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Sky Bingo Reveals New Mobile Gaming App

                The growing importance of mobile play in the online gambling industry means that no company can afford to fall behind in developing on-the-go versions of their sites. The most recent gaming network to recognize this by offering up a mobile app for its customers is Sky Bingo.
                The brand new Sky Bingo application was created in partnership with well-known software developer Playtech and is already available for download for members of the site. Sky and Playtech have launched the online bingo app with a total of eleven rooms and a host of mobile-specific features. The app can be run on any iOS-enabled device and may be logged into using the same account information a Sky Bingo user has already set up for the desktop version of the platform. Alongside the existing bingo rooms the new app also hosts a pair of slot games and chat features that allow for communication with other players whether used from a computer or mobile device.
                Sky Bingo's Products Director, Conor Grant, said that his company considers the new app's translation of "the traditional desktop bingo room" to mobile devices "another step in delivering a great experience to our customers." Shimon Akad, Playtech's Operations Vice President, described the iOS launch as a great addition to his business' mobile bingo offerings and a sign of Playtech's continued ability to "set new standards in this growing space."

Ladbrokes Bingo Reveals New Promotional Offers

Ladbrokes Bingo is one of the gaming industry's most popular online bingo destinations and now, with the start of a new series of promotional offers, it looks to capture even more attention. These recently unveiled offers have been launched in celebration of Ladbrokes' bingo network's sixth birthday and provide something worthwhile for players of all types.

The most exciting of Ladbrokes Bingo's fresh set of promos — and the one likely to garner the largest share of attention — is the massive sign-up bonus currently on offer for new players. The usual welcome reward has been bumped up to an enormous 500 percent, allowing first time deposits of at least £10 to be matched with £50 of special bonuses. To help keep these new members interested, Ladbrokes is also providing extra Laddie's Reward Loyalty Points, handed out for one Loyalty Point for every £1 used in buying bingo tickets. This October also marks a good time to sign up to Ladbrokes Bingo, welcome bonuses aside. Throughout the entire month, Ladbrokes will run regular events like Wednesday's Penny-Tastic (which provides several hours of penny stakes bingo) and FreakEnds, a promotion that gives players some of their lost wagers back so they can get to the tables.

A statement from Ladbrokes Bingo boasted that "we know our stuff when it comes to bingo." The great array of promotional offers currently available at the site go some way toward backing up that statement.

William Hill Launches New Mobile Bingo App for Android Phones

Online bingo fans have a new way to play their favourite games now that William Hill Bingo has launched a brand new mobile application. Designed for use with Android smartphones, the app brings William Hill's bingo rooms to on-the-go players.
                Most internet gambling sites and software developers opt to create mobile versions of their games for Apple's iOS operating system, leaving many Android users out in the cold. Luckily, William Hill has decided to share its line-up of virtual bingo halls with those who own smartphones running Android. The new bingo app runs on Virtue Fusion, the same software used by the desktop version of William Hill Bingo, bringing the majority of the original iteration`s features to mobiles. The Android app includes a wide array of bingo rooms, new miniature games (that can be played from within bingo rooms), chat options and the ability to buy tickets and cash out winnings. Most importantly, mobile users will be able to easily manage their accounts and enjoy William Hill's regular promotional events.
                William Hill's Jennie Prest described the work that has gone into the creation of its mobile software as "important [in bringing] the same bingo experience from the desktop over to the mobile" while retaining "all the same features [player's] love, wherever and however they choose to play." The mobile version of William Hill Bingo is available now and provides new players with a limited £25 deposit bonus.

Ladbrokes Bingo Player Wins Big with £1.3 Million Jackpot

Ladbrokes Bingo has just changed one woman’s life by awarding her a massive sum of money through a recently triggered jackpot. The winner has set records by taking home one of the largest online bingo prizes in recent years.

The woman in question, Lisa Potter, lives in Witney in Oxfordshire and hit the enormous jackpot during a seemingly normal evening. Potter, 33, took a break from watching the Euro 2012 match between Spain and Ireland with her partner, Terry Goodman, to play a game of bingo at Ladbrokes. She sat down at the computer, wagered £5 on a game and was soon £1,364,745 richer. Potter, a mother of three, remembers that “as soon as I saw the size of the jackpot I thought it worth a go and I couldn’t believe my eyes when it said that I’d won. My kids came into the room and we all started screaming.” Potter plans to use some of her winnings to purchase a new house and car for her family before planning out a luxury holiday.

Ladbrokes Bingo’s Alex Donohue told press that Potter’s win is “one of the biggest of all time” and that his company is “absolutely over the moon for her.” The £1.3 million won by Lisa Potter is the third largest cash prize awarded in the history of bingo. Ladbrokes’ jackpot also represents the biggest payout for the style of game played by Potter in the last three years.

Sky Bingo Announces Summer Promotion

Bingo players hoping to get a bit more fun out of the summer promotional season will be pleased to hear that Sky Bingo has just announced some special events for the coming weeks. Taking place throughout the rest of August, Sky has lined up a number of fantastic opportunities for earning bonus loyalty points, the ability to play in special games and more.

The summer promotion, Summer Sales, has just begun and features a full month of exciting methods for grabbing the prizes on offer. Sky Bingo is looking to keep things interesting by consistently changing the rewards available to its site’s members. Each week of August will see Summer Sales refreshing its list of prizes so that players are able to compete for a wide range of rewards that include loyalty points, entry to special games, bingo bonuses and more. Sky hopes to keep its members glued to the site at the beginning of every week as the new rewards are announced on 8th, 15th, 22nd and 29th August. For those that haven’t signed up to Sky Bingo yet, the site is also providing £20 in vouchers for any new member who makes a first deposit and plays through £5 of their own funds.

With the summer nearing a close bingo fans are sure to be excited to see at least one more, big seasonal promotion on offer before the beginning of fall. Sky Bingo’s summer promotion has already started and will run until Wednesday, 31st August.

Gala Bingo Rewards Lucky Player with Gibraltar Vacation Prize

Gala Bingo has always provided its players with exceptional promotions and prizes and, true to form, the renowned bingo site has recently given one of its members a truly fantastic reward. The lucky winner has received entry, travel fare and accommodations for Gala’s upcoming 2011 Ultimate Bingo Championship, set to take place in scenic Gibraltar.

The Gala Bingo trip, offered as part of the platform’s 2011 Ultimate Bingo Championship promo series, was awarded to Susan Mayhew. Mayhew, a mother of two from Luton, has not only won a great prize through a quick game of bingo but is now getting ready to compete in the Bingo Championship itself. The Gala Bingo player simply logged onto her site of choice on a weekday for a quick game and, a short time later, found herself winning the Gibraltar trip and a chance at grabbing a part of the Ultimate Bingo Championship’s £100,000 prize pool. Mayhew and husband Richard will head off to Gibraltar this fall with airfare, tournament entry and three days of accommodations at a four-star hotel being provided by Gala Bingo.

Gala Bingo’s 2011 Ultimate Bingo Championship will take place from 7th to 9th November in Gibraltar and will see many bingo aficionados trying their luck at taking home a share of the £100,000 in cash up for grabs at the event. Gala’s Gibraltar prize packages will continue to be awarded weekly through the site’s ongoing Big Sunday Playoff promotion.

Foxy Bingo Wants to Help Its Members to Learn How to Drive

Popular online bingo site, Foxy Bingo, is doing its best to help its site members to learn how to drive through its latest promotion. The new Foxy’ll Fix It contest is geared toward getting bingo-playing motorists the lessons they need to boost their driving abilities through expert assistance furnished by Foxy Bingo itself.

Foxy Bingo is committed to giving its fans a new and improved skill set by rewarding them for taking part in bingo games at their site. The Foxy’ll Fix It promotion has just been launched and will give one British competitor up to 30 hours of driving lessons aimed at getting them more comfortable behind the wheel. The prize is worth more than £800 and is aimed primarily at those players that haven’t yet received their license or taken formal driving lessons. To enter, Foxy members only need to email their stories to [email protected] and hope that their tale will be enough to make them the winner of the contest.

Foxy Bingo members have a great opportunity to get a little more mobile by enjoying £800 worth of expert guidance from a driving instructor from renowned school, BSM. The contest is open now and runs through to 12th December so, if you qualify for the lessons, be sure to email your story before time runs out.

William Hill Bingo Site’s Redesign and New Feature Set Goes Live

William Hill’s series of site redesigns continues with the recent, official launch of Will Hill Bingo’s fresh new look. After receiving warm fan responses regarding the updates given to its poker offering’s update, William Hill has been hard at work in creating an improved service for its substantial bingo-playing fan base.

The new William Hill Bingo brings site members a host of cosmetic and functional changes that should work to make for a smoother and more enjoyable playing experience. William Hill Bingo now brings its users features that boost user friendliness and overall interactivity. New to the service is a homepage button that allows players to immediately launch their favourite rooms, streamlined navigation features that make finding well-populated games easier and the ability to sort gaming options based on current promotions and more. Will Hill has also sought to increase user interaction and feedback through a number of social media functions (like Facebook and Twitter support), improved FAQs and a review section where comments and star ratings are decided by site members.

William Hill Bingo looks better and comes complete with useful new features but fans needn’t worry about being confused with all these changes; the site layout has mostly remained the same and preserves many of the old version’s popular features. Combined with its general embrace of popular social networking trends, William Hill Bingo’s new features look to hit all the right notes for devoted players.

Littlewoods Bingo Introduces New Video Chat Features and Presenters

Not to be outdone by its competition, Littlewoods Bingo has launched its very own Live Video Chat gaming option. The fresh website feature brings one of the most popular trends in internet bingo to Littlewoods gamers, adding some exciting new gameplay options to the mix and giving members the opportunity to socialize while they enjoy online play.  

The brand new interactive bingo option gives website members a great way to play while enjoying the extra fun of watching, listening and talking with live presenters. Littlewoods Bingo has put together the Bingo Live 5 in order to populate their new site option and have assembled a group that are meant to appeal to almost any type of player. The Live 5 team consists of “the joker”  Ben, Emma, the film expert Matt, Carla and Rik. The presenters will keep games lively by providing their rooms with celebrity gossip and idle chit chat. Littlewoods Bingo Live Video Chat games are scheduled every evening for 6 pm and will feature prizes and special promotional offers.  

Littlewoods Bingo players are sure to get a kick out of the new Live Video Chat rooms as the feature adds an extra point of interest to an already beloved pastime. Stop by the Littlewoods Bingo website and check the Bingo Lounge each night at 6pm to get into a Live Video Chat game.  

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Foxy Bingo Continues Radio Rollover with an £1,000 Prize Up for Grabs

Foxy Bingo’s radio programming this Tuesday evening gives fans of the bingo platform a great reason to pay attention this week. An unclaimed lottery jackpot (worth £500 in cash) has now doubled in value and will be awarded to one lucky person that manages to strike it rich just for paying attention to the bingo website’s radio station.
Listeners are able to tune in to the Tuesday, 6th July broadcast of Foxy Bingo Radio’s evening programming to try to win a fantastic £1,000 prize— with absolutely no cost of entry! Every week Foxy offers up a £500 jackpot on their Tuesday night radio show. Last week the prize wasn’t awarded to any listener which has caused the current rollover and provided this week’s winner with a doubled cash prize. Thursday night will continue the great payouts as it also features another £500 from Foxy Radio.
Foxy Bingo Radio gives its listeners plenty of reasons to tune in. Fridays will now feature a new weekly music request show, beginning at 12.30pm, that makes for a great accompaniment to online, lunchtime play. The Foxy Bingo website, as always, is also packed with great promotions and bingo prizes for players to vie for across the platform’s entire line-up of free games, chat games and traditional bingo options. Visit the site now to take advantage of guaranteed weekly payouts and generous new member deposit bonuses (up to a 200% cash match).

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Virgin Bingo Runs Hundreds & Thousands Promotion Throughout 2010 World Cup

Members of the Virgin Bingo website will be happy to see the popular gaming platform returning to its Hundreds & Thousands promotion throughout the month of June and the beginning of July. The free jackpot competition continues to grow in value, giving lucky players the opportunity to win cash that ranges from £100 to £1,000.
As part of Virgin Bingo 2010 Fifa World Cup Free Bingo games, the Hundreds & Thousands promo continues to pay out members increasingly larger rewards. The Hundreds & Thousands competition initially started out with £100 free jackpots but went on to grow to £200 then £300 and currently sits at £500 for its semi-final stage. The Final Game conclusion to Hundreds & Thousands will peak at an impressive £1,000. The current semi-finals offer an hour and a half of free bingo and bargain bingo (along with the chance to win £500). The Final Game will take place on Sunday, 11 July as the World Cup comes to a close.  
With so many chances to win £100 to £1,000 Full Houses, bingo fans are sure to be busy online as Virgin Bingo helps celebrate the the 2010 World Cup. Virgin Bingo is also running a number of other free and reduced price games (like the Free Daily Scratchcard and cheap entry Tournament Thursdays) as regular site features, making every day a great time to play.  

Visit Virgin Bingo.com For the best online Bingo experience now

Virgin Bingo Player Wins Big at the Snow Queen Magic Progressive Slots

A lucky Virgin Bingo player has struck it rich thanks to a stroke of good fortune while playing online at her favourite gaming destination. Playing the VirginGames.com website, the user was able to hit the jackpot on a progressive slot that had been building for some time, ultimately taking home over £50,000.

The Virgin Bingo player, using the online handle, “Milllane”, won a total of £55,000 in cash. The money was awarded through the Snow Queen Magic slot game, a progressive jackpot that had been snowballing in value for some time before the lucky user won the cash.

Milllane” was able to bring up five matching Snow Queen symbols on one of the slot’s win lines in order to qualify as a winner. She was playing ten pence stakes and received only ten percent of the total money that had amounted at the progressive jackpot. Those players that are able to win the entire, enormous Snow Queen Magic prize must have placed a maximum, one pound bet per spin.

The fortunate winner had only played online bingo for about two years when she was awarded the sizable jackpot. “Milllane” told VirginGames.com that she plans to use the unexpected windfall to take a vacation and renovate her kitchen.

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Foxy Bingo Celebrates Harry Potter Release with New Giveaway

As cinemas across the world pack with excited Harry Potter fans ready to watch the sixth instalment of the beloved book and film franchise Foxy Bingo is out to capitalise on the wizarding frenzy with a special set of promotional offerings.

Foxy Bingo has set up a full week of Potter themed gameplay, offering cheap stakes on sets of entertaining prizes for members of the venerable gaming site. Each day of the week is set up with a full line-up of rewards for fans of the films and books with Wednesday acting as the entirely Harry Potter-centred giveaway.

The pre-purchase game will offer various tiers of magical rewards: a one line win provides the player in question with two tickets to a local cinema for a screening of “The Half-Blood Prince”, a two line win is worth four free tickets and a copy of one of J.K. Rowling’s bestselling novels and a full house win carries the illustrious grand prize of an one night stay in a four-star London hotel for two, paid travel expenses to the city and two free tickets to the new Harry Potter film.

With the rest of the week touting cash jackpot guarantees from £500 to £10,000 (and stakes as low as 5p) there are still plenty of other exciting games to take part in at Foxy Bingo as well. For now however, the Harry Potter mania carrying over to the site is sure to attract plenty of attention.

Wink Bingo Increase Free Bingo Play

The free bingo trend is quickly sweeping the industry, making it increasingly necessary for the biggest of companies to follow suit and offer a larger variety of complementary play. One of the pioneers in this movement, Wink Bingo, has already proved themselves quite capable of rewarding devoted members of their site with no-cost play, and now, they’ve set out to offer even more in this vein.

Wink Bingo has set up a regular addition to their usual fare by providing several, reoccurring weekly game rooms wherein players can sit down to take part in a game and still enjoy the chance to win big without anteing up a single penny. Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday are now “free bingo days” as Wink Bingo opens the doors to several rooms (the 75 Ball Birthday Suit Bingo Room and the 90 Ball Free ‘n’ Easy Bingo Room) for no-money play between 6pm and 8pm. These new time slots join the already established free play games running at the site to make Wink Bingo into what is quite probably the premier complementary gaming site amoung the big players in the industry.

The decision to create even more free gaming opportunities by Wink Bingo shows an understanding and embracing of the constantly changing industry and a movement that other sites would be remiss to lag behind in. With member reward precedents being increased so greatly we can surely expect to see even more initiatives being undertaken by competing online companies in the near future.

Virgin Bingo Offer a Free Gift Giveaway

Last weekend saw Virgin Bingo players rewarded with a few chances at some complementary prizes as a part of the overwhelming new trend of free bingo sweeping the online industry. Not wishing to fall behind on the times, Virgin Vie partnered up with the online gaming network to secure a few choice prizes for devotees of the site.

The giveaway was open to all members of the site that had purchased £50 or greater in bingo tickets between Wednesday, 15
th July and the evening of Sunday, 19th July. The money did not require a straightforward £50 deposit but only the purchase of tickets, meaning that a player who had won cash in a bingo game and used it to buy up entrance to other games would still be eligible for the offered prizes. The giveaways were picked from two summer-themed options: either a Sunshine Self-Tanning Moisturizing Spray or Sun Goddess Body Crackle. Members of the site that qualified for the gifts were mailed one of the two products at the giveaway period’s end on Sunday night.

Virgin Bingo’s take on the free bingo trend was quite a bit different from those competing efforts offered up by other UK brands such as Foxy or Wink Bingo but the effect was solid enough to stir up some healthy traffic for the network. While the company still seems to be resisting the move toward a greater number of no-cost bingo games, the guarantee of a few excellent prizes for purchasing tickets from the site is a novel concept just the same.

Bingo Day Expands Service for Italian and Spanish Speakers

Online bingo network, Bingo Day has announced the expansion of language support and the inclusion of translation services which will allow Italian and Spanish speakers to play at the site entirely in their native tongues. The successful bingo site has done well in the past with a solid array of games, deposit bonuses, member rewards and regular promotions, and now, the addition of Italian and Spanish access should stretch the popularity of the service even further.

Bingo Day spoke to press about their recent work and decision to offer their services in two new languages, detailing their recognition of the importance of community-focused aspects of bingo sites, something that has been traditionally hindered by forcing users to communicate in non-native languages. Now the site has opened up its doors to demographics they may have otherwise missed out on. All of Bingo Day’s Flash games will be fully translated alongside chat options and a staff of fluent Italian and Spanish speaking customer support staff to ensure a smooth experience.

The expansion of language support for any online gaming site has traditionally been met with a degree of success as new markets begin to open up for the business in those regions where the given languages are found. Bingo Day should prove no different as Italian and Spanish speakers begin to flock to the site now in order to fulfill their
bingo playing needs.

Ladbrokes Bingo Celebrate Summer Holidays with New Giveaway

Although the kind folks at Ladbrokes Bingo certainly have no problem with their members staying inside to enjoy their games they’ve still been good enough to provide a few incentives to get even their most loyal fans out into the sun before the summer is over. The Summer Holidays Giveaway is aimed at doing just this, giving devoted bingo players a prize set that pretty much guarantees a great time enjoying the warmth of the season.

Ladbrokes Bingo will be giving away a number of prize sets that allow for the winner to pick from an assortment of winnings in order to create their own, specially customized reward. The prize system works by giving away vouchers to be used for a variety of different summer-themed options, a concept that allows for a lot of flexibility when it comes time for lucky winners to spend their newfound fortune. 1
st prize, for example, gives the winner £700 worth of holiday vouchers that can be spent at resorts across the UK or other specified locations throughout the world.

To enter the Summer Holidays Giveaway Ladbrokes Bingo members need to play in 90-ball bingo rooms, earning one entry to the prize draw for every 20 bingo tickets purchased during the week. Winners will be selected at the end of each qualifying period until contest’s end next month. These rewards should help create plenty of incentive for Ladbrokes Bingo members to log on to the site often from now until the beginning of September.

Foxy Bingo Increase Rooms and Gain a Record

For quite a long time now Foxy Bingo has enjoyed the reputation of hosting great variety and now, with the addition of even more rooms, the gaming platform has clearly marked itself as heads above the rest of the industry in this department. While other services still stand out due to
the sheer level of player traffic they’re able to drum up, Foxy Bingo latest site improvements have more than guaranteed their position in the foreseeable future as the platform offering the largest number of rooms.

While Foxy’s previous standard of rooms was still impressive at 40 available options the addition of even more virtual bingo venues makes the site truly outstanding with a current total of 60 rooms. Foxy Bingo mixes up the fare across the board with varying styles including the traditionally favourite forms of 90- and 75-ball bingo. Combining the potential payouts of all the real-money bingo rooms available adds up to a grand total of £25,000 in guaranteed cash prizes. Coupled with the regular addition of site promos and member rewards, Foxy Bingo players enjoy a great chance at becoming considerably richer just from enjoying regular games of bingo.

Existing fans and
online bingo players in general have responded favourably to Foxy’s continued commitment to excellence. The work done in increasing available rooms and consistently improving promotional material has helped to make Foxy Bingo into one of the best choices currently available within the UK bingo market and a safe bet for any fan of the game.

Wink Bingo Promotes Tournament Games

The ever popular Wink Bingo has decided to provide an extra push for members of the site interested in tournament games as part of a larger effort aimed at drumming up further interest in the slot section of the site. With the nearing conclusion of the newest tournament set, Wink is hoping to make a name for itself as the best bingo site for gamers in search of more than just the traditional fare.

The
Come Spin with Me tournament is the newest addition to the line up of specialty offerings currently available from the venerable Wink Bingo platform. The slot game hosts a bevy of excellent prizes to encourage plenty of competition and activity at the reels in the time leading up to its conclusion. First place will reward an extremely lucky Wink Bingo member with a weekend for a family of four at Alton Towers along with five free entries to the £25,000 The Big O bingo game. Secondary prizes include volleyball sets, beach toys and more free tickets .   

Members of the Wink Bingosite need to collect tournament points by playing at applicable reels and thereby gathering chances for entry by wagering real money, securing a win or emailing Wink Bingo to explain why a given slot game is a personal favourite. Wink will have Come Spin with Me open for players and it can be accessed directly by playing at the
Secret Garden, Lost Island or Paradise Reels slots.

Virgin Bingo Unveil New Slot Games

Members of the Virgin Bingo network will be delighted to find a few additional games at their site of choice now that the business’s slot offerings have been bulked up with some great improvements. The development and release of a few fresh options for fans of the virtual reels is sure to create a bit of excitement as Virgin Bingo promotes the addition.

Of the three new releases, the movie-themed
“Transformers” slot may be able to draw in the most traffic, attracting plenty of Virgin players still wishing to experience some of the excitement of this summer’s blockbuster film. The second offering, “Dungeons and Dragons” draws on the classic game with a 20x multiplier slot event which gives players the chance to try their luck at making their way to the “Dragon’s Cave”, receiving up to 180 free spins as a reward. Lastly, “Thor’s Thunder” uses themes centred on the mythical Norse god in the creation of a five-reel, twenty-line progressive slot game.

Virgin Bingo users should be sure to check in on classic slot games as well as many of these options still regularly reach massive jackpots, especially constant favourites such as
“Cleopatra” or “Triple Fortune Dragon”. The considerable line-up of old favourites and the addition of some fresh titles now open for play definitely make the slot section at Virgin Bingo well worth the attention of any member.

Wink Bingo Outline New Promotions

 

Wink Bingo Outline New Promos

Wink Bingo has announced their line-up of promotional events to be made available for members of the site. Accessed through the special “Summer Lovin’” tab on the main site, Wink has provided even more outstanding rewards for fans of the premier UK bingo destination.

As we’ve detailed previously,
The Big O will make a return to Wink Bingo due to popular demand and now it is accompanied by an even greater number of superb prizes and special games. New rooms have already opened for July, hosting a variety of play styles and limited time stakes and gaming options. The Free Bingo 75 and 90 Ball games will be available through the Free & Easy and Birthday Suit rooms respectively and the MoneyPenny guaranteed jackpot games will also be available throughout the coming weeks, providing the same one penny stakes and large prizes for lucky players. Lastly are two new games, Fair & Square which provides every player with the exact same number of bingo tickets for their buy-in and Speed Bingo which, like the name suggests, challenges players to become the first in the room to match any four numbers.

The current line-up of promotions should guarantee a lot of attention for Wink Bingothroughout the entire month. Plenty of large cash prizes and the introduction of numerous new games ought to give players plenty of incentive to log on consistently until the unveiling of even more special events.

Wink Bingo Detail Final Promo with ‘The Big O

Wink Bingo Detail Final Promo with ‘The Big O’

Wink Bingo has already demonstrated a fantastic line-up of monthly promo games and rewards but recent news has shown that there is still at least one more to go. The
Big O is the final bonus series being made available for the site’s set of kick-offs, at least until August brings a whole new set of entries to the catalogue.

The Big O begins preliminary events now and continues straight through until its grand finale at the end of the summer in mid-September. It hosts a guaranteed cash prize of £25,000 and is played through the 75-ball room under Wink’s special “Summer Lovin’” tab. Entry to the promotion is available through a few different methods, including pre-buy (£1 tickets) or winning admission through affiliated bingo games. Members need to accumulate a minimum of five entries to be eligible for the grand prize. The maximum number of chances that can be gained and considered for the final draw is set at an enormous 96 tickets.

Players are urged to take a look at the game now so they will have plenty of time to prepare for the event’s grand finale. With £25,000 on the line for a stake as low as five £1 tickets The Big O looks to be a great way for online bingo fans to wrap up a summer full of play. The promotion comes to a close with the announcement of a big winner on Sunday, September 13
th at 8pm.  

Wink Bingo New Promotion

Wink Bingo Wants to Give Players a Break in New Promo

A new month means a slew of new promotions from online gaming companies and Wink Bingo looks to be no exception as they get set to pull in plenty of traffic with their May line-up of rewards. After sparing no expense with the previous two month’s Mini Cooper and Tiffany diamond rewards, Wink is looking to shift gears a little bit and offer up something quite different.

The aforementioned Winktastic bonus for May, the ‘Wink Says Take a Break’ promotion should ensure a lot of interest in the weeks to come. Players at the popular bingo network will compete for the chance to win £3,000 in vacation money, a great prize considering the difficulty that many are having taking any time off from the daily grind during the economic recession. While Wink has previously awarded glittering gems, videogames and other flashy swag, May has now been set as the month for bingo players to go all out toward earning a little time off from the usual nine to five drag.

Aside from the main attraction itself, Wink Bingo has also lined up a great series of auxiliary rewards for devoted fans of the network. Regular games such as the Wink and Pound sign pattern game pump out extra Winktastic points (which can be used for anything from promotions to free merchandise and more) alongside a host of other great bingo-themed games and rewards. 

Meet the Stars with 888 Ladies Bingo and Pacific Poker

Meet the Stars with 888 Ladies Bingo and Pacific Poker

888 Ladies Bingo continues to do its best to capture the attention of their demographic with their newest competition; a star-studded trip to Cannes. The “Win a Trip to Cannes” promotion has already kicked off and is unique in that it also caters to 888’s sister site, Pacific Poker.

Celebrity obsessed bingo players are sure to get excited about the
888 Ladies contest and they also enjoy an opportunity to enjoy their prize alongside a poker playing friend. The main reward is a vacation to the famous Cannes Film Festival where winners will be participating in the 888 Celebrity Charity Poker Challenge alongside film stars Ben Affleck and Matt Damon. Entry is available by signing up at Pacific Poker and joining Poker Pals where they will receive a complementary 3,000 bingo points for supporting the poker site. Users will then be able to compete for a seat at the Cannes event and the grand prize of a £250,000 luxury villa.

The “Win a Trip to Cannes” promotion is open to both
888 Ladies Bingo and Pacific Poker members which definitely helps to make it into a great opportunity for fans of either game. The winner of the contest is allowed to bring a friend to the event so it’s a good time to be a duo of poker and bingo enthusiasts with a passion for gaming and travel.  
 

Chris Parker Signs on With Gala Bingo

Chris Parker Signs on With Gala Bingo

September continues to be a landmark month for Gala Bingo as they offer up great promotions, special events and now, a new addition to their line-up of celebrity guests.
Chris Parker, the actor that rose to fame as part of the Eastenders cast has announced plans to join on with Gala in the launch of its brand new Gala Bingo TV show, “Soap Star Bingo Show”.

The former Eastender will be hosting a program specially designed to cater to bingo players that wish to combine their gaming with entertainment news from all of their favourite shows. Parker will host a weekly hour of programming wherein special guests from the world of soap will appear on the bingo show to be interviewed by the actor. Viewers will be able to send in text and emails to Parker and his weekly guest as well, meaning that aside from great bingo play, “Soap Star Bingo Show” will also provide an incomparable avenue for interacting with and resolving television questions from popular actors themselves.

Parker may have put his days playing Eastenders star Spencer Moon behind him but his celebrity should be enough of a reason for many interested viewers to tune into “Soap Star Bingo Show” this month. Gala will air the program every Friday of June at 8pm during Gala Bingo TV’s live broadcasting hours (from 6pm until 2am).

Foxy Bingo Searches for Next Dreamboy this Ladies Day

Foxy Bingo Searches for Next Dreamboy this Ladies Day

We’ve already provided details on the big events planned by Foxy Bingo in their effort to celebrate National Ladies Day (June 19
th) but now the network has revealed even larger plans to go toward their party with the announcement of a search for the next addition to the Dreamboys team.

National Ladies Day will heat up even further with the Foxy-sponsored search for the next Dreamboy, providing chances for a hopeful young man and, of course, some extra entertainment for the ladies in attendance on June 19th. Each of the twenty participating Liquid nightclubs will host performances as well as the chance for women in the region to nominate their partner as the next Dreamboy. Three men from each of the included regions of the Ladies Day event will be chosen to participate in the show and perform with the popular group onstage at a Liquid venue.

Foxy Bingo will even be sponsoring one lucky fellow with the opportunity to prove his worth as a Dreamboy and sign on to the group with a twelve month contract. This latest move should help to ensure that Foxy Bingo’s National Ladies Day celebration makes for a fantastic party and an even more successful event. There are chances to win entry to the June party still on at Foxy Bingo along with tickets for sale at the website for between £5 and £7.

Gala Bingo Announces Closure of Additional Clubs

Gala Bingo Announces Closure of Additional Clubs

The last few years have seen numerous brick-and-mortar bingo clubs being forced to close their doors while businesses focus more on the increasingly profitable online renditions of their services. Perhaps the most popular of land-based bingo groups, Gala Coral, is now continuing forward with this trend in announcing the closure of even more clubs across the UK.

The company recently spoke to British press regarding plans to close six clubs in the near future while also considering selling off another 40 to 50 of their halls. The move would make approximately 200 positions at the club unnecessary and will lead to the loss of a staggering number of jobs across the nation. Gala Bingo representatives detailed the problem of continuing to operate land-based bingo halls in a financial climate that barely creates any profits from their existence. With borrowed operation funds reaching almost £8 billion even Gala, the largest bingo corporation in the UK, has been forced to make tough choices in regard to the historically profitable halls.

Numerous problems have contributed to the closure of so many brick-and-mortar
bingo clubs but perhaps the most damaging has been the continued loss of revenue caused by the enactment of smoking bans in the United Kingdom. With the continuation of these issues we can expect Gala Coral to carry on in shutting down it’s previously booming clubs and refocus efforts to the growing business of online efforts such as Gala Bingo.

Foxy Bingo Spice up Gameplay with Site Revamp

Foxy Bingo Spice up Gameplay with Site Revamp

Members of the massively popular Foxy Bingo are in for a treat with the company’s announcement of revamped (and totally new) games on offer at the site. The addition of even more prize-guaranteed bingo rooms comes to the network alongside revamped daily, weekly and monthly events, promising fans even better times with their
favourite bingo destination.

A lot of great new changes have already been instituted at Foxy Bingo gaming service beginning with the daily guarantees set each night of the week. Monday through Sunday will now feature regular gaming with cash awards ranging from a £500 guarantee for a stake of only 5p (on Sundays) to a massive £10,000 guarantee with the priciest stakes of the lot: £1 (on Saturdays). The last Friday of every month will also be hosting a £25,000 guaranteed bingo game as every Wednesday of the week is updated to become ‘prize day’, awarding one of three available iPods to winners based on the terms of their success (one line wins provide an iPod Shuffle, two line wins an iPod Nano and Full House Wins an iPod Touch).

There are innumerable changes to the revamped version of Foxy Bingo, all working toward making the site into the best possible choice for
online bingo fans playing with the aim to win big cash prizes from their pastime. The dedication to improvement at Foxy Bingo is definitely a boon to fans of the site and makes it an excellent time to be a member of the virtual hall.

Wink Bingo Embrace Social Networking

Wink Bingo Embrace Social Networking

Not being strangers to internet trends, Wink Bingo has embraced the massively influential movement of social networking as their newest platform for gaining publicity with their site. After launching fan pages and other interactive features through a Facebook profile Wink has now gone a few steps further, ensuring continued interest through social networking promos.

The
Little O promotion is the first instance of this wider plan and is a marketing tactic intended to drum up interest for the Winktastic Big O £250,000 jackpot game set to take place on 13th September. Using a Facebook fan page Wink Bingo has managed to combine information with a tie-in contest in order to draw the most possible publicity from the already exciting jackpot.

The Little O promotion saw trivia questions posted on the Wink Bingo fan page. Fans answered the question via email and Wink awarded 10 free tickets to the Big O game to the first correct answer (and every tenth correct answer afterward until a limit of 100 was reached). The large number of fans added to the profile clearly demonstrates the success of such a innovative promotion.

The Little O fan page is further supplemented with other incentives as well, including giveaways like 5,000 loyalty points for every 50
th fan subscribed to the profile. Wink Bingo’s decision to factor popular social networking services such as Facebook into their marketing plans demonstrates an intelligent recognition of new media and progressive advertising.

Gala Bingo Detail Line-up of August Promos

Gala Bingo Detail Line-up of August Promos

Fans of the Gala Bingo network are in for plenty of exciting gaming sessions as the summer draws to a close now that the site has unveiled its list of August promotional events. Plenty of guaranteed jackpots, special games and additional site features all combine to make the final four weeks of the season a great time to play at Gala Bingo.

The first week of August sees the site focusing on providing extra rewards for members of their Windicate system by allowing “Win Buddies” to share prizes with one another, handing out some extra money whenever one of their registered friends nets a cash reward. Normal prize earnings will be bulked up for all Wink Buddies, meaning that a 50p win can easily be turned into £1 by taking advantage of this promotion.

Guaranteed jackpots will also begin cropping up from now until the last days of August as Gala Bingo begins to turn rooms or bingo clubs into special, month-long prize arenas. Amoung those rooms hosting these big, cash guarantees are The Country Club, The Royal Club and The Seaside Club.

Gala Bingo has done a top notch job of ensuring user interest for their fans in the days to come. Along with the assortment of regular games and reoccurring features of the site, the impressive line-up of this August’s promotions are sure to make Gala Bingo a top destination through until (at least) summer’s end.

Wink Bingo Launches Progressive Jackpot with Moneyball

Wink Bingo Launches Progressive Jackpot with Moneyball

It seems that bingo companies can’t keep up in the industry anymore without offering a progressive jackpot to help bring players to their sites for more than just the usual game of bingo itself. Wink Bingo is no exception with the release of their new gameplay title,
Moneyball, a fresh addition to the site that is set to substantially increase the excitement available every night at the network.

The new Wink Bingo progressive jackpot is a 75-ball game that takes an unusual twist on the traditional layout of these jackpots, attaching its pattern to regularly scheduled bingo games rather than existing as an entirely separate option.

Wink Bingo Players can wait to run into the Moneyball at the hangout bingo room from 7pm to midnight. The pattern will show up three times each hour and make members cross their fingers to catch all 12 required numbers during 34 calls. If not won the jackpot continues into the next game, rolling back to £250 even after it’s been awarded and assuring that no award is too small to make the luck worthwhile.

Wink Bingo Moneyball may end up being the perfect method for drawing new traffic to Wink Bingo while still keeping existing fans happy. The innovative new game certainly offers enough incentive to get players to log on to regular games during the evening hours and there is always the (at least) £100 progressive jackpot available at every 90-ball game to add to the successful network.

Ladbrokes Bingo Celebrates Father’s Day

Ladbrokes Bingo Celebrates Father’s Day

With Father’s Day fast approaching later this June, Ladbrokes Bingo has announced plans to help members of the popular bingo site to celebrate the Dad in their life through a special hour of gameplay. With £5,000 set to be awarded to players for only one hour the upcoming Sunday looks like it will be a Father’s Day to remember for many Ladbrokes Bingo players.  

2009 Father’s Day is on Sunday, June 21
st and Ladbrokes is hoping to bring in a big crowd as the day winds down. From 9pm to 10pm, members of the site can play in a special room with entry stakes set at a cost as low as 5p. The bingo network has guaranteed a pot of £5,000 for the event, promising bingo fans the chance to win large cash prizes with almost no risk required to join in. Jackpots will be set at an impressive £500 level meaning that there are a large number of prizes up for grabs from the £5K overall pot.

Aside from the already substantial Father’s Day promotion, Ladbrokes Bingo will also be bringing back the free games that proved such a hit with members throughout the month of May. The first three weekends of June will host free entry into Saturday and Sunday night games with players competing for the chance to win jackpot prizes at the £200 mark.            

Gala Bingo Dishes Up Two Weeks of Free Play

Gala Bingo Dishes Up Two Weeks of Free Play

Beginning on Monday, June 8
thGala Bingo is offering members of their site a special treat with two full weeks of games that allow play without having to commit even a single penny. The series of events has been promised to include an unprecedented set of prizes; over 70 free games and a guarantee of at least 200 cash winners throughout the promotional period.

Gala Bingo Players will no doubt be excited for the complementary games as they start up on the 8th and run for the following two weeks. The beginning of the week will kick off the fantastic celebration, allowing players from the UK the option to play for free from 10am until 11pm of each of the fourteen applicable days. Members only need to log into Gala Bingo then pick their appropriate club (broken up into the geographical regions of North or South England, Scotland and Wales) to get into some of the (entirely complementary) gameplay.

The decision to host two weeks of daily free games comes as yet another celebration of Gala Bingo success and the 80th birthday anniversary of the Gala Coral franchise. It’s definitely a good time to play at Gala Bingo as June (and the rest of the year) promise to hold a great number of no-risk opportunities at grabbing some extra money while enjoying the site’s variety of stellar game styles.

William Hill Launches New Multi-Play Bingo Rooms

William Hill Launches New Multi-Play Bingo Rooms

William Hill’s bingo site has upgraded their service offerings with a brand new set of multi-play rooms. The addition should prove welcome to members of the site and bingo fans in general, a fan base that has traditionally been known for their ability to multi-task while waiting for each call.

The multi-play addition allows William Hill Bingo players to launch four games simultaneously for intense and uninterrupted gaming. The option is now available through the Variety Room and the software has been performing extremely well since its initial launch.

William Hill has also allowed for the concurrent games to host mini-games and chat options, a move that truly allows for some of the most absorbing online bingo gaming currently available. Thus far, steady traffic has not managed to slow down any of the features or the main bingo play itself. Industry observers have lauded Will Hill for their work, citing the service expansion as a great achievement and marker of exactly the kind of innovation that internet bingo should strive toward.

March 3rd saw the multi-play bingo rooms launch with excited players flocking toward the new and exciting style of internet gaming. During the first weeks of its opening, the multi-play option has been heavily used and extremely well received by a fan base enthusiastic for a more engrossing level of play.

Littlewoods Bingo Launches New Bingo Room

Littlewoods Bingo Launches New Bingo Room

May 20th marks the release of Littlewoods brand new Bingo Ballroom game, a development eagerly anticipated and sure to be enjoyed by fans of the site or just the game itself. Littlewoods Bingo is aiming to satisfy the fans with not only new content but also a few choice prizes launched in celebration of their accomplishment.

The Bingo Ballroom should be incentive enough to get members and uninitiated bingo fans alike onto the site for some play but Littlewoods has decided to further increase their draw with a few extra perks. Declaring May 20
th as Bargain Bingo Day, Littlewoods is offering up plenty of reasonably priced games (including a plethora of penny sessions that ultimately culminate in the 9pm £5,000 jackpot) in celebration of their work. Games will be stretched out for the entirety of the day, providing two hour chunks of free bingo sessions during breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea and evening hours.

If you’ve missed out on Bargain Bingo Day then there’s no reason to worry — Littlewoods new Bingo Ballroom will continue to offer up free gaming for every registered member of the site with funds in their accounts. Users can log on to Littlewoods Bingo for six hours of complementary play each day while still enjoying the same opportunity for massive cash rewards that feature in pay-to-play rooms.  

Gala Bingo Continues Partnership with Chartwell Technology

Gala Bingo Continues Partnership with Chartwell Technology

Members of the ever-popular Gala Bingo website will be pleased to note the latest move by the venerable gaming company as news of their contract with
Chartwell Technology spreads throughout the online bingo industry. After three previous terms of business between the two internet giants, Chartwell and Gala are set to go for at least one more multi-year deal after renewing a development contract.

Chartwell Technology is one of the industry’s best regarded suppliers of internet gaming software and will soon be hard at work continuing maintenance and increasing the fan experience at Gala Bingo. The site’s Gaming Director for Gala Coral Group’s Remote Gambling Division, Daniel Phillips spoke to press regarding his company’s desire for consistency with the user experience. Signing on with Chartwell for the foreseeable future will continue the quality work done by the software developers while also ensuring that no dedicated fans will be lost such as would be likely to happen in the event of taking on a new development client.
 
We can expect to see more great work from the folks at Chartwell and the promise of the addition of new Gala Bingo titles and software options in the months and years to come. While fans watch Chartwell enter into their fourth consecutive term as Gala’s software client of choice they can rest easy knowing that the games and functionality they count on will be maintained until at least the contract ending date in 2012.  

Virtue Fusion Becomes Rival to Globalcom Bingo Sites

Virtue Fusion Becomes Rival to Globalcom Bingo Sites

The long reign of Globalcom powered bingo sites may be coming to an end now that networks supporting
Virtue Fusion are beginning to show a massive boost in traffic and fan recommendation, thus breaking a power balance that has existed since the first explosion in online bingo popularity. 

Virtue Fusion is the software company behind such popular services as Ladbrokes Bingo, Mecca Bingo, Crown Bingo and Minxy Bingo. These sites have all seen boosts in notoriety recently, mostly due to the great variety of game styles available through the Virtue software. While Globalcom clients (such as Foxy Bingo, Wink Bingo, 888 Ladies Bingo, Mirror Bingo and more) host impressive graphics and smooth game play the platform is currently able to host only two styles of play; 90 or 75 ball bingo.

Virtue Fusion programmers have countered this limitation by designing networks with a much larger set of options such as speed or pattern bingo and a large number of themed boards and game styles. When looking at such a large gap in gaming choices it is no wonder that more and more online bingo devotees are flocking to Virtue’s supporters.

With the industry reflecting such a pattern it is unlikely that it will be much longer before Globalcom makes a clear response. If the lacking programmers pick up the slack by designing new features and incorporating a larger variety of game styles then it won’t be long before bingo fans are able to enjoy a more comprehensive offering from their favourite Globalcom sites.

Gala Launches the Gala Bingo Wizard

Gala Launches the Gala Bingo Wizard


 Although it may seem that there are precious few innovations still left in the game of bingo, Gala has found at least one method of increasing the fun possible from the popular pastime with the launch of their brand new Gala Bingo Wizard. The innovative technology has already been launched across the UK’s assortment of brick and mortar Gala Bingo halls to rave reviews and may set a new precedent for the typical style of bingo play.

The Gala Bingo Wizard is a touch-screen system that automates the traditional bingo playing process to a revolutionary degree. Instead of paper cards, daubers and a personalized caller, Gala Bingo Wizard system lets fans of the game sit down at a computer terminal to play from a variety of games without having to wait around for new sessions to begin or any other, slower processes. The addition of Wizard ATM machines add to the computerized version of bingo springing up at Gala Bingo clubs across Great Britain, allowing players to easily add funds to their bingo cards without having to actually retrieve cash from an outside source.

Gala Bingo move toward automated bingo is sure to divide fans of the game that will either embrace the drastic new style of play or find themselves missing the traditional pace and process of a bingo session. For now, interested players can look out for the Gala Bingo Wizard terminals throughout approximately forty Gala Bingo halls across the United Kingdom.

Wink Bingo Grabs Attention with Latest Advertisement

Wink Bingo Grabs Attention with Latest Advertisement

Wink Bingo is making big waves with their most recent advertising spot; a
Fred Astaire styled effort meant to depict the joy of a great bingo win. Using a bit of special effects and a lot of ingenuity, the advertisement is proving to be a hit with the British public as it begins to air this month across the United Kingdom.

The Wink Bingo advertisement is simple but extremely effective. It depicts a woman winning at bingo on her laptop before breaking out in a dance that has her moving across the walls and ceiling of the room, defying gravity through the apparent magic of a bingo victory. Wink Bingo set up a specially designed room for the filming of the ad with the help of effects company Artem. A trained dancer/actress was hired to perform a jubilant routine while balancing precariously against the room moving around her on a custom built, mechanical rig. Some post-production touches were added to increase the natural look of her movements but the foundation of the piece was all performed with authentic, physical efforts.

The spot was created by Spacebar Media, a relatively new company in the advertising industry. Spacebar took inspiration from a 1950s dance routine performed by Fred Astaire (the famous wall and ceiling dance) and took the idea into the 21st century with only a modest budget and some real creativity. The advertisement is entitled “Celebration” and is scheduled to run until the beginning of this June.

Wink Bingo Announces May Bonuses

Wink Bingo Announces May Bonuses

Not to be outdone by industry competitors, Wink Bingo has announced their very own line-up of fantastic rewards up for grabs throughout the month of May. The popular bingo network has readied a variety of superb incentives meant to help gaming fans celebrate the true beginning of spring alongside the Easter holiday.



Wink Bingo players will be able to take their shot at the site’s Easter promotion through a very special version of the Daily Delights game, allowing users the chance to win £150 on every night of the month at 8.45pm GMT. Monthly Madness at Wink takes on an outdoors theme as well (just in time for the beginning of real spring weather) culminating in a May 1st penny game with a guaranteed £1,000 jackpot. Registrants can pre-buy their tickets for entry into the contest at any point leading up to the game, a feature that can provide a little reminder just in case the promise of a great cash prize isn’t enough to keep the upcoming contest in the player’s memories.

Among the other May bonuses, Wink players can check out guaranteed jackpot games all throughout the month and take their shot at the over £40,000 worth of prizes being distributed across the events. With all of these incentives packed into the coming weeks, it’s definitely a great time to be a bingo player at Wink.


Ladbrokes Bingo Lines Up May Promotions

Ladbrokes Bingo Lines Up May Promotions

After an exciting month of gaming for Ladbrokes Bingo players in March, the noted website is set to offer up another series of fantastic promotions this April. Through the month’s marking of Easter, St. George’s Day and Ladbrokes birthday itself, the bingo network is beginning to provide some great incentives for regular play throughout all of the coming weeks leading to May.

Ladbrokes Bingo

May celebrations kicked off with the site’s third birthday anniversary on Sunday April 5th wherein players were able to compete for a wide variety of prizes in celebration of a few great years at Ladbrokes. Although it’s over now there are still upcoming visits from ‘the bingo fairy’ to look forward to. Between April 10th and 13th players at the 90 and 75 ball rooms will have a chance to randomly win a cash prize from the £30,000 pool being distributed by ‘the fairy’.

St. George’s Day will also be enjoyed in grand form with Ladbrokes launching a free weekend of play between April 23rd and 27th. To round off the rest of the month’s promotions, players can also hope to stumble across one of Ladbrokes’ ‘Easter egg’ prizes, a free cash reward to be used in play on the website. These are just a few selections from the wide selection of promotions for fans to take advantage of throughout April so be sure to log on at Ladbrokes Bingo today and check out the other incentives for yourself.

Foxy Bingo to Sponsor National Ladies Day

Foxy Bingo to Sponsor National Ladies Day

Foxy Bingo is a favourite online destination for many British women and the site plans to recognize this vast bingo demographic by sponsoring events linked to the
UK National
Ladies Day
. Through a partnership with Dreamboys, this June 19th is set to be even more special than usual for lucky bingo players.

The summer event is designed to take place throughout the entirety of Great Britain’s Liquid and Oceana nightclubs, available to the general public for a price or for winners (for free) at special Foxy Bingo games. Members of the site can compete to gain access to the Dreamboys-attended dance club extravaganza through 5p tickets to the Sunnie Day room. The prize is available daily (at 1pm, 8pm, 9pm and 10pm GMT) and rewards players with £25 and a ticket if they are able to score a bingo on the “Dancing Queen” pattern.

Ticket holders will be able to head to their nearest Liquid or Oceana club for a celebration of Ladies Day featuring Dreamboys in a live show. Dancing and a chance to catch a photo with a Dreamboy will all take place next to a club sponsored bingo game too. National Ladies Day tickets and special games have already started so, if you’re interested in the special Foxy Bingo prizes, it’s a good idea to log on now to take a shot.

Foxy Bingo Named ‘Britain’s Biggest Brand

Foxy Bingo Named ‘Britain’s Biggest Brand

Immensely popular online bingo network, Foxy Bingo, has received the prestigious title of
“Britain’s Biggest Brand” this week in recognition of its continued success in the internet gaming industry. Many residents of the UK are now familiar with the Foxy Bingo brand to the point where it has truly become a mainstream business, a phenomenon now recognized by this newest addition to the bingo site’s impressive resume.

The accolade was provided by Marketing magazine, a British trade journal that specializes in following the business trends of various United Kingdom based companies. Marketing journalists routinely examine various factors to arrive at their ranking of the biggest brands in the nation, gathering information on advertising reach, sponsorship funding and more. Foxy Bingo’s parent company, Cashcade, were thrilled to receive the published acknowledgement of their work, seeing their place as the #1 Ad Watch company during the time period as a massive achievement. The bridging of Foxy into common recognition also makes the bingo website into a substantial threat for other large competitors within the industry, including competitors, Mecca Bingo.

Foxy Bingo placed directly ahead of COI Frank with an impressive sixty-eight percent market reach. The internet gaming site also beat out familiar brands including Pizza Hut, Walkers Crisps, the Co-Operative Bank and Diet Coke. Foxy Bingo won the title of “Britain’s Biggest Brand” for the business week of March 23rd to March 28th.

Betfred Launch St. Patrick’s Promotion and More

Betfred Launch St. Patrick’s Promotion and More

Players at Betfred Bingo are sure to have a busy month ahead of them as the notable site crams even more great bonuses and rewards into the second half of March. Members of Betfred will be able to compete for some great, seasonal prizes throughout the next two weeks as the popular network launches special events for two of the month’s biggest days.

March 17th is St. Patrick’s Day and Betfred Bingo is celebrating by providing lucky members the chance to double their winnings with a special promotion. Players who have deposited within the last seven days before St. Paddy’s will be able to compete for a full house during the 17th. If achieved, Betfred will double your earnings. The second big event commemorates the official first day of spring, March 20th, with an IKEA voucher giveaway. Players that have deposited at least £25 between the 1st and 19th of March become eligible for a £250 IKEA reward as part of the Spring Makeover competition. Every eligible Betfred member will then be entered into a draw through which the winner is eventually announced at the end of the day on the 20th.

With both of these promotions, Betfred Bingo is going a long way toward making March a good month to play in while waiting for spring to truly arrive. Both promotions accompany the already outstanding bonuses regularly available for Betfred members.

Wink Bingo Player Wins Mini Cooper as Promotion Closes

Wink Player Wins Mini Cooper as Promotion Closes

Wink Bingo’s “Win a Mini Cooper” promotion has come to a close with one lucky player driving away from the event with a brand new set of wheels. The contest began late in 2008 and has just finished, hosting a wealth of great stories and a dramatic series of events leading up to its conclusion.

Joanne Kane, a mother of two from Werneth, Oldham in Lancashire came out the winner of the fantastic prize and is now the proud owner of a brand new BMW Mini Cooper valued at £16,000. Kane’s win couldn’t have come at a better time — the Lancashire mum had recently lost her job before her car gave out as well. She had taken to riding a bike, being forced to do so due to a lack of steady income. Kane’s award wasn’t easy to come by however. After the “Win a Mini Cooper” bingo game played on January 1st, 2009, Kane was part of Wink’s first-ever draw as she called a full house in the same number of turns as Swindon in Wiltshire competitor, Christine. The two women entered lucky numbers for the showdown and Kane won, using her children’s birthdates along with the (decidedly fitting) date she passed her driving test.

It’s certainly one of the most interesting stories to come out of the bingo world in some time and is packed with some great details and action. Joanne Kane could hardly have deserved her prize more however. She is now receiving some well-deserved publicity in Wink Bingo’s newest viral advertisement currently running on the popular gaming site.

Gala Bingo Find their Nectar Millionaire

After months of suspense and excitement for the online bingo community at Gala Bingo, the search for the next Nectar Millionaire has come to a conclusion with the announcement of the contest’s winner; a primary school dinner lady from Dartmouth in Devon named Joan Scales. The lucky lady is now able to enjoy spending the Nectar points along with her family, a sum that equals roughly £1 million in value.

Joan will be able to shop at a wide variety of different UK stores using her reward and can redeem the points for almost anything, from clothing to wine or fabulous travel vacations. She was entered into the Gala Bingo tournament during the original promotional period (between November 24th and December 24th of 2008) by playing Gala Bingo games often enough to accumulate many entries into the contest. Joan told press that she and her family has already started to spend the prize on everyday items and are planning to use more of the sum toward future luxuries including a trip to Spain and home redecorating.

There’s no word yet on whether or not Gala Bingo will offer up another Nectar Millionaire contest such as the one held at the very end of last year. Just the same, Gala Bingo players will still be able to gather Nectar points (at the rate of 2 points per every £1 spent on purchasing bingo tickets) as part of the two company’s ongoing partnership.

Gala and Presidential Mum Win Big with Mrs Obama’s Game

Not to be outdone by the inauguration of her immensely famous relation, Kezia Obama, stepmother to the new American President, has launched her very own bingo site in conjunction with Gala Coral. “Mrs Obama’s Game” recently closed its doors after fundraising for charity through an offshoot of Gala Bingo’s main site, working well as an event that intended to capitalize on Barack Obama’s presidency in an immensely positive manner.

The promotion proved to be an excellent way to take advantage of Presidential fever and managed to succeed in raising a large amount of charity proceeds to the Sue Ryder Care foundation. After attending her stepson’s historic inauguration in Washington, Mrs. Obama was quick to return to her Berkshire, UK home and watch over the bingo events. An avid player and fan of the pastime, Kezia Obama partnered with Gala Coral to promote a series of games that allowed for 10p of every pound played to be donated to Sue Ryder Care.

The series was a massive success, raising approximately £10,000 over its one hour a day, ten day duration. Gala will match the amount for a total £20,000 donation to Sue Ryder Care and continues to work toward their goal of contributing £1 million to Sue Ryder by 2010. “Mrs Obama’s Game” ran from January 14th to the 23rd.

Ladbrokes Feels the February Love

Ladbrokes Bingo has emerged as the latest bingo site to unveil a Valentine’s Day themed take on monthly promotions. February at Ladbrokes Bingo promises to host a load of fantastic gaming and prize options for enthusiastic players and should ensure that regular fans feel a bit of love from their site of choice.

The first, and decidedly most impressive, promotion offered for February Ladbrokes Bingo players is the launch of daily free games throughout the entire month of February. These games will be offered at random intervals between 7pm and 10pm and allow any member to snatch up some no-cost tickets to take into the game. The last day of the promotion (the 28th) will run the free games for the last eligible hour (9-10pm). Ladbrokes has also set up a special, £2,500 bingo game on Valentine’s Day itself, available through a private room. Users can vie for entry to this event by playing at least £35 in any of Ladbrokes’ 90-Ball rooms before February 10th. The £2,500 game itself requires no additional payment to enter.

While almost all of the biggest bingo sites are planning some Valentine’s themed event or another, Ladbrokes Bingo may be hosting the most impressive options thus far. Regular bingo players orLadbrokes Bingo members should log on today to take a look at the variety of February promotions open for play.

Ladbrokes Bingo

Vic Reeves Ends Sponsorship of 888 Ladies

After a long history of acting as the celebrity face of 888 Ladies Bingo, Vic Reeves, has left the service. The popular bingo network is now without a famous representative and is in need of a replacement endorsement figure after the end of Reeves’ twelve-month 888 Ladies Bingo contract.

Fans of the site will be disappointed to see that Reeves has moved on from his previous place as the real-life mascot of 888 Ladies Bingo but many industry observers aren’t surprised. Most celebrity representatives have a short career with bingo companies, acting as mascots for only the brief period of time their contract affords. The site is still home to several other notable celebrities however and Reeves’ spot could very well be filled by ex-Eastenders star, Joe Swash who still maintains a significant presence at the network. While Vic Reeves provided a recognizable and humorous role as 888 Ladies Bingo advertising lynchpin, Swash has also acted as an important star for promotional events such as the recent Joe Swash Valentine’s Day competition that saw the celebrity share lunch with a lucky winner.

Reeves is not the only celebrity to vanish from their duties as the face of a bingo company. Foxy Bingo recently lost Jordan (Katie Price) around the same time that Sharon Osbourne left Gala behind. Alison Hammond at Crown Bingo now stands alone as one of the few celebrities still active at a promotional level for any of the major UK bingo services.

St. Alban’s Man Wins Big at Ladbrokes Bingo

While many are fretting about the continuing recession’s effect on their pocketbooks one St. Alban’s resident will be able to put his mind to rest after having won a massive prize from Ladbrokes Bingo.

The slots jackpot awarded to him had been accumulating for about nine months, waiting for a fortunate player to strike it rich with its cash reward.

The man, known to press as “Mr. H”, won big on a Ladbrokes Bingo slot machine after putting down a stake of only £3 for the enormous prize jackpot he ended up taking home. Mr. H played on the “Chain Reactions” slots at Ladbrokes Bingo, increasing his tiny bet into a decidedly more substantial payout of £109,467. Playing on a break during a typical work day, Mr. H was astounded to have won the prize in the same week that he was planning to celebrate his birthday.

According to Mr. H and his wife, the prize couldn’t have come at a better time. The couple has been feeling the effects of the dismal economy, having been made to cancel a ski vacation and watch their spending carefully. Now the jackpots have begun to build up again, providing enticement for any Ladbrokes Bingo hopefuls attempting to make their own success story out of a lucky game at the site.

Betfred Bingo Hosts Mother’s Day Promotion

Betfred Bingo is giving its users the chance to make this year’s Mother’s Day a truly memorable one with their upcoming promotion. The Mum of the Year 2009 Competition is almost about to launch from the site, providing bingo players with a community-centred chance at a great cash prize.

Players who have been active at the site before February 15th (and wagered at least £25) will be eligible for the 2009 Mother’s Day prize. Five qualifying Betfred Bingo members will be contacted via email regarding their entry into the special contest set to take be determined at the end of the month. Other users will then be able to view the contestants and vote on who they think most deserves the prize by participating in a process carried out in the community section of the site.

Betfred Bingo players will assess and vote on their favourite finalist through a chat room poll during the “free for all” bingo game hour on Friday, February 27th from 8 to 9pm. The member with the most votes will receive a £250 reward which will be deposited into their account upon the contest’s finish. Although Betfred Bingo’s Mum of the Year Competition takes place relatively far in advance of Mother’s Day actual March 22nd date this year, the contest should still help to spark a little excitement for bingo-playing families.

Gala Bingo Plans to Re-launch TV Channel

Gala TV, the television channel previously operated by Gala Bingo, is now set to re-launch due to the company’s appointment of a new production team. The previous group responsible for Gala TV, Endemol UK, has now been replaced by ETV Media Group, a business that plans to bring the channel back into the bingo limelight.

ETV Media Group has committed to the production of eight hours of daily programming with a brand new look and feel. While favourite segments and gaming events will be left intact, ETV has apparently spent a good deal of time “freshening up” the fare soon to be available through Gala Bingo. Top minds at ETV have assembled in order to liven up Gala’s television offerings, planning to increase user interactivity in order to promote the ease and excitement of TV bingo. Both companies hope to improve greatly on their last foray into televised gaming and have been hard at work ensuring that the re-launch captures the feel of a real bingo hall from the comfort of home.

New presenters have also been added to Gala Bingo TV to further increase the fresh feel of the channel. Gala Bingo and ETV have confirmed the future appearances of presenters including Anthony Heywood, Cat Porter and Kate Pullinger for their line-up. Gala Bingo TV will return within the next few months and is set to air on Sky and FreeSat along with free, online broadcasts at galabingo.com.

William Hill Succeeds in Enormous Fundraising Event

October of 2008 saw William Hill Bingo offering up a charity event that sought to raise money for breast cancer treatment. Now the New Year has lead to the company’s announcement of the total proceeds garnered by their fundraising promotion and the overwhelming success of their efforts.

William Hill Bingo has released information from their Breast Cancer Awareness campaign, detailing the £41,000 that donations from their three-month event yielded. The company gathered charitable proceeds through a Pink Ribbon Game series with simple donation guidelines. Any William Hill Bingo player that entered into one of the appropriately designated games was automatically assisting the company in their donations. William Hill provided ten percent of their Pink Ribbon Game proceeds to the charity along with a special £10 match for eligible new users. The final sum was officially donated to the Breast Cancer Care charity in January.

Market research has provided demographic details that show bingo as a game enjoyed by a largely female audience and William Hill Bingo was clever to take advantage of their user-base in order to support a deserving charity from an ideal platform. No word has been given yet as to whether William Hill Bingo players can expect to see a return of the charity late this year but the £41,000 donation made this month makes it seem quite likely.

Wink Bingo Offers Up Tiffany & Co. Promotion

Wink Bingo devotees are in line for a great, high-end reward series in the next weeks as the noted Tiffany & Co. offer up a set of fabulous prizes. The famous diamond and jewellery shops have jumped onboard with Wink through a promotion that is set to culminate with the mid-month, Dinner with Tiffany, game.

Wink Bingo players will be able to vie for the
Tiffany & Co. sponsored prize throughout February— the month traditionally devoted toward love. The main event will take place on Sunday February 15th at 8pm and will see one lucky winner leave the game with a £3,000 voucher to the world renowned jewellery company. Tickets to the contest can be pre-purchased for £5 or gained through frequent play at the Wink Bingo tables.

Players can gain entry to the final event through playing at Wink Bingo regularly and accumulating points. 500 wintastic points will earn competitors one free entry into the game, a reward system that is sure to encourage frequent play. Special offers (such as sending Wink a poem about why you deserve to win or sending a photo in your most dazzling outfit) will also earn points. Points can be banked toward the Dinner with Tiffany game from now until Saturday February 14th at midnight.

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Gala Bingo Introduces Smoking Shelters

In an attempt to provide some reprieve from the massive financial hit currently afflicting brick-and-mortar bingo halls, Gala Bingo has introduced outdoor smoking shelters for fans of the game that would otherwise stay at home.

The shelters are planned to be constructed as a wooden patio deck with space heating and access to
electronic bingo playing machines. Gala Bingo has been clear about establishing their neutral stance on smoking while still recognizing their need to provide for those players who have lowered their bingo hall attendance due to the recent implementation of widespread UK bans. The Gala Bingo hall in Fenton, Staffordshire is currently equipped with a heated shelter that provides smokers with the ability to sit down at one of 32 bingo kiosks for 50p and £1 games. It’s a smart tactic which mirrors the creation of similar patios from the many pubs and clubs similarly attempting to maintain business in light of legal restrictions on indoor smoking.

Robert Jones, assistant manager of Gala Bingo in Fenton, Staffordshire spoke to press about his location’s status as the first Gala hall to host one of the shelters. Jones explained that the idea was conceived of as a method of both stimulating business and providing a social alternative to standing outside in the cold. He hopes to encourage an improved atmosphere and alternative for the many smokers put off by their previous inability to have a puff while enjoying a
game of bingo.

Ladbrokes Bingo Wants to Pay Your Bills This January

The immensely popular Ladbrokes Games has been making waves with their bingo site’s current headlining promotional events. First out of the gate for the network’s 2009 prize offerings is the Pay Your Bills 2009 reward centred on those players who are dreading their January bills after the credit build-up affecting many after the end of last month’s holiday shopping craze.

Ladbrokes Bingo players are currently able to vie for a prize which will see the site paying the tab on their bills for every month of the year if won. Every twenty tickets purchased at Ladbrokes in the month of January (or every £2 spent on the site’s mini-games) will count as a single entry for the upcoming draw. The company is also beefing up the service for even casual online gamers by allowing every £5 spent across the entire Ladbrokes network (including the popular
poker, casino and sports betting sites) to be used toward buying a chance to win the Pay Your Bills 2009 prize.

It’s a great opportunity for all sorts of players to try for a shot at what could be the least stressful year of their lives. The bingo service will be offering the
Pay Your Bills 2009 contest from now until the month’s end (Saturday, January 31st) with the final draw taking place shortly after the event’s closing.

Foxy Bingo Kicks Off 2009 with Las Vegas Promotion

Foxy Bingo has always maintained a solid variety of promotional games for users to compete within and their recent announcement regarding a series of upcoming prizes proves that this year will be no different. Among the forthcoming events, Foxy Bingo is offering Nintendo Wii and Panasonic TV giveaways as well as the usual cash jackpots. Perhaps most exciting however is the announcement of a Las Vegas prize currently underway at the site.

Winners will receive a generous travel package from Foxy Bingo which is set to send a lucky bingo fan (and one guest of their choosing) on their way to Las Vegas, Nevada where they will be set up in style at the MGM Grand hotel for five nights in the heart of the gambling centre of the world. Players will need to watch out for an “Aeroplane” pattern which will sporadically pop up across all of Foxy Bingo’s 75-ball games during the contest period. Each bingo win within a game displaying the accompanying pattern will allow entry into the Vegas prize draw.

The series of Las Vegas prize games will wrap up by Tuesday, January 13th (with the final draw being made on Wednesday the 14th) so interested players should head over to Foxy now to enter into the action before it’s too late.

Mecca Bingo Plans to Offer Increased Cellular Play

With the rapid adoption of mobile devices showing no sign of slowing down the minds at Mecca Bingo have made the intelligent decision of embracing new technology through the support of cellular play. The company has been offering some portable gambling accessibility in the past but is now set to ramp up their contribution to cell-phone gaming with new efforts.

Mecca recently announced plans to increase work on their partnership with mobile developers, Mfuse by developing better gaming options for bingo players on the go. Reports have shown a massive increase in the popularity of portable gambling play with some hundred million pounds being bet through the devices since Mecca’s unveiling of their old cellular software. The addition of casino play and extended bingo modes is meant to provide the already popular company with a leading edge on what they believe to be the next big boom in online gambling trends.

Several other companies seemed interesting in jumping on the bandwagon during the recent events of the Fifth Annual Mobile Gaming Meeting although Mecca has been making the biggest waves as they announce their upcoming work. With the aid of Mfuse, the well known bingo company is set to begin intensive production of Java-based mobile gaming options for a multitude of portable platforms with release intended for the near future.

Online Bingo Becomes Serious Contender for the Title of Top Internet Game

A recent traffic report from Google has finally called poker’s place as the top online gambling game into question. The statistics demonstrate a failing internet poker revenue stream while virtual bingo continues to increase in popularity despite a troubled economy which is affecting nearly every other business sector.

Online Poker remained the most successful online gaming choice (with massive profits and steady traffic) through until near the end of 2008’s first quarter and has only begun to fall from its once untouchable position in recent time. Internet bingo has always been a serious competitor within the gaming market but the past few months have seen the pastime almost entirely supplanting poker within the gambling world. Commentators suggest that the massive push from bingo advertisers (via popular television show spots, Google advertisement, radio and giant publicity events) may be responsible for raising mainstream awareness of the game and thus tapping into demographic markets who may have been slow to transfer their playtime to the computer.

The popularity of
bingo, especially in the United Kingdom, seems in no danger of slowing down as associated gaming corporations are rewarded with steady business profits but the future of smaller online poker services may be uncertain. With the percentage of remote gamers constantly on the rise in Britain and the closing of brick-and-mortar bingo halls forcing fans toward new methods of play, the increasing success of online bingo should continue for some time.

Head of Gala Bingo Announces Plan to Leave Company

John Kelly, head of the enormous UK gaming company, Gala Bingo has announced plans that he is set to leave his position by Christmas of this year. While previous statements had anticipated this move, the action was initially planned for some ten months later than the new date of resignation.

Although Gala Bingo is one of the biggest gambling corporations in Great Britain, Kelly has chosen to step down from his place after years of lucrative guidance.
Gala Coral (the larger group which Gala Bingo belongs to) has been led by John Kelly since 1997 and quickly became a major player within the world of internet bingo during this time. The last eleven years have seen Gala Bingo experience a large growth in revenue due to the online gaming boom and an influx of private equity owners. Kelly announced plans to continue his work as chairman of thetrainline.com, a successful UK online reselling business for rail tickets.

Despite a substantial loss in Gala’s casino and Gala Bingo hall sectors over the past year and a half, Kelly has made it clear that the decision to leave early was of his own volition and not the result of shareholder’s influence. The corporation is sure to rebound from their loss and has already begun plans to account for the change in leadership beginning later this month. Kelly’s spot is to be filled by
Neil Goulden, the current deputy chairman of the company.

Wink Bingo Awards Massive Prize to Northumberland Resident

A Northumberland bingo player has managed to overcome the adversity of bad economic times and slim odds to become the lucky recipient of a massive prize from Wink Bingo. While the credit crunch may be getting other players away from the tables, Wink Bingo was happy to provide a generous reward and help out one of their devoted fans.

The Northumberland player,
Margaret Cregan only began to play at Wink Bingo after happening upon an advertisement while shopping at a local mall but has been a regular player for some time now. Cregan reported that rising food prices coupled with the trends of falling wages has made keeping up with bills and groceries difficult, a fact which makes her prize win especially timely. Wink Bingo awarded the woman with a year of complementary shopping at Tesco supermarkets along with the added bonus of having her fuel bills taken care of by the company.

Wink Bingo turned Margaret’s Cregan shopping patterns around with the generous prize which has allowed the woman to take at least some reprieve from her recent decision to shop for frugal groceries.
Bingo players should hit the site now for their chance to repeat Cregan’s success and produce their very own story of beating the times by striking it lucky at the Wink Bingo online halls.

Foxy Bingo Take on Massive Children in Need Charity Game

Foxy Bingo has been putting a positive slant on their media image with the decision to partner up with the annual Children in Need event which took place late last week. The popular bingo site recently hosted a fundraising game via their website with the intended goal of providing some much-needed support for the group.

The charity game raised some serious money as it finished off late last Friday night. Players bought £1 tickets to enter into the Children in Need £20,000 event which saw Foxy Bingo matching every buy-in out of their own pocket. Bingo fans flocked to the event with the double incentive of helping a worthy cause while enjoying the chance of winning such an enormous reward sum. The 75 Ball game proved to be one of the best efforts at simultaneously providing positive publicity while pushing fans and the company itself to help out with an annual charity which is always in need of public support.

Foxy Bingo’s
Children in Need charity game has cemented its place as one of the largest fundraising games in online bingo history and enjoyed unprecedented success on all fronts as part of the process. Foxy Bingo hosted their part for the Children in Need charity event last Friday, November 14th with the events seeing television broadcast via BBC1.

Recent Study Shows Bingo is Good for the Elderly

A report published through the University of Southampton has announced positive findings for elderly bingo players. The research sought to look into age and the mind with the curious byproduct of centering on finding a relationship between mental ability and the popular game. Work led to a discovery that elderly players often enjoyed the advantage of superior brain power over those peers who didn’t have the same hobby.

The study was carried out by Julie Winstone at the University of Southampton’s Centre for Visual Cognition. Winstone worked within the Centre’s Department of Psychology and used a sample group of 112 individuals across various ages and levels of bingo experience. Tests were administered which centred on brain function categories such as memory, selective environmental information gathering and mental agility. Elderly subjects who played regular bingo games were shown to have much better memories than similar participants who didn’t take interest in the pastime. As a result of the statistics gathered within her research, Winstone now argues that long-term bingo playing enhances brain functions into old age.

Winstone’s presentation in Winchester was met with a lot of excitement from fellow scholars and bingo players alike. Her work has given a lot of support to the immense popularity bingo enjoys among UK seniors, providing a reason for keeping at the game right into old age.

Gala Bingo and Southern Electric Go Green in Advertising Campaign

Gala Bingo is catching on to the environmental bandwagon with the recent announcement of the company’s plan to launch a massive, green-centered advertising campaign. Through a partnership with Southern Electric both of the companies hope to raise awareness regarding social and financial issues concerning the fate of the planet.

Gala Bingo and
Southern Electric has just driven their message past Parliament with the already underway campaign aimed at providing details concerning CO2 emissions, energy conservation and the consumer savings possible through a ‘green’ lifestyle. While touting a slogan of “Save Energy, Save Money” on lorries traveling across the United Kingdom the two companies have also arranged great giveaways to get more people on board. Gala Bingo halls and Sue Ryder shops throughout Great Britain will be carrying energy-efficient light-bulbs to hand out (until the three million unit stock dries up). The idea is to get the average consumer to become aware of the longevity of the bulbs in an attempt to switch away from traditional, more wasteful bulbs.

Head of corporate social responsibility at Gala Bingo, Colin Morgan told press that the initiative with Southern Electric fits perfectly into the existing mandates put forth for Gala Bingo in their social responsibility program. The gigantic advertisement push should prove to be mutually beneficial for all parties involved and hopefully assist in paving the way toward a greener future for the UK.

PlayingBingo.Com and Historian Seek to Question American Claim to Bingo Name

Die-hard bingo fans should be extremely pleased to know that historian, Dr. Carolyn Down has heavily researched and published an article detailing the ins-and-outs of the beloved game’s past. Among the information uncovered by Dr. Down and her commissioner, PlayingBingo.Com has come the difficult question of whether the name ‘bingo’ itself actually stems from British or American roots.

Dr. Down traces bingo from its earliest forms to the success it currently enjoys in contemporary Great Britain and Ireland in her article titled, “A History of Bingo in the UK”. Her research begins as far back as 16th century lotteries and extends all the way to the present day success of online bingo. Most interesting is Down’s questioning of whether Brits should accept the supposed American heritage of the name “bingo”. Usually attributed to Edwin Lowe, a Beano player who accidentally shouted ‘bingo!’ the article instead finds evidence that the term was already in use within the UK during the same time and may actually have originated in Western Europe.

Whatever your stance on the etymology of the game’s name the writing promises to be very entertaining for enthusiastic players. “A History of Bingo in the UK” should come as a welcome addition for fans of the game interested in learning more about the roots of their favourite pastime. The article represents the most current and in-depth study regarding bingo ever written and hosts a great amount of information for the avid player.

UK Online Bingo Game Aims to Set World Record

ITV and British bingo fans are about to attempt a Guinness World Record by garnering support toward a try for the record of the world’s largest online bingo game. A mounting jackpot which has gone unclaimed for an unprecedented length of time is going to be up for grabs through the televised event, set for this Friday on ITV1.

The record-breaking attempt will be presented by celebrity hosts, Michael Underwood and Nichola Dixon through ITV1’s Bingo Night Live during the Golden Jackpot Friday events. Producers of the show are expecting a large number of UK bingo fans to tune in and try for their chance at the enormous prize while making history in the process. The unclaimed reward has reached the sum of $104,565, an amount larger than any which has ever been played for through an online venue. While having almost been won several times in the weeks leading up to the event, Underwood and Dixon expressed disbelief that the combined payout has continued to skyrocket to such an enormous amount.

The jackpot has lead to increased publicity for Bingo Night Live and the online gaming style itself to the obvious delight of the show’s executive producer, Michael Kelpie. Interested bingo players should tune in to Bingo Night Live this Friday at 11.45PM for their chance to participate (or even win at) this event.

Sun Bingo Give Away £250,000 Houses in New Promotion

Sun Bingo, one of the UK’s best known and heavily trafficked online bingo venues have decided to up the ante this fall with a series of promotions that want to give lucky winners a new home. The home giveaway prizes are part of a larger effort by Sun to breathe some new life into their site as the season changes and more bingo players start staying indoors and online.

The homes up for grabs at Sun Bingo are worth up to £250,000 with the company allowing winners to pick their spot and house (as long as it falls under the allocated 25K value) from any location within the UK. From August 27th to September 30th, bingo fans that log onto Sun and play select games will have their names entered into the draw. The prize itself should be enough to attract plenty of attention but Sun Bingo have also made a point of revamping old favourites and adding some new manners of play to further elevate the excitement.

Among the updated fare are Bingo 75, Bingo 80 and Bingo 90 games with these options now having the included potential for free tickets and two-for-one offers. Entirely new features such as Gold Digger, Whack-a-Moley and the WAGS Shopping Spree have been added as well. Chat rooms are also being given the treatment with improved designs and additional features for loyal users to try out. All of these changes are being implemented as you read so interested UK bingo fans should check out the new Sun Bingo for themselves.

Cricklewood Beacon Bingo Hall Burns Down

A Cricklewood bingo hall has been left in desecration after a fire raged on for over four hours, destroying the front area of the cherished playing venue. The Beacon Bingo hall is set to re-open in the next short while however, news that cheered gaming fans and management alike.

Firefighters attempted to extinguish the flames which started in the early morning last week (which luckily placed the accident at a time when the club wasn’t staffed or running any games). The accident was reportedly caused by an electrical fault which sparked out of control during the night. Fortunately, metal security shutters contained the majority of the fire so that, aside from the front-end of the hall, the bulk of the venue was left relatively unscathed. This news follows after the closure of a Mecca Bingo hall close by, making gaming options scarce for Cricklewood bingo fans until the damage can be repaired at the Beacon.

Simon Hannah, Chief Executive of Beacon Bingo’s parent company, Riva Gaming Group, expressed happiness that the damage was mostly superficial and that the hall was empty at the time of the fire. He told press that, aside from a bad visual appearance, work so far has lead management to believe that the fire was not as devastating as initially believed. The Cricklewood Beacon Bingo hall is planned for re-opening early this week pending the length of time needed for proper restoration.

UK Actress, Michelle Collins Backs Gala Bingo Charity Fundraiser

The annual fall charity fundraiser, spearheaded by Gala Bingo and supported by thousands of British gaming fans is just about to kick-off for 2008 and has now announced a surprise celebrity endorsement. Former “Eastenders” and “Two Thousand Acres of Sky” star, Michelle Collins was revealed as a supporter for the cause this week, a move that should bring even more publicity to the worthy events being undertaken.

Collins has already started to generate some buzz for Gala and the slew of supported charities by performing some outrageous publicity stunts designed with maximum attention as the goal. Last week Collins posed for photos in a ball gown dress composed entirely of bingo tickets and apparently has some other tricks up her sleeve to take out as the fundraising continues forward. She expressed her interest in the annual bingo charity in the press and urged supporters to come forward and donate in any capacity available to them. British bingo players have traditionally done a fantastic job of raising money for the proceedings and should be able to repeat their efforts this season as well.

Last year, Gala Bingo was able to rally enough attention to raise £2.75 million for the designated charities, an overwhelming amount which will go a long way toward helping out the community. The 2008 fundraising is set for a £3 million goal which may not be too far out of reach as time goes on. Anyone interested in donating to a charity should head over to Gala Bingo today for more details.

Bingos.com Offices Find New Home in London

Bingos.com owner and interactive gaming firm, NetPlay TV has spoken to press about a number of large decisions regarding the immediate fate of the popular platform, chief among them the future move of the company from Mallorca, Spain to corporate headquarters in London, England. The change is due to a number of different factors as management have recently dealt with redundancies and a need to consolidate all acquired businesses in one physical location.

Bingos.com was purchased by NetPlay TV in March of this year for $10.63 million and has continued to function as a key asset for the firm as the year has gone on. The decision to move from Spain to England shouldn’t worry industry observers or fans of the popular online bingo site but rather give them hope for the future of the corporation. Martin Higginson, NetPlay TV’s Chief Executive Officer and Chairman has even stated that the company on a whole has experienced significant growth within the last year but has felt a need to have all important staff in one centralized location.

With the London consolidation, NetPlay has also announced a greater concentration on their technical team for upcoming months. This change may ultimately result in further improvements to their existing bingo software and site functionality so Bingos.com fans should be excited toward what the future holds for their gaming service.

Massive Ladbrokes Bingo Promotions in Liverpool during Ad Shoot

Ladbrokes, one of Great Britain’s best known online bingo providers have launched an enormous advertising campaign in the city streets of Liverpool. The filming of an over-the-top commercial spot has already attracted the attention of a large number of city dwellers even before its slated airing on UK TV beginning next month.

The company grabbed publicity by floating giant bingo balls down the Liverpool streets to the amazement of onlookers. Giant spheres, some thirteen feet in diameter, were sent past major city landmarks where pedestrians often pushed them along their path. Video crew were set up to capture the event for the upcoming Ladbrokes bingo commercial which will soon see the footage edited to display the balls passing Liverpool landmarks such as St George’s Hall, the Steblel Fountain, the Liver Building and the Museum Steps. Ladbrokes’ Marketing Manager, Charlie Goodenough reported that his company was excited to carry out such a large-scale advertisement shoot and provide Liverpool citizens with some entertainment in the process.

M&S Saatchi were partnered with Ladbrokes to conceive the larger-than-life publicity stunt and have promised the inclusion of further edits depicting real-life renditions of bingo slang (such as the ‘two fat ladies’, ‘two little ducks’, ‘legs eleven’ calls and more). The advertising spot is intended for television use and is expected to begin regular rotation from mid-September onward.

Foxy Bingo Radio Broadcast Provides for UK Bingo Fans

Foxy Bingo is one of the best known online bingo clients available in the UK and has shown no sign of slowing down progress as aggressive marketing campaigns and continued improvements are added to their business strategy. With the Foxy Bingo Radio program, the company has shown marked determination to breach their audience even further by providing an entertaining accompaniment to the site for fans of the gaming client.

With celebrity guests such as “Albert Square” star, Leslie Grantham appearing on air alongside ongoing competitions it has become obvious that Foxy is concentrating on keeping fans at the site for more than just playing games. Karaoke nights (where listeners/members upload their own versions of popular songs) and short games are also available and provide listeners with reward opportunities ranging from £100 vouchers to supermarkets to £250 raffle prizes. Foxy’s radio offering is meant to accentuate the interests and needs of existing bingo fans and is being continuously developed as something much more than just a tacked-on service.

The company managers promise a continuation of solid, bingo-centered fare for their users which means that there should be no shortage of entertaining listening anytime soon. Foxy Bingo’s radio show can be listened to on Tuesday and Thursday nights through the official website.

Recent Study Suggests Smoking Bans Don’t Negatively Effect Bingo Revenue

With the recent problems facing UK, brick and mortar bingo halls many industry observers have been quick to point their fingers at a variety of causes with smoking bans often being the most heavily blamed. The publication of an American study has been making waves with its suggestion that this may not be at all true however.

The research in question was carried out through the University of Kentucky in the United States and was commissioned by the UK’s College of Public Health. The study demonstrated that, contrary to general opinion, smoking bans have actually not proved to be the only reason for a lack of business. Evidence was drawn from comparing financial figures before and after the instatement of smoking legislature across thirteen different Kentucky counties. Through comparing the data, officials were able to take the blame off of the introduction of new laws and defend their continued existence at North American and British charitable or private bingo halls.

Bingo halls may have other, bigger, more difficult problems to worry about then just anti-smoking laws as the study shows. Industry observers speculate that the loss of traffic on both sides of the ocean may stem from the rising popularity of other games and increasingly viable online venues which adversely affect the profits of physical halls.

Nuneaton Gala Bingo Hall Up for Grabs on Real-Estate Market - www.galabingo.com

The former Gala Bingo Hall in Nuneaton has recently been put back onto the real-estate market at a reduced price. After formerly offering the Hall at £1.5 million, bad negotiations and a financially concerned seller have currently set it at a decreased, £1.2 million price tag.

The Nuneaton Hall became a Gala Bingo venue in 1982 after spending the former part of the century as the Ritz Cinema. Since then it has attracted a large number of gaming fans which have slowly tapered off in recent years. As British bingo clubs have been hit by decreased attendance (in no small part due to smoking bans and the reduction of popular instant-win machines by law) Gala has been forced to close a large number of their venues and the historical Nuneaton Hall is only one of them. Financial difficulties led to Gala Bingo rationalizing their properties and selling off many lots, including the long-standing club at Nuneaton.

In the near future bingo fans will have to get used to the Nuneaton Gala Bingo Hall as something other than what it once was. The location is rumoured to become a restaurant, town hall, hotel or set of offices instead of the bingo club it has been for the past quarter of a century.

Economic Observers Predict Financial Boom for Online Bingo

Although the online bingo industry hasn’t been hurting for business in the last few years a recent study suggests that the near future may see an even bigger jump in profits for industry vendors. The continuation of trends which have led to economic prosperity in the first place are set to become even further amplified as additional factors are coming into play with increased prominence.

The much-publicized UK land-based bingo hall crisis has occurred as a direct result of stricter government regulation and an influx of players heading to their computers instead of their favourite, local hall. Most importantly however is that rising gas prices within North America and the snowballing effect of website after website opening are only projected to add fuel to the fire. As the industry continues to grow and players provide a sufficient reason for expansion the entire virtual bingo community has been speculated to receive massive industry growth.

This is good news for those already on board with online bingo but for the demographic still dismayed by closing halls it will seem like a continuation of hard times. Despite parliamentary promises of legislature reform in Britain, land-based bingo rooms are still reeling from a dramatic loss of business and an even bigger internet boom than in the past may act as the final blow to their livelihood.

Billionairio.Com Lays Down a Challenge to the UK Based National Lotteries

The rising popularity of raffle-style number game at online casino Billionairio.Com is quickly overtaking national lotteries at what has long been their own exclusive practice. With competitive jackpots and better odds than mainstream physical lotteries the majority of betters are flocking to the site in question rather than traditional options.

The
UK National Lottery, Powerball and Euro Millions are all examples of enormous lottery corporations which are quickly becoming dwarfed by the fierce competition offered at Billionairio.Com. With odds set at 1:1,000,000 for a €1 million prize compared to the National Lottery odds of 1:13,983,816 for the same reward it isn’t surprising that so many gamblers are heading to internet options instead of state-sponsored jackpots. Even at the lower stakes scale of purchase Billionairo players are able to enjoy far greater chances at a win than if they spent their money through the above companies.

Managing Director of
Billionairio.Com, Joseph Crivici is happy that more betters are finding out about the superior odds system but maintains that national lotteries probably will not see a dramatic decrease in business due to their competition. The average lotto player thinks little of odds and shops for convenience but at least the die-hards and those who do a bit of research before buying a ticket now have many superior options available to them.

William Hill Bingo Advertisement Banned in UK

The British Advertising Standards Authority has marked a William Hill Bingo ad as breaching the 2005 Gambling Act’s regulations. By having their television spot labeled as socially irresponsible William Hill has put itself into a position of bad publicity. The legislature established in past years has defined a series of criteria which gaming companies must adhere to in their marketing campaigns and the company has been deemed to have broken them in their most recent media offering.

UK television has recently been running the commercial in question but probably won’t be for much longer given the ASA’s verdict. The advertisement in question shows a woman anxiously waiting for her husband to leave for work and setting the clock ahead so she can rush to the computer and play William Hill online bingo. The Advertising Standards Authority has determined that such a depiction represents addictive gambling patterns where internet bingo play has to be hidden within a relationship.

While
William Hill countered by defending their work as nothing more than a funny play on a woman wanting to be left alone to enjoy herself the ASA doesn’t find the reply satisfactory. The legal body maintained that the advertisement was dangerous and could appeal in some way to addictive tendencies in many viewers.

Wink Bingo Offers Free Housecleaning for a Year through Contest


The latest reward in an ongoing series of promotions at
Wink Bingo has seen the successful company offer free housecleaning services to lucky winners at their site. It’s an unusual but attractive incentive for regular visitors and may ultimately drum up some extra traffic for the company.

Wink Bingo’s Super Cleaner reward started on Monday, the 11th August and runs until Thursday, August 28th at midnight. The promotion will see two lucky winners receiving four hours of housecleaning services per week for the duration of an entire year. Wink will enter the five most eligible contestants into a draw at the end of the contest period wherein the pair of winners will be randomly selected. The Super Cleaner prize is based on collections of points acquired by playing frequently at Wink, with the top five being drawn from those with the largest amounts. Players can rack up fifty points by emailing Wink and describing what they would do with their free time, sending a picture of themselves multi-tasking at home (by playing on Wink and cleaning) or by just logging on to bingo games regularly.

Aside from standard bingo play,
Wink is offering eligible points to users who join up with instant games or spot special promotional items (such as water, brooms or washing machines). The company has created an obviously targeted reward for their demographic of stay-at-home family members but anyone interested in the prize should be sure to start collecting points now.

Platinum Play Bingo Offers $100,000 Prize through BingoBallForLife.Co.UK

Platinum Play Bingo is offering something completely new to the industry with unparalleled user interaction and the chance to win $100,000. Through the new website, BingoBallForLike.Co.UK bingo fans will be able to express their love for the game in an entirely new manner.

Players will be able to register at the site and create their own
customizable bingo ball for gameplay. The service essentially seeks to spice up otherwise routine bingo fare with an innovative take on the lucky numbers that most fans have in mind during the game. After creating an account, BingoBallForLife allows new users to either pick their favourite digit straightaway or take a ‘bingology’ quiz which determines the best choice for them. The ball can be outfitted with various custom aspects such as facial features, hands, shoes, eyes, photos or other accessories to provide a unique and distinct look.

Perhaps the most exciting aspect of the platform is
BingoBallForLife’s decision to promote the system with $2,000 to $100,000 jackpots. After creating their personalized ball it becomes the player’s own and if a full-house is completed with this lucky number in it a $100,000 grand prize is awarded. The lowest jackpots start at $2,000 and increase as the reward goes unclaimed so fans interested in the idea should check out the site today and start designing.

Ladbrokes Reveal Plans to Give Their Bingo Site an Overhaul

Ladbrokes Bingo is one of the largest and most successful online bingo sites in the industry and to prove that they’re not taking it for granted a veritable face-lift has been announced for the service. The updates are promised to be much more than a new coat of paint as well with press releases hinting at the inclusion of extra features and exciting new additions to the existing fare.

Although the current site looks and plays well as it is Ladbrokes have reported new content, improved bonuses and a graphical overhaul to come very soon. The aim of the overhaul is to create a fresh look and even better functionality. Updates are meant to make content easier to find and access along with hosting a new colour scheme that should give long-time users a nice change of pace. Among the changes, Ladbrokes have revealed that users will be able to bypass the lobby to get straight into games and sort upcoming events by different criteria including jackpot size, style of play and more.

Keep checking back for further news regarding the Ladbrokes Bingo re-launch or try out the existing service for a taste of what the client has to offer at their foundation. Changes are set to be fully instated by mid-August at which time it will go live for user access.

UK Resident Wins First European Championship of Bingo

PaddyPower.Com’s first official European Championship of Bingo saw British contestant, Robert Robinson take home the title (and cash prize) and emerge triumphant among the enormous volume of players. Over six hundred Europeans vied for first place during the games which went above and beyond the participation which Paddy expected for their first try at such a large event.

Robinson hails from Nottinghamshire, England and told press that he spent a lot of time trying to qualify for entry into the European Championship. PaddyPower originally conceived the idea of a massive bingo tournament as a way to divert punter’s attention during English absence in the Euro 2008 football games.

While diehards may still have been watching feeds from the final games in Austria and Switzerland,
Robinson was busier working toward the June 29th championship. He now views the Euro outcome as a blessing in disguise and is quite happy that his attention was diverted away from football matches to bingo.

The grand prize rewarded
Robinson a Chevrolet Aero while other contestants received weekends in Paris, France, home makeovers, laptops, flat-screen televisions, or a year of free flights and bingo play. PaddyPower also announced that the European Championship of Bingo would be making a return next year due to wide-scale demand for the event.

Bingo Association Successfully Bans Camelot Advertisement

A recent advertisement for National Lottery operator, Camelot was banned after claims of denigration by the Bingo Association. Camelot attempted to assert the claim that they were merely trying to poke fun at their gaming competitors instead of attack the already injured bingo industry in a reputation damaging or insidious manner.

The advertisement depicts an elderly woman on a mobility scooter driving by a
closed bingo hall during a dreary, grey day and shaking her head in dismay. A scratching (meant to mirror an instant card) transitions to her moving a fancy, flame-throwing scooter up a sunny beach and smiling while she wears fancy new jewelry and clothing. The Bingo Association claimed that the advertisement was taking advantage of the hard times that clubs are already facing and showed players that their new option was to switch to National Lottery cards. As mentioned above, Camelot tried to reverse the notion that they were unfairly damaging bingo’s reputation by promoting claims that their ad was merely showing an early morning hall which hadn’t opened yet.

The
Advertising Standards Authority ultimately sided with the Bingo Association and concurred that the advertisement was an unfair indictment of bingo halls. With padlocked doors and the depressing atmosphere of the television spot they determined that the National Lottery was indeed trying to put forth the idea that bingo is a dying industry and banned the ad as misleading and unfair to businesses.

UK Holds Title of Biggest National Online Bingo Fans

It should come as no surprise that an examination of business trends have shown UK bingo players as the most devout fans of the game worldwide. The explosion of internet bingo even in light of physical bingo hall crises has maintained Britain’s title of the number one bingo playing nation.

A recent report shows that the
UK hosts the greatest industry growth (going from some seventeen online halls in 2004 to the present day establishment of 234 options for bingo fans) and holds the largest interest in the game internationally. The same study suggests that British ties to the population frequenting bingo halls as a favored pastime during war and economic hardships have lingered through generations so that the game continues to maintain such popularity today. Modern day bingo fans are often made up of a female demographic (between the ages of twenty-five and fifty) as advertising makes clear and the study explains this aspect of the trend by examining online bingo as an excellent pastime for stay-at-home mothers and wives.

With
online bingo being the most profitable area for online gambling in Britain now it seems that there is no real slowing to this trend in sight. The easy rules and relaxing style of play present in bingo aren’t going to change anytime soon and with internet options multiplying every day there are constant venues for UK fans to enjoy.

Good News Finally Arrives for UK Land-Based Bingo Industry

The troubles that have been plaguing British bingo halls may finally receive something of a reprieve in the near future due to a series of proposed changes to current legislature. After smoking bans, double-taxation laws and restrictions on the highly profitable jackpot machines combined to devastate the industry good news has been sparse for fledging bingo halls and the upcoming announcement at least holds some hope for the desperate.

Although full details of alleged alterations haven’t yet been revealed the
UK parliament has responded to cries for help from the Bingo Trade Association with the announcement that some positive change is on the way. Rumors are swirling regarding the possible lift of the current restrictions placed on the immensely profitable £500 Jackpot machines wherein limits will be based on venue size rather than an arbitrary number. This alone may be enough to keep the doors open on many halls across the UK and keep the business alive long enough for further planning.

Sports Minister Gerry Sutcliffe is set to reveal the extent of upcoming changes and industry observers are sure to be waiting for any news with bated breath. British government has promised help for land-based bingo halls and established that the official attitude is nearly unanimous regarding the game as an essential communal institution. Considering the grim situation currently facing the entire business practice any repeals to current laws may have arrived just in the nick of time.

Bingo Night Live’ Proves Itself a Hit for ITV

ITV’s gamble on providing a free-to-play television bingo program has apparently paid off as rating surveys reveal a growing fan base. The large jackpots and no-risk game entry is a great opportunity for bingo devotees resulting in the overall success of “Bingo Night Live”.

Players have been flocking to their computers during the broadcast in hopes of getting lucky enough to take home one of the enormous prizes. Even without entry costs those who tune in to “
Bingo Night Live” receive cards for 90-Ball games which carry a £2,500 prize for a full house (within thirty-three or less calls) along with £1,000 for complete cards during other nightly events. The Magic Number and Minute to Win It offerings fully round out ITV’s substantial and wholly complementary fare and keep British players excited for each new airing.

With the addition of new week-night hosts,
Jayne Sharpe and Anthony Crank the show demonstrates no sign of losing steam. The high-tech system set up to keep the show running smoothly and easy play all come together to make “Bingo Night Live” a hit for ITV and game fans both. In a time when physical bingo halls are in great danger for continued survival the television program may be the winning ticket needed to keep the bingo industry alive.

Review of Gala Bingo

We have just completed and uploaded our review of Gala Bingo here at Findabet.co.uk.

Gala Bingo is just about the largest UK online Bingo Hall, with an equally large amlunt of Physical Bingo Halls.

Gala is a brand which is synonomous with Bingo in the UK. They have recently signed Sharon Osbourne as the face of Gala Bingo and carried out some prime time television advertising to promote the brand.

Please
read our review of Gala Bingo or go straight ahead and play Gala Bingo today.

National Game Debt Forces ‘Caller of the Year’ Cancellation

Hard times for physical bingo halls continue to worsen with the news of the NBGA’s necessary cancellation of their annual ‘Caller of the Year’ event. Although some private companies are still going through with their smaller-scale iterations of the award (such as Gala Bingo’s similarly styled offering) this move dramatically illustrates the financial difficulties faced by the UK’s largest Bingo group.

The
NBGA title is a longstanding competition that seeks to drum up big interest in the game of bingo and ultimately serves as a necessity for keeping the industry healthy and exciting. Without this opportunity many of Britain’s best bingo callers will be forced to continue enduring difficult times where hall closures and lack of exposure keep job opportunities slim and chances for decent salaries within the occupation scarce.

Although there will be a definite lack of excitement for
bingo fans interested in the annual proceedings this fall, the NBGA has announced plans to come back for a future event which will attempt to funnel withheld finances into an even grander party. The debt that forced this year’s cancellation is hoped to be shortly resolved so the company can ensure that no such bad luck continues for players, fans and their business alike.

Review of the Foxy Bingo Online Bingo Hall



We have just uploaded our
review of Foxy Bingo here at Findabet.co.uk.

Foxy Bingo has been around since June 2005 and is a great name in the UK Bingo arena. This has been helped by over two million pounds worth of commercial advertising on peak time television as well as sponsorship of various celebrities such as Katie Price (Jordan) and Jeremy Kyle.

Please read our
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Crown Bingo Gives Back to the Community with Charity Play

During the month of May leading bingo company, Crown Bingo was able to hit the £1,000 mark in their fundraising efforts for charitable donations. Through extensive promotion of playtime set to provide financial aid for a variety of organizations bingo fans have been able to enjoy gaming while contributing to the community at the same time.

Crown Bingo raised money last month during a four-week campaign for BLISS, a UK-based charity which raises money for the treatment of premature babies. Half of the proceeds taken in by certain Crown bingo games were given to the organization along with gifts from the popular ‘Knit-a-Thon’ wherein members sent in hand-made items to further provide assistance. BLISS Chief Executive Andy Cole expressed the charity’s thankfulness for Crown’s work and the direction of attention toward their cause which needs as much support as possible.

In the past
Crown Bingo have set-up fundraising initiatives for other charities such as St. Oswald’s Hospice, the Variety Club and various cancer research programs (including events scheduled for June’s upcoming Male Cancer Awareness Month). The continuation of Crown’s efforts is a great way for players to pump up the company’s business and enjoy some bingo while simultaneously donating money to worthy charities.

UK Woman Vies for Title of Best Bingo Caller

Tracey Claire, a forty-four year old woman from Birmingham is ready to take on any competition in her attempt at gaining the title of Gala Bingo’s “Caller of the Year”. The Sutton Coldfield resident has been a star at the Stockland Green Gala hall and is the only female coming up against seven men in the finals.

Claire has been playing
bingo for over twenty years and calling for about seven. She was first introduced to the job when filling in for a sick co-worker. Still wearing her line-cook clothing, Claire took the stage and discovered her future career which she now does full-time to the enjoyment of players at the Stockland Green. Entry to the Gala Bingo Caller of the Year awards have all been made and now the participants are ready to be judged on criteria including presence on stage, interview technique and appearance.

The title will be decided by a panel of judges on June 29th at the Kingsbury Road
Gala in Birmingham. Supporters of their local participants are set to attend the competition to cheer on the local callers they know so well. Winners will receive a cash prize along with eligibility to audition for appearance as a star bingo caller on Gala TV.

Mecca Bingo Owners Receive Support from Malaysian Investor

Rank PLC, the company which owns and operates industry giant, Mecca Bingo have sold further shares of the enterprise to the Guoco group of Malaysia. The recent business transaction has meant that Guoco now owns 12.67% of Rank’s overall holdings and has further spurned rumors that a full-scale takeover may be in the cards.

Although
land-based bingo halls have been suffering in recent years, Mecca Bingo has still maintained a formidable presence as one of the premier online offerings, making the transition from traditional to virtual business seamlessly. The company’s ability to keep pace with the times along with the brand recognition which Rank enjoys in the UK means that their operations present an enticing option for foreign investors. Although for now this move only means an influx of funds for Rank’s business there have been members of the press who foresee larger implications for the future.

With
Guoco’s transaction London-based observers have continued to speculate that a bid may soon be placed to buy out Rank PLC entirely. This theory is further supported by the purchase of an 11% holding in the business by the Genting group, a fellow Malaysian company with interests in the online gaming industry. Whatever the case, players themselves should be able to take heart that Rank and Mecca Bingo itself are in no danger of losing funding anytime soon.

Birmingham Gala Bingo Hall Closes Doors

Mounting troubles have seen the Gala bingo hall in Birmingham finally announcing plans to close up shop in yet another example of escalating trouble for land-based arenas. The Great Barr club will shut down on June 23rd leaving seventeen employees without their jobs and a community without the social impact provided by the venue.

The high number of
bingo players who have chosen online services over physical halls due to smoking bans has meant a drastic decrease in financial viability. Coupled with continuing double taxation laws and the removal of big jackpot machines the Birmingham Gala has had no choice but to plan a complete shut down. Bingo has been hit most intensely of all the gambling options in the UK and the popular pastime is quickly becoming impossible to maintain through physical halls. Although the internet is presenting a great alternative for fans, the British Chancellor’s refusal to rectify issues surrounding heavy bingo taxation is being blamed by many as the primary factor making halls lose business.

Candover, Cinven and Permira, the private equity firm which owns Gala have expressed concern over the lost jobs and plan to attempt relocation (to neighboring Gala bingo halls) of those left disenfranchised. Last year alone thirty-seven bingo halls were forced to stop business and even more have closed as 2008 continues.

However, the
online Gala Bingo is doing fantastically well, so why not give them a try?

Melinda Messenger and Michael Underwood to Host New UK Bingo Show

British television station ITV has recently announced the addition of Bingo Night Live to their network. The program will feature free play and is hosted by celebrity callers Melinda Messenger and Michael Underwood.

The former model,
Messenger and TV personality, Underwood will present numbers and entertain viewers during the one hour show. Players can grab complimentary cards on the Internet prior to broadcast then play along as the two hosts announce winning numbers. The show will also feature innovative segments by statistics reporter Nichole Dixon who is able to report on winner patterns and other interesting facts or figures with her interactive map of the United Kingdom. Bingo Night Live is offering big jackpots and various other non-cash prizes which should keep players coming back to follow the events.

With the fate of Britain’s favourite game on the line during times of economic distress and
closing bingo halls this program could be just what the nation needs in order to revive interest. The free play and entertainment focused nature of the show should be more than enough to attract participants and keep them tuned in five nights a week. Bingo Night Live will air between Tuesdays and Saturdays at midnight on ITV1.

Bingo for Breakthrough Week Continues With National Game and Bingo Association Support

British bingo conglomerate the National Game has been supporting charitable donations for breast cancer research since 2003 and now plan to launch a continued effort along with the Bingo Association via the ‘Bingo for Breakthrough’ week slated for October.

The events are set to raise a substantial amount for research contributions as over four hundred
UK bingo halls participate in raising awareness and encouraging donations. Many of the biggest bingo companies have signed up in support including Gala, Mecca, Buckingham and Castle Bingo along with various others. As Britain’s favourite pastime rallies attention to their cause many celebrities have also pledged their assistance as well by offering donations such as autographed bingo cards. The National Game and Bingo Association’s partnership makes huge charitable action possible even in times of financial distress for the industry.

Bingo for Breakthrough’ will take place this October from the 19th through until the 25th and has the potential to raise a great deal of much needed money. Similar efforts resulting from the partnership of big bingo companies and breast cancer foundations have raised proceeds as large as £2.5 million with last year’s efforts alone amounting to an enormous £500,000 within the week.

Physical Bingo Halls in UK Suffer Financial Distraught

British gaming news has recently seen a drastically increased focus on the uncertain future of land-based bingo halls with every day bringing seemingly worse events. Several factors have contributed to this time of crisis and the combination of so many different drawbacks is quickly making the continuation of physical bingo halls a poor financial decision for many owners.

The withdrawal of
Gala Bingo from the National Game and the continuation of strict smoking bans have meant that physical bingo halls may quickly find themselves becoming things of the past. Combined with this, business owners have reported that double-taxation laws and the requisite cutback of £500 jackpot machines have significantly hurt their profits.

As the Guardian reported hundreds of
bingo clubs closing up over the past few years it also illustrated the social impact which have resulted from this. Over three million Brits frequent bingo halls but even with such a dedicated support base the lack of profits is becoming too much for club owners to compensate for.

As
online bingo sites continue to fare well many players may find that the closure of physical halls is quickly coming to represent a potent sign of a dying time. The example set by Gala Bingo is only one which shows that the cost of maintaining a real contribution to the land-based community may be unwise for a company which could divert its funds into an equitable website offering.

Gala Bingo Announces Withdrawal from the National Game

Industry leaders, Gala Bingo have been making big news lately with their controversial decision to withdraw from Britain’s National Game, a mainstay of the bingo community that sees one third of its jackpots coming from the now removed company.

The
National Game occurs twice a day all throughout the year (excluding only Christmas Day) and was conceived in 1986 as a means of drumming up business for all bingo halls across the nation. By retracting their participation Gala has understandably upset many of those who have counted on their support for more than twenty years and detractors have since accused the corporation of being overly selfish. With more than three million British citizens frequenting the National Game in the past this move may raise significant outcry. The remaining contributors are in doubt as to whether the historical promotion will still be able to function with such an enormous part of its funding now knocked out.

While
Gala Bingo is probably more concerned about their own company interests than the National Game this may hold larger implications for the future of the industry. As smoking bans hold some fans of the game back from halls the end of physical bingo play may be approaching. Other companies may choose to tighten their online interests in lieu of supporting the National Game in the future as well which could very well mean the closure of a great deal of bingo halls and the end of an era in the games history.

58 Year Old Man Wins Big at National Bingo

A fifty-eight year old man has recently won a life-changing £410,000 from National Bingo while playing at Camberwall’s Gala Bingo. The winner is married with two-children and wished to remain anonymous after taking home the enormous payout last Saturday.

His plans for the money are practical as his press quote lists paying off his mortgage and providing for his two son’s university education as the first orders of business for the new funds in his bank account. The man stated that he usually played
bingo at Gala Bingo in Crystal Palace and had made that hall his home since the 1970s but due to an extremely fortunate turn of events he went to the Camberwall venue after a day shopping in Brixton.

Through a combination of the
National Bingo game prizes and the Camberwall Gala Bingo’s house reward the winner was able to cash out for such a large prize after only forty-one numbers were called. His decision to call house with the number 90 won the most substantial portion of the earnings, the National Bingo attached Platinum prize of £343, 39. The courier driver and his family are lucky to have easy minds now in light of the UK-wide financial crises with their story set to inspire many more hopefuls toward online bingo halls.

Review of Virgin Bingo

Virgin Bingo
We have just completed our
review of the Virgin Bingo site.

Virgin Bingo is operated by the Virgin Brand, which was founded by Richard Branson. Virgin Bingo brings with it the trusted Virgin Brand as well as the ability to win various Virgin goodies such as Air Miles which you can use with Virgin Atlantic.

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Also, if you missed our
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Crown Bingo Theme Park Promotion

Crown Bingo may day promo win theme park tickets

Crown Bingo are running a Bank Holiday Monday Promotion to win tickets to a UK based Theme Park.

The Theme parks you could win tickets for are:

- Alton Towers
- Drayton Manor
- Chessington World of Adventure
- Thorpe Park
- Legoland

All you have to do it to
play in Bingo Room 2 on the 5th of May between 1800 and 2100. The winner will be the full house winner in the games nearest to each hour.

Good luck and enjoy playing
online bingo at Crown Bingo!

Online Bingo to be the Focus of New Acquisitions

As online bingo continues to skyrocket in popularity gambling corporations have centered more attention toward profiting from the trend. Aldgate Capital was recently the focus of a study by Clarion Gaming who found that the UK centered company is rumored to be gearing up for a move that could see £150 million invested toward Internet bingo acquisitions.

Online casinos have continued to benefit from the explosion of virtual casinos and were shown to have a 19% rise in overall traffic by UK players from 2006 to the present. With the recent smoking-ban and the implementation of a double-taxation law within physical casinos reporters have witnessed no signs of online devotees slowing their new commitment to playing from the computer. In fact the comfort of home and furthering restrictions on land-based casinos could accelerate growth in all aspects of virtual gambling.

If Aldgate’s business venture is carried out successfully it will be no surprise to see
online bingo continue to prosper as a major facet of Internet casinos, even emerging as a game to contend with the popularity of poker. The company is a strong force in the UK gaming economy and their rumored action could spark even further interest in the near future.

Online Bingo on the Rise in the UK

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Online bingo is increasing in popularity through the United Kingdom as a recent poll has recently shown. Bingoport.co.uk has released data collected by their server demonstrating that within the last six months online bingo has steadily been gaining players.

Although this trend should not come as much of a surprise to those who frequent
online casinos or care to watch the growth and decline of certain Internet games the poll does offer optimism to virtual casinos offering bingo to their customers.

Online bingo has been a mainstay on many Internet gambling sites but is often overshadowed by the immense popularity of Internet poker which has increased significantly in recent years. The British portal site Bingoport has monitored users accessing online bingo since September and has witnessed a 19 percent increase in traffic directed toward the game, a rise in player rates that means online bingo is set to become even more popular with time.

Scott Logan, the managing director of
Bingoport.co.uk took the news as a matter of fact, acknowledging that his company anticipated the drastic increase of online bingo players as merely a matter of time. Only time will tell if this raise in bingo enthusiasts will continue but for now this news should provide optimism to Internet sites specialising in the game.