The Annual Report of the UK Gambling Commission is out and it has some surprising results for the UK land-based bingo industry. Though it was expected that the figures will point at a fall in bingo sales and revenues, the figures, in fact point to a rise. The rise is miniscule but still, it is a rise in sales figures.

Compared with 2008 bingo sales figures 2009 figures indicate a rise of 4.6%. it seems that the UK bingo industry has had positive results in spite of the unfavourable global financial climate and other factors nearer home like the imposition of the smoking ban and even the steep new rates of bingo tax.

Though closures of bingo clubs across the UK have been widely reported and the number of registered (with the UK Gambling Commission) operators falling from 2224 to 2166, it seems bingo is still very popular and people are continuing to play this popular numbers game. The number of registered bingo clubs also fell from 675 to 641 in March 2009.

The onslaught on internet bingo sites has also been perceived to have affected the land based bingo business.

Bigger operators like Mecca Bingo owned by the Rank Group and Gala Bingo owned by Gala Coral, though having shut down quite a few of their own bingo clubs and laid off considerable staff, are still in a position to increase their market share. However, the smaller operators have not been so fortunate.

The overall number of bingo operators in the UK has fallen by 3%. Mecca Bingo now has 15.9% of the market share and Gala Coral lords it over with 24.4%, the biggest share. These two big bingo companies enjoy nearly 40% of the market share for land based bingo in the UK.

It is possible that bingo players, aware of the threat to the industry and to the very existence of the game itself, are doing their own little bit to keep the game alive by going to their bingo clubs. Many clubs have also renovated and refurbished their premises with added facilities and newer variations of the bingo game to draw in more players and to appeal to a wider range of players.

It seems all is not over for the bingo industry in the UK, after all.

Source: eyesdownbingo.com

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