CASINO staff say their employers are not a safe bet and are set to strike over the festive season.

A Christmas walkout at Grosvenor Casinos is on the cards after union Unite threatened a ballot of its 140 members.

The industrial action could begin next month at the Rialto in Leicester Square, the Victoria in Edgware Road and the Gloucester, Chelsea.

Disrupting the most profitable holiday period, the action follows a rejection of the Rank Group’s below-inflation 2.5 per cent offer of a rise.

The union also says it believes the latest pay offer is part of a campaign to undermine its role representing staff at the three casinos.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Grosvenor Casinos can more than afford a better pay offer to our members who do a very specialised role, but instead has chosen to prioritise its own greed.

“These workers deserve more than this miserly below-inflationary rise being offered and they will receive Unite’s complete support throughout this dispute.”

The casino staff run the poker rooms and roulette tables and are skilled in dealing cards and calculating odds and fractions.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham

They are often under intense pressure from customers routinely losing money in high-stakes gambling.

Grosvenor Casinos is a chain of over 50 casinos located in major towns and cities across the country and is owned by the Rank Group.

Unite says the company is making large profits and can afford to pay its workers a more significant pay increase.

It says that historically the company has agreed “good pay offers” with the union but that this year Rank has been “refusing to budge”.

It has responded with the threat of strike action, with a vote on a potential ballot closing on October 30.

Unite regional officer Janet MacLeod said: “Grosvenor Casinos is betting that its workers will not have the strength to take industrial action, but it is taking a massive gamble.

“Any strike action will cause a major hit to its profits given the time of year it is planned to take place.

“It can avoid this. Instead of trying to derecognise and undermine Unite, it must come back to the table with a pay offer that is appropriate for our members.”

The last Grosvenor strike was for three days in 2022.

Earlier this month the Rank Group announced £210.2m in net gaming revenue for the quarter ending September 30 – a 9 per cent year-on-year increase. The company was approached for comment.