Rank has attempted to change the name of its Grosvenor Casinos to G.

They have, however, come up against opposition from rivals Gala who have claimed they have previously registered the G trademark and are refusing to allow Rank to have the G brand.

Gala and Rank are two of the biggest rivals in the bingo and casino industries.  As well as Grosvenor Casinos, which number 32 in the UK, Rank also own Mecca Bingo.  They are rivals with Gala Casinos of which there are 30 nationally and, of course, Gala Bingo.

A compromise looks unlikely between the two rival firms although it isn’t clear how Rank will go ahead.

There are already 4 out of Rank’s 32 casinos in the UK with the G brand and the company has plans to expand the brand by opening another two later this year.

Rank were keen to put in place a new casino brand after it lost the Hard Rock Casino name following the selling-off of the burger chain.

This dispute comes at a tough time for the two companies who have seen revenue fall due to the smoking ban and double taxation eating into their finances in their bingo businesses. 

Gala and Rank, Britain’s largest bingo operators have recently worked together with other bingo firms to try to get the government to scrap VAT on the game.

In the budget, however, chancellor, Alistair Darling refused to make any concessions on VAT to the bingo industry.

Gala have recently had interest shown in the acquisition of its casino branch by American giants Harrah’s Entertainment. 

Rank has seen its share prices fall sharply in recent months with several potential suitors taking stakes in the business.  Genting have been rumoured to wanting to buy Rank, although this has been denied by the Malaysian firm.