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Saturday, January 05, 2008

Gala To Close Five Bingo Halls

Well, have to say I was shocked when I spotted the news over at The Guardian that Gala Bingo are to close five of their Bingo clubs. It's the first sign of closures from the UK's biggest Bingo chain, and it comes just a short while after Gala Coral's CEO Neil Goulden was quoted as saying there would be no closures for Gala Bingo. The five clubs set to close are: Edinburgh, Bedminster in Bristol; Winton in Bournemouth; Lakeside in Essex, and Teesside. So far there are no details on the dates of the closures, but around 130 jobs will be lost.

In a related article, the FT carries a story that could shed a ray of hope on the industry in these troubled times. It reports that a number of ministers are putting pressure on the chancellor to address the taxation issues effecting the industry. Let's hope he can do something to help the companies out of the current situation - but I fear that moves will need to be made very swiftly if they are to have any impact.

The article also looks into the problems the industry faces with regards to its image and user base, suggesting that tax breaks alone wouldn't necessarily help the industry out of the corner it's painted itself into, a message I've been repeating for a long time now. Once again, let's hope they take the steps needed to keep the game and their businesses going.

Posted at 12:53 AM |

4 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Bristol Bedminstor is one club, hence the semicolon

11:11 PM  

Blogger Dio Bach said...

Ah, I see my mistake - it was late at night. The other ones like that they listed as being in, but it goes Bristol, Bedminster rather than Bedminster in Bristol; etc. I'll alter it all and hope no one else had spotted and the people at the Guardian don't string me up for my mail. :)

12:12 AM  

Anonymous BingoFriendsForever said...

We can only hope that these clubs will survive the pressure and operate just as normal so that no one will have to lose their job.

5:18 AM  

Anonymous Anonymous said...

That is sad. I was one of the first Asst Managers at Gala Lakeside (Thurrock) and had many a great time working there for the first year or so.. In fact if someone looks at the sign off sheets I was the official acceptor from the builder for the company (only manager around on the day we signed off).

Mark M

10:15 PM  

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