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Wednesday, June 17, 2009

2nd Annual Online Bingo Industry Awards Results

We're on to the second day of the Online Bingo Summit, following the awards ceremony last night which saw Cashcade scoop a bucket load of prizes. The awards were decided by people voting during the day. This time the company bias was removed as there was only one voting card allowed per company. The results we're pretty predictable, and pretty much tallied with my expectations. Here's the results:

Best Online Bingo Operator 2009

Best Online Bingo Portal 2009

Best Newcomer 2009

Best Affiliate Programme 2009

Online Bingo Software 2009

Best Marketing Campaign 2009

Best Innovation 2009

I'd like to say congratulations to all the winners, and thanks to Bullet Business for putting on a great event. There was much celebration and merriment afterwards, but today it's strictly back to the bingo business.

Posted at 9:36 AM | Add your comments [0] | Links |

Monday, June 15, 2009

Cashcade and Gala In The News

I'm on the train at the moment on the way to the 4th Annual Online Bingo Summit in London. Just browsing through the news and there's a couple of interesting stories worthy of note. First up is the news that the sale of Cashcade could be literally days away. EGaming Review has a piece that says PartyGaming is close to closing the deal.

I really hope PartyGaming don't make a fudge of the great work that Cashcade have done the last couple of years. Let's face it, PartyGaming have not got a very good rep when it comes to the game online, with such flops behind them as ITV Bingo, Emmerdale Bingo and its own Party Bingo. Cahscade on the other hand are pretty much the top bingo company in the UK when it comes to providing top flight bingo. It's player base is pretty loyal and it treats them well, innovating all the time. PartyGaming, from us regular online players, please don't mess up this golden opportunity!

Gala Bingo have been in the news, with The Times reporting the chain is considering closing another 5 or 6 halls around the UK. The report goes on to state that analysts reckon as many as a 100 clubs could close in the next couple of years following the added tax burden the government kindly put on the industry at the last budget. Sadly, many of these closures would be the smaller, more traditional bingo halls that I love.

Times are definitely changing for the game, with the Times also reporting that online bingo is very much in the ascendency over its land based partner. Cold comfort to Gala Bingo who risk losing their number one position in the online space if the Cashcade / Party deal goes through, as that could help knock them off that spot. It's no better with the land based side either, the Times piece covers a number of possible issues with their financing woes and banking covenants. It's certain to be a testing time for the UK's biggest bingo company.

Well, I'll be back with the results of the online bingo awards soon, I'm looking forward to that event tomorrow night, I'll try and get plenty of photos and gossip to share with you all once I get back from London. Until then, happy bingoing!

Posted at 11:28 AM | Add your comments [0] | Links |

Thursday, June 11, 2009

VAT Reclaim Could Cause More Problems For Industry

Following my last post about the success of Mecca Bingo at their High Court appeal about their tax rebate, Bingo Supermarket has an interesting take on the ruling. Rather than saving the industry, it could actually cause some operators severe difficulties as banks take the rebate's straight off them to cover outstanding debts. This then effects the operators abilities to remain afloat and keep the clubs financed. It's worth a read to see how this ruling could affect big names like Gala and Top Ten Bingo. I'll be keeping my eyes peeled to see how this plays out.

Posted at 2:56 PM | Add your comments [0] | Links |

Monday, June 08, 2009

Mecca Win VAT Rebate Appeal At High Courts

There'll be some happy people in the Rank Group HQ today. In fact they may even be having a little party to celebrate their victory in the High Court, where they found out they could keep the £62million VAT repayment they received last year. Reading the comments left here when the repayment was made, I'm not sure what Mecca can actually do with the money, but it's sure to do the company some good to not only have that money, but to also not be paying it out as well.

Now that Mecca Bingo have won their case at the appeal court, you can expect a whole slew of claims to come up for bingo operators around the UK. The Times post above thinks that as much as £500million could be due back to the industry. Good news yes, but given the recent budget knife to the guts, I wonder if Gordon Brown might not find some more ways of getting it out of the industry. It should at least cover a few weeks of expenses claims, if nothing else...

Posted at 8:47 PM | Add your comments [1] | Links |

Tuesday, June 02, 2009

Mecca Beeston Video Report

Just a quick post to mention the video report from Which Bingo shot at the new Mecca Beeston club. It's interesting to see inside the club and how swanky it's all looking. There's an interview with the Jay Murray, the manager of the club who believes it to be a success, although in most of the club scenes it looks pretty empty. Mark Walsh, the inventor of Rock 'n' Roll Bingo is also interviewed. I'd love to get up there for a look myself at some point, but as it's the other side of the country it's not likely in the near future.

You can watch the video below, so rather than waffle about it enjoy a look around the Beeston club and see what the members have to say. In the meantime though, we'll have to start a collection for the Which Bingo video team. Due to the slanting nature of their interviews, it appears their video camera tripod is need of repair with one leg being shorter than the other two... Enjoy the video.

Posted at 11:57 AM | Add your comments [2] | Links |

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