The gaming group Rank which owns the Grosvenor Casino and Mecca Bingo brand has announced plans to spend millions of pounds in the West Midlands area after a significant increase in customer visits.

The area which has been badly hit by the recession and has some of the highest levels of unemployment will welcome announcement.

The gaming giant plans include a £15m casino in Oldbury and a new-look Mecca Bingo Club in Kingstanding. The company have just completed a redevelopment of the Grosvenor Casino in Walsall, which now joins the G-Casino brand. At the end of this year the company will have invested more than £14.6m in the area over the last two years with the creation of 70 new jobs.

Mecca Bingo clubs including Bilston, Wednesbury, West Bromwich, Brierley Hill and Oldbury saw revenues soar by 8%, with both an increase in customer visits (7.9%) and the amount they spent per visit (3.4%).

Ian Burke the chief executive commented: “We are developing increasingly sophisticated systems for understanding and engaging with our customers and our management team is motivated to deliver outstanding service to customers.”

The property developers, St Modwen, have been granted permission to build the casino at Oldbury and it is expected this will create around 300 positions.