Shares in casino and bingo operator Rank Group (RNK) topped the FTSE 250 leader board on Wednesday, gaining 4.6% to 179.7p after it confirmed that HM Revenue and Customs had decided not to appeal its successful VAT repayment claim.
On 30 June the First-Tier Tax Tribunal handed down its decision which ruled in favour of Rank’s long running claim for a VAT refund on slot machine income relating to the period from April 2006 to January 2013.
The Tribunal has agreed a 60-day extension allowing the parties to agree on the exact amount to be repaid which the company expects to be approximately £80 million, in line with prior estimates.
WIDER IMPLICATIONS
Rank successfully argued that HMRC had broken its so-called fiscal neutrality rules by applying specific land-based charges on FOBT’s (fixed-odds betting terminals) while no such charges were applied to traditional and online casino games.
Following the judgement which cannot now be appealed, Ladbrokes and Coral owner Entain (ENT) and William Hill said they would examine their own respective rebates.
According to some estimates there are over 1,000 businesses which operate physical one-arm bandits and slot machines, and which may now be reviewing whether to claim compensation from HMRC.
