Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said: “Better known for its bingo halls in the UK, it is a more obscure part of the business which has tripped Rank Group up.
“While the sums involved in the payment fraud at Rank’s Spanish operations are not immaterial the share price reaction likely also reflects some uncertainty about whether this will prove to be a more extensive issue for the company.
“Investors will be on tenterhooks as they await the results of an investigation like a bingo player desperately waiting for the number which will let them call ‘house’.
“The fraud issues in Spain follow on from the impact of a Budget which gave to Rank with one hand and took away with the other as the abolition of bingo duty was accompanied by an increase in the digital gaming levy.”
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