tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27236029Sat, 04 Jul 2009 20:36:32 +0000Keep up to date with news and stories from the UK Bingo world and find out what new guides, reviews and stories have been added to the site.http://playingbingo.co.uk/bingo-news/index.shtmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dio Bach)Blogger385125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27236029.post-4812555663931812986Wed, 17 Jun 2009 09:36:00 +00002009-06-17T09:45:11.018ZWe'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 resultshttp://playingbingo.co.uk/bingo-news/2009/06/2nd-annual-online-bingo-industry-awards.shtmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dio Bach)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27236029.post-8959667035937609338Mon, 15 Jun 2009 11:28:00 +00002009-06-15T11:56:53.803ZI'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 workhttp://playingbingo.co.uk/bingo-news/2009/06/cashcade-and-gala-in-news.shtmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dio Bach)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27236029.post-2154823684848932740Thu, 11 Jun 2009 14:56:00 +00002009-06-11T15:01:26.412ZFollowing 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 http://playingbingo.co.uk/bingo-news/2009/06/vat-reclaim-could-cause-more-problems.shtmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dio Bach)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27236029.post-2424813922302135954Mon, 08 Jun 2009 20:47:00 +00002009-06-08T21:02:29.923ZThere'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 goodhttp://playingbingo.co.uk/bingo-news/2009/06/mecca-win-vat-rebate-appeal-at-high.shtmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dio Bach)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27236029.post-128394458163837796Tue, 02 Jun 2009 11:57:00 +00002009-06-02T12:21:13.581ZJust 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. http://playingbingo.co.uk/bingo-news/2009/06/mecca-beeston-video-report.shtmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dio Bach)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27236029.post-4224944467575446645Thu, 28 May 2009 18:33:00 +00002009-05-28T23:17:56.299ZI have to start by saying that I find this story particularly shocking. According to the report in the Daily Mail, pensioner and longtime member of the Mecca Bingo, Rosalyn Clemson has been banned from every single Mecca Bingo in the UK. Her crime was organising a trip for other club members to a rival club some 15 miles away. According to Mecca Bingo this act was in breach of her membership http://playingbingo.co.uk/bingo-news/2009/05/mecca-bingo-ban-long-standing-member.shtmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dio Bach)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27236029.post-8519569927229294776Tue, 26 May 2009 13:56:00 +00002009-05-26T14:42:42.656ZWith the 2009 Online Bingo Summit barely weeks away, the nominations have been announced for the 2nd Annual Online Bingo Industry Awards. Interesting to note there's been some changes in the way the votes will be awarded this year. Following last year's event I had concerns that the voting for the event was unfair as everyone who attended the summit could vote. This meant big companies with lots http://playingbingo.co.uk/bingo-news/2009/05/2009-online-bingo-award-nominations.shtmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dio Bach)3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27236029.post-7462672658789257214Mon, 25 May 2009 22:30:00 +00002009-05-25T22:44:28.355ZSpotted this story on the BBC earlier about the fire that caused a lot of damage at the derelict County Bingo hall on Eglington Street in Glasgow. The building shut back in 2003 as a bingo hall, and has been disused ever since. The building was on the Buildings At Risk list but unfortunately The Coliseum has been left to decline ever since. There's a short video of the blaze, and it's really http://playingbingo.co.uk/bingo-news/2009/05/derelict-glasgow-bingo-hall-destroyed.shtmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dio Bach)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27236029.post-8108602873930867891Sun, 24 May 2009 19:53:00 +00002009-05-25T01:30:14.605ZAccording to the Telegraph, on of the UK's leading online bingo networks is the target of some pretty hefty competition to buy it. Cashcade, the people behind top flight bingo site such as Foxy Bingo and Cheeky Bingo are currently being vigorously pursued by a number of gaming companies. As well as its own network, Cashcade also owns the smaller network of Think Bingo network and parent company http://playingbingo.co.uk/bingo-news/2009/05/888-looking-to-buy-cashcade.shtmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dio Bach)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27236029.post-4819749357671861929Tue, 19 May 2009 22:00:00 +00002009-05-19T22:25:57.198ZThere's been a few more stories floating around about the backlash against the rise in bingo tax at the last budget. Here's another one this time from Rochdale, and one from Lothian. Interestingly, The Bingo Association has turned to the world of web 2.0 to try and get their message across with a campaign on the nation's favourite waste of time, Facebook. They've set up a group called Help Me http://playingbingo.co.uk/bingo-news/2009/05/bingo-association-tackle-government.shtmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dio Bach)3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27236029.post-5722210367385647824Mon, 18 May 2009 09:05:00 +00002009-05-18T09:26:11.579ZOne other thing that's caught my attention as well the last couple of weeks is the movement of sites from the St Minver network to Virtue Fusion. Rather than throw it in with the other rash of stories in the last post, it's something I wanted to look at in a bit more detail, given the defection of two major brands from St Minver to Virtue Fusion.In the earlier days of this site, I was a big fan http://playingbingo.co.uk/bingo-news/2009/05/online-bingo-battle-virtue-fusion-vs-st.shtmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dio Bach)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27236029.post-5795318008139423425Sun, 17 May 2009 18:07:00 +00002009-05-17T22:01:31.308ZIt's been a busy month for me, I've had a number of work related things to sort out, and spent almost a week in Amsterdam rubbing shoulders with operators and fellow webmasters at a couple of conferences targeting affiliates. There's been a lot happening that I just haven't had the chance to cover. So, for your entertainment here's a few interesting stories from the previous few weeks, with linkshttp://playingbingo.co.uk/bingo-news/2009/05/bingo-splurge-big-catch-up.shtmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dio Bach)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27236029.post-23998210479092437Thu, 23 Apr 2009 19:16:00 +00002009-04-23T20:39:01.481ZThere's been a lot of ripples following the budget for the gaming industry. I have to say I missed the news about the raise in gaming duties in the general news on TV Tuesday, but there's been plenty on the web since. I also missed that the contentious VAT issue had been won, but unfortunately, that was cold comfort considering it was offset by a raise in Bingo Duty from 15% to 22%. This piece http://playingbingo.co.uk/bingo-news/2009/04/bad-budget-for-bingo-halls.shtmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dio Bach)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27236029.post-917082944861136278Wed, 22 Apr 2009 14:49:00 +00002009-04-22T14:53:33.826ZFollowing the launch of Posh Bingo last week, I thought it would be a good opportunity to do something I've been aiming to do for a while now and catch up with Cashcade's Simon Collins about the success of Cheeky Bingo. Simon agreed to do an interview for the site, which you can read here. Simon's been getting around a bit recently, only the other day he was spotted writing a column for The http://playingbingo.co.uk/bingo-news/2009/04/interview-with-simon-collins-director.shtmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dio Bach)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27236029.post-9133057177564245605Wed, 22 Apr 2009 07:59:00 +00002009-04-22T08:36:05.526ZMy buying shares in a company must be a kiss of death. We won't mention the Woolworth shares as I should have known better at the time, but when I bought some in Top Ten Holdings PLC, the UK's 3rd largest bingo chain, I thought I was getting a bargain. Then they lost 90% of their value, ouch. Luckily for me it was a very small investment, out of fun more than any real stock market skills and http://playingbingo.co.uk/bingo-news/2009/04/top-tens-continued-financial-woes.shtmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dio Bach)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27236029.post-8797114752304198010Tue, 21 Apr 2009 22:03:00 +00002009-04-21T22:21:10.617ZA couple of nice little stories today that would indicate Mecca Bingo are thinking a bit outside the box and expanding the ways they market the game and broaden its appeal. First up, news from Leeds that Mark Walsh has invented what sounds like a cross between bingo and pop-quizzes, Rock And Roll Bingo. The game sees the numbers replaced with snatches of music, with 90 audio clips, and cards http://playingbingo.co.uk/bingo-news/2009/04/mecca-bingo-branching-out-rock-n-roll.shtmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dio Bach)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27236029.post-2348401243076572826Sat, 18 Apr 2009 23:15:00 +00002009-04-18T23:34:06.818ZBit of a grab bag of recent stories I've been to busy to focus on, but which I think are worthy of note. First up, the Foreign Secretary David Miliband had a stint as a bingo caller alongside the still reigning Bingo Caller Of The Year Blake Robson. The MP was invited to call to get the feel for the importance of the game to his constituents, and to get a presentation on bingo's taxation quandaryhttp://playingbingo.co.uk/bingo-news/2009/04/bingo-calling-minister-and-new-hall.shtmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dio Bach)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27236029.post-3680700858875097030Thu, 16 Apr 2009 23:59:00 +00002009-04-17T00:32:53.673ZWell, I had wondered how long it would be before Cheeky Bingo found itself a competitor. Cheeky Bingo made a big splash a couple of months back as the UK's first play for free and win cash site, in which time it's grown from nothing to a major player in the online bingo marketplace. I was really excited about this launch at the time, as it was such a first. If anything Cheeky's been a victim of http://playingbingo.co.uk/bingo-news/2009/04/posh-and-gala-offering-free-bingo-with.shtmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dio Bach)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27236029.post-509130750978303396Sat, 11 Apr 2009 08:04:00 +00002009-04-11T08:23:49.453ZI'd have got to this story earlier, but I was away most of the week taking a break from the internet and all. It's a pretty staggering story really, and I'd love to know more about the actual mechanics of what went on how the people involved were able to affect the outcome of the bingo. According to the Sunderland Echo, the worker was sacked from the Sunderland Gala Bingo and another suspended http://playingbingo.co.uk/bingo-news/2009/04/gala-worker-sacked-over-game-rigging.shtmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dio Bach)5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27236029.post-8211818275075334472Wed, 25 Mar 2009 18:53:00 +00002009-03-25T19:38:34.052ZI was shocked to see Tombola are the latest online bingo site to fall foul of the ASA (Advertising Standards Authority). I find this one a bit mystifying and frankly a touch too far down the road of daft decisions. You can read the full ASA adjudication here, but it boils down to their whole brand identity being unsuitable for advertising on TV as it could be appealing to children.Personally I'vehttp://playingbingo.co.uk/bingo-news/2009/03/tombola-fall-foul-of-asa.shtmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dio Bach)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27236029.post-2749955686903559813Sun, 15 Mar 2009 23:23:00 +00002009-03-15T23:43:43.546ZIt's good to see Mecca Bingo are fighting back against the malaise in the retail industry, bucking the trend of club closures and the lack of imagination in where to take the game. Their prime weapon is a new club to be opened in Beeston, Nottingham. This is what they have to say about it: We've added even more excitement to a night on the numbers. Think bingo at its best, then add a great big http://playingbingo.co.uk/bingo-news/2009/03/mecca-bingo-20-new-club-at-beeston.shtmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dio Bach)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27236029.post-4249497626683530289Thu, 12 Mar 2009 22:35:00 +00002009-03-12T23:44:11.562ZI've been seeing an increasing amount of spam recently for something called Bingo Bonus Blaster, a so-called no-risk system for making it big playing online bingo. Intrigued by the premise I set off to find out more. It seems the people behind this system are going on a big hype offensive - the site for the system is a massive sales letter type affair promising riches and success. And if this http://playingbingo.co.uk/bingo-news/2009/03/bingo-bonus-blaster-quick-review-buyer.shtmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dio Bach)6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27236029.post-4268567603478559854Tue, 10 Mar 2009 22:26:00 +00002009-03-10T22:52:41.425ZIt was interesting to see a number of large share purchases by execs at the Rank Group. According to ShareCast, last week the chief executive Ian Burke doubled his shareholdings in the company and this week finance director Paddy Gallagher has also bought a large number of shares.A couple of things could be going on here and I'll speculate. It could be that they expect the company's finances to http://playingbingo.co.uk/bingo-news/2009/03/rank-execs-buying-shares.shtmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dio Bach)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27236029.post-7196826132209849271Sat, 07 Mar 2009 12:44:00 +00002009-03-08T13:40:37.846ZThere's been a lot of press and comment around an incident at Rio Bingo in Canvey Island where pensioner Helen Skinner was asked to leave the hall for smoking an electronic cigarette. I say smoking, but the truth of the matter is there was no actual smoking going on as the cigarette she was inhaling from contained no lit substances or tobacco fumes. The manager at the Rio, Anne Tabony asked Mrs http://playingbingo.co.uk/bingo-news/2009/03/could-e-cig-save-bingo-industry.shtmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dio Bach)5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27236029.post-5102876606835357791Thu, 05 Mar 2009 10:47:00 +00002009-03-05T11:06:43.415ZWell, I'm sure that the many hundreds of thousands of members would disagree with the headline of the post, but The Times says otherwise. Following on from previous news about Gala Bingo's parent group's financial troubles comes the news that the private equity backers of Gala Coral are concerned that their £5billion pound investment is just that, worthless.Private equity backers Candover and http://playingbingo.co.uk/bingo-news/2009/03/gala-bingo-worthless.shtmlnoreply@blogger.com (Dio Bach)0