Online boost for Mecca Bingo group

The owner of Mecca Bingo has shrugged off a fall in the number of visitors to its halls as a surge in online players helped it toast a 9% rise in profits.

Rank Group said visits to its 97 bingo clubs fell 1.7% in the year to June 30. But the group's online arm enjoyed a 25% rise in underlying profits, with the popularity of meccabingo.com helping drive a 24% increase in bingo and games revenues.