Happy New Year From Playing Bingo!

If you'd rather read this newsletter online - it's here.

Looking Back At 2006

Some highlights from the last year in the Bingo world. The biggest news has been the Scottish Bingo industry's loses in the face of the Scottish smoking ban. They're currently seeking a rebate from the government to help ease their loses and a number of clubs are still in danger of closing.

A number of robberies in the south east of the country has caused concern - clubs have been targeted by armed gangs that see them as soft targets. Hopefully this trend will not continue.

It's been a high profile year for Bingo. A lot of companies have been making the most of the media to advertise and get the message across that Bingo is a trendy new game for a new generation. Prince William dropping in to the Reading Mecca for a game in and Sharon Osbourne new ITV show being sponsored by Gala Bingo were amongst the highlights,

Back in November Brett Hyrjak won the 2006 Bingo Caller Of The Year competition. Brett was the South's regional heat winner and bookies second favourite for winning the competition.

The online version of the game has exploded with over a hundred operators offering UK 90 Ball Bingo - the game is fast growing as an online gaming destination. There were a few low points along the way, noticeably Gala mysteriously disappearing then reappearing and some less than perfect operators spring to mind.

And let's not forget the affect of the US gambling ban on UK online operators - it's been a busy year!

Looking Forward To 2007

2007 is set to be a massive year for Bingo. Here's my predictions for the coming New Year.

The online Bingo explosion is set to continue thanks partially to the UK government's friendly attitude and plans for the introduction online gaming licenses. They hope to entice the best gaming operators to set up shop in the UK and it will be interesting to see how it pans out and the final plans.

The other thing that will be driving a lot of players online, as well as making it a tough year for the high street operators will be the introduction of the smoking ban. It'll begin in April for Wales, and July for England. There still seems to be a lack of initiative from the industry about how to cope and modify their offerings to stop the hit in profits seen in Scotland.

Expect to see a lot more advertising for Bingo on TV and in the press. 2006 was a bumper year and given the need to get new and healthier players to the clubs to replace the smokers who'll stay home, the wise companies will start once again trying to give the game a makeover in the eyes of the public.

There'll be a lot more clubs moving to electronic games over the old paper version - and some unique initiatives to try and get the game outside in the interval for the smokers. Mobile phones and hole in the wall type terminals could be trialled to try and keep the smokers happy and spending.

Looking forward to the usual annual Bingo of Caller of the Year competitions, they'll start in the Spring with entries for the national competition opening and the chain only competitions gearing up. Expect to see maybe a documentary or film following the competition as public interest grows in the game.

As for Playing Bingo, we'll keep bringing you news, opinion and stories from the game - we'll try to get a lot more reviews done and add some more guides and stories. We'll also do more work to inform you of bad practice and less than ideal operators in the online market as well as celebrating the best and good practice where we see it. All in all, it's set to be a hectic 2007!

Mecca Bingo £5000 New Years Game

Bit of a last minute heads up from one of the UK's leading Bingo brands. If you've never tried Mecca Bingo then we'd suggest you get over there ASAP and claim your free £10 bet.

Why? Well, at 8.30pm on the 1st of January 2007 they'll be having a game to celebrate the New Year with a massive £5,000 of prize money! The game is in the Two Little Ducks room, and there'll be £3,219.18 for the house winner and £684.93 for just getting one line!

The free £10 bet is only applicable to new accounts, and can only be used to play Bingo - you'll need to deposit £10 to get your free bet and it cannot be withdrawn as cash. It's short notice I know, but if you get in on the big money game, good luck!

If you miss the game, we still recommend Mecca, they were our best online offering from last year.

Community - News From The Forum

A range of items related to the Playing Bingo community forum.

Threads Of Note From The Bingo Forums

• Any Bingo Ladies Fancy A Make-over? - Channel 4 want Bingo ladies for the chance of a makeover.
• Rude Players - tator03 asks about dealing with rude bingo players in the local Bingo Hall.
• Worst Bingo Game You Played?- sweet_mayhem opens a thorny question - tell us about your worst Bingo game. Did you miss a call on the national or pass out? Share your stories!.

And Finally

Happy New Year!

All the best,
David 'Dio Bach' Lloyd
January 1st 2007

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