It appears that bingo players not only enjoy getting their gambling fix, but also enjoy getting their smoking fix at the same time. According to the Rank gaming group, the company was hit with a lower profit margin in 2006 due to the smoking ban in Scottish bingo halls. Rank, which owns the Mecca Bingo network, reports the group's Scottish bingo clubs saw a 15% decrease in revenue since the passing of the ban in early 2006. A 6% drop in attendance and a 9% drop in spending per person attributed to the drop in marginal profit from 2005.

Further evidence that Rank's bingo losses in Scotland were caused by direct repercussions of the smoking ban is the fact that Rank's clubs in England and Wales, where smoking is tolerated, saw a 1% profit margin increase by the year's closing. Rank has also attributed a 4.6% decline in admissions to their Top Rank Espana bingo clubs in Spain to a similar smoking ban there.

Overall, Rank's Mecca bingo operations saw over an 18% decline in operating profit from 2005, dropping from £88 million to £72 million. However, helping to offset this drop was an increase in profit generated from Rank's Grosvenor empire of thirty plus casinos in England and Wales (two in Belgium), which saw an increase of over 11% in operating profit to end 2006 in the green at £39.5 million. Grosvenor Casino operations brought in a 4.7% increase in overall revenue up to £204 million.

Furthermore, Rank's Blue Square casino and gaming technology development branch, which provides online distribution for both Grosvenor and Mecca - not to mention Rank Blue Square poker, sports betting and casino products - saw a phenomenal 780% increase in profit up from £1 million in 2005. Blue Square's gross revenues rose from £13 to £23 million, while their sportsbook revenue was up £3 million to close out 2006 at £16 million.

Rank's Chief Executive Officer, Ian Burk, said that due to restructuring and asset disposals valued in excess of £1.1 billion, Rank is now a more casino and gaming focused business. Having disposed of their Hard Rock assets and Deluxe Media Services, Burk says that Rank is now poised for long-term growth in the UK casino gambling and bingo market. Rank is expecting increased spending in 2007, which they are planning to attract with a broader presence through a variety of media channels.