Chain: Godden Gaming Organisation

Deluxe Bingo in Hastings, on Pelham Place, operates under the Godden Gaming Organisation, a UK leisure operator with more than 40 years in the industry. Godden Gaming is licensed by the UK Gambling Commission to run Adult Gaming Centres, bingo halls, and Family Entertainment Centres, trading its wider portfolio of high street gaming venues under the Palace Amusements brand, alongside seaside Family Entertainment Centres run under names including Jimmy G’s Amusements.

The company traces back to Jimmy Godden, a Kent-based entrepreneur who built up a range of amusement park and leisure ventures from the 1980s onwards, including the iconic Dreamland in Margate, which the organisation took on in 1995. The business is today led by Jeremy Godden as Managing Director.

The Hastings building itself has a long entertainment history, having operated as a cinema until 1965, when it became the De Luxe Bingo and Social Club, with bingo later moving to the upper floor in 1970 while amusement machines occupied the ground floor. After decades of independent trading and a widely-reported closure in February 2023, the venue appears to have continued or resumed operating under the Deluxe name, now as part of Godden Gaming’s broader portfolio rather than as a standalone independent business.

Unlike most of Godden Gaming’s estate, which trades under the unified Palace Amusements brand, Hastings retains the locally-recognised Deluxe Bingo name — likely reflecting its status as a genuine bingo hall (rather than a pure adult gaming centre) and the strength of the Deluxe name’s local heritage after more than 50 years in the town.

Whilst technically they currently only have one bingo hall, it’s not correct to call it an independent as it’s part of a bigger organisation.