UK Casinos and Bingo Halls in 2026: Land-Based Gaming by the Numbers

UK land-based casinos and bingo halls are moving in opposite directions in 2026. Gambling Commission figures show fewer casino premises but more bingo venues than before the pandemic, while new machine rules and the end of Bingo Duty are changing the economics of both. This guide uses Commission statistics, HMRC receipts and The Rank Group’s 2026 annual report, the owner of Grosvenor Casinos and Mecca Bingo, to show where the venues and the money are.

How many casinos in the UK?

The answer depends on who is counting. The Gambling Commission recorded 136 active casino premises in Great Britain at the end of March 2026, down from 141 a year earlier and 153 in March 2019. That is 11.1% fewer than before the pandemic (our calculation).

The March 2021 figure of just 7 reflects lockdown closures, not a real collapse in licences.

The Rank Group gives a smaller figure. Its 2026 annual report says there are 110 operating casinos in the UK, down from 130 in 2019, and that Grosvenor, with 50 venues, holds 45% of the market by venues.

Rank also holds 17 unused casino licences. The gap between 110 and 136 comes from definitions: the Commission counts licensed premises, Rank counts casinos that are trading.

The quarterly series shows the decline continuing through 2025-26, from 139 casino premises in April to June 2025 to 136 by January to March 2026. The wider quarterly picture is in our UK gambling quarterly statistics review.

What UK land-based casinos earn

Casino gross gambling yield (GGY), the amount kept after winnings are paid, was £934.0m in 2025-26 according to provisional Commission data. That was 0.4% higher than the £930.4m of 2024-25 but 20.9% below the £1,180.7m of 2017-18 (our calculation).

The mix is shifting towards machines. Table and other casino games produced £695.0m in 2025-26 and gaming machines £239.0m, or 25.6% of the total (our calculation).

Machine GGY was 13.1% higher than the £211.2m recorded in 2017-18, while table games fell. Turnover on casino games was £4,156.4m in 2025-26.

How these venues fit into total British gambling, alongside online casino and the National Lottery, is set out in our UK gambling industry statistics overview.

Grosvenor Casinos: the largest estate

Grosvenor is the clearest window into the casino sector because Rank reports it separately. In the year to 30 June 2026, Grosvenor venues produced like-for-like net gaming revenue (NGR) of £397.3m, up 5% from £378.4m. Average weekly NGR rose to £7.6m from £7.3m, visitor numbers grew 2% and spend per visit grew 3%.

Gaming machines were the fastest growing product, up 11%. Average weekly machine NGR was £2.2m, against £2.0m a year earlier, and Rank aims for at least £3m in the medium term, which would make machines a larger part of how UK land-based casinos earn money. Live table gaming still accounted for 44% of Grosvenor’s casino NGR, and 24 venues now have sports betting terminals.

Profit tells a mixed story. Underlying like-for-like operating profit rose to £35.5m from £32.1m, but statutory operating profit fell to £23.5m from £29.9m after impairments and other separately disclosed items.

Bingo halls UK: more venues, more machines

Bingo is the one land-based sector growing in premises. The Commission counted 714 bingo premises in March 2026, against 688 a year earlier and 631 in March 2019, a rise of 13.2% since before the pandemic (our calculation). Bingo GGY was £703.8m in 2025-26, up 8.2%, and higher than the £680.0m of 2017-18.

Machines, not cards, drive that growth. Gaming machines in bingo premises produced £461.7m of GGY in 2025-26, or 65.6% of the total (our calculation), while bingo games produced £242.1m. Rank uses a narrower definition again: it counts 240 operating bingo venues and 52 operators in the UK.

Mecca Bingo in 2025-26

Mecca Bingo, the largest operator, closed nine clubs during the year, cutting its estate from 50 to 41. Those clubs had 2025-26 revenue of £12.6m. Total Mecca NGR was £143.1m, against £140.4m, and like-for-like NGR rose 4% to £143.0m.

Mainstage bingo revenue grew 12% to £23.8m, interval bingo was flat at £39.8m and gaming machines brought in £60.1m, 42% of Mecca’s NGR. Rank says 60% of customer visits were played on tablets and electronic bingo. Underlying like-for-like operating profit more than doubled to £8.9m from £4.3m.

Gaming Duty and Bingo Duty receipts

Casinos pay Gaming Duty on their gross gaming yield, on a banded scale. For accounting periods beginning on or after 1 April 2026, HMRC charges 15% on the first £2,686,000, then 20%, 30% and 40% on further bands, and 50% on the remainder. Gaming Duty receipts were £173.9m in 2025-26, up 5.1% from £165.4m in 2024-25 (our calculation).

Bingo Duty brought in £26.1m in 2025-26, against £25.2m a year earlier. It no longer exists: section 88 of the Finance Act 2026 abolished Bingo Duty from 1 April 2026. HMRC’s monthly tables show receipts dwindling to £4,000 in July 2026, as the last returns for earlier periods were paid.

For Rank, the in-year benefit of the abolition was £1.6m, with an annualised impact of about £6.4m expected for 2026-27. Neither duty applies to offshore casinos or any other online operator, which fall under separate remote gambling duties.

New machine rules and FOBT comparisons

The biggest change for casinos is regulatory. Rank says the Gambling Act Review reforms for casinos became law in England and Wales at the start of its 2025-26 year, and it installed 850 additional machines in 38 of its casinos in the first half. The same reforms do not yet extend to Scotland, according to Rank.

The Commission’s quarterly data show the effect across the sector. Gaming machines in casinos rose from 3,035 in April to June 2025 to 4,361 in January to March 2026, an increase of 43.7% (our calculation), while quarterly casino machine GGY rose from £56.6m to £60.0m.

Betting shops show the opposite trend, with machine numbers falling since the £2 stake limit, as covered in our FOBT statistics report.

Arcades and high street bookmakers face different pressures again, which are compared in our analysis of betting shops UK.

Enracha, Spain and the wider picture

Rank also runs Enracha, nine bingo and gaming venues in Spain. Enracha’s like-for-like NGR was £45.3m in 2025-26, up 7% from £42.4m. Spanish venues sit outside Commission statistics, just as European online casinos licensed elsewhere do not appear in British data.

Across the whole group, Rank reported NGR of £835.0m, against £795.4m, and underlying operating profit of £78.6m, against £64.8m. That includes its online brands as well as venues.

Two limits matter when reading these figures. Commission data cover Great Britain only, while HMRC duty receipts are UK-wide. Neither source captures non-UK casino sites that operate without a British licence.

FAQ: casinos and bingo halls

Quick answers from official data.