Rank says the gambling industry must put its house in order

The chief executive of Rank Group declared that the gambling industry must put its house in order or it will go the way of tobacco did.

UK.- The chief executive of Rank Group said that the gambling industry needs to address gambling addiction or it will go the same way as the tobacco sector. The head of one of Britain’s biggest betting firms has outlined that Rank Group is ‘striving to do more’ to control its customers’ betting habits.

Henry Birch, chief executive of Rank Group said at the opening meeting of Cardiff Business Club’s 2016-17 season that with its three million customers Rank was presented with a massive challenge.

“We track customers’ patterns of pay and screen the bets they make when those exceed £1,500. We are working at this and striving to do more, otherwise gambling will go the same way as the tobacco industry,” Birch said. “So if we don’t get the industry in order we don’t deserve to flourish.”

The Rank Group reaches three million customers through its three brands: Mecca, Grosvenor Casinos and Enracha. Grosvenor Casinos is the largest operation of its kind in the UK with 56 casinos nationwide, whilst Mecca has 87 bingo clubs.

“At Rank our aim is to make a positive contribution to the quality of life in the communities we serve by bringing people together, creating fun experiences and making people happy,” Birch added. “We understand that our success as a business is dependent upon society’s view of our effectiveness in doing this and that the value that we generate from our operations is a measure of the value that we add to people’s lives.”