An unexpected shock hit Spain at the end of the year. Rank Group, a major operator, has just revealed a fraud amounting to more than €7 million, highlighting the vulnerabilities still present in the sector.
Large-scale fraud exposed
Rank Group, an internationally renowned player in the world of games and leisure, has revealed that it was the victim of a payment fraud totalling around €7.1 million on its operations in Spain. The incident particularly concerns the group’s activities under the Yo and Enracha brands, both of which are present in the Spanish online and land-based gaming market. These platforms offer bingo, electronic casino games, slot machines, sports betting and entertainment services.
While the announcement was made via a regulatory statement to the London Stock Exchange, the group also reported the matter to the relevant Spanish authorities, pledging full cooperation with investigators.
Faced with the scale of the fraud, Rank was quick to launch an in-depth internal investigation, drawing on the support of an external law firm to understand the causes and mechanisms of what happened. This two-pronged approach, combining collaboration with the justice system and an internal review, is designed to shed light on the origin of the fraud, assess potential flaws in control processes and ensure that such an incident does not happen again.
Immediate financial consequences
The financial impact of this fraud is considered significant enough to be treated as an exceptional item in the Group’s financial results for the 2025/26 financial year.
This classification means that the loss will not be included in the usual operating results, but will appear separately, so that shareholders and the market can better understand its isolated impact on the accounts.
Following this announcement, Rank Group’s shares fell sharply on the stock market in the first few hours of trading, a sign that investor confidence had been shaken by this revelation.
The group was already facing economic challenges even before this fraud. The impact of tax changes, including an increase in remote gaming taxation in the UK, had been flagged as a factor likely to weigh on its overall results. For Rank, Spain remains a strategic market alongside its UK domestic business and digital operations. The emergence of a fraud of this scale further increases the regulatory and financial burden on the company.
A sector under scrutiny
The announcement of this fraud of more than €7 million is a serious warning for the gaming and leisure sector. It underlines the importance for operators to strengthen their financial protection, their vigilance in the face of fraudulent transactions and their collaboration with the authorities.