our core brand in the Spanish digital market, has a c. 50% share of the bingo market, and provides a platform on which to promote its sister sites, YoCasino and YoSports.
We are looking forward to launching in Portugal. YoBingo is in the final phase of the homologation process with an expectation that the brand will go live during 2025/26, becoming the first online bingo operator in Portugal.
At 30 June 2025