Anyone for celebrity TV bingo?

Over the last 6 months or so I’ve noticed a distinct trend in the marketing policies of various online bingo halls that is taking them away from celebrity endorsements. We’ve seen Foxy Bingo can its association with Katie Price, Sharon Osbourne no longer fronts Mecca Bingo and Kerry Katona’s ongoing real life troubles has seen her online bingo profile diminished.

There is now a debate amongst online bingo games operators as to the benefits of shelling out for a celebrity endorsement and, as things get tough in the real economy, some are content to simply market their services via more traditional service to customer models.

However, in the world of TV bingo celebrities such as Greg Scott, Jim Bowen and comedians Cannon and Ball have been signed up as presenters in the upcoming Celebrity TV Bingo program that will air daily on Sky Channel 847 in the UK as part of the www.bingos.com brand.

It will be interesting to see how this develops and if celebrity power will attract a significant proportion of the free online bingo playing market. It will be even more interesting to see if celebrities really know their bingo.

Written by Bingo Lady

Is US gambling in a slow down?

A new by New York-based Moody’s Investors Service is telling us that there are several factors combining with the “economic slowdown and possibility of a long-term, consumer-based recession” which will cause a negative impact on the US gambling industry –including the online gambling industry which was so badly affected by the implementation of UIGEA.

From the report’s author:

“Declining disposable income of potential customers and increasing travel costs are lowering overall visits and spending per visit in many gaming markets,” said Keith Foley, Moody’s vice president and senior credit officer.

For the discerning online bingo games operator, the part about increasing travel costs causing players to stay at home screams ‘opportunity!’ Moving to an online solution for their gaming needs is the obvious trend here facing the overall gambling industry.

However, the fly in the ointment is the obstacle of UIGEA which stops us UK-based online bingo halls from operating in the US market. Until this heinous piece of legislation disappears, we’re not going to see any major uptick in dealing with US customers.

So what is the state of things?

Online bingo industry observers will be aware of efforts in the US to change the emphasis away from criminalizing online gambling and instead looking for ways to regulate the industry which would lead to tax revenue benefits. With the threat of a major recession hanging over their heads, I hope, along with the rest of the bingo online community, that US legislators will see the sense of this.

In an ironic way, a possible downturn in the US overall gambling industry may be one of the major sparks in convincing US legislators to scrap UIGEA.

Written by Bingo Lady

UK mum claims the biggest bingo win

UK land-based bingo is all abuzz over what may be the world’s biggest bingo win after a Hamilton woman landed £1.2 million at her local club.

Hamilton mum Soraya Lowell called a full house while playing at the Club 3000 bingo hall in Coatbridge, Lanarkshire, and won the National Bingo Game’s Platinum Jackpot.

Lowell immediately said she would be splitting her winnings with her bingo partner Agnes O’Neill. In a statement to the Daily Record she said: “We always share whatever either of us wins and this time will be no different.”

Soraya’s win of £1,167,795, tops the previous bingo record win of £1.1million by Christine Bradfield last January.

Despite a troubled time for land-based bingo clubs with many patrons turning to online bingo games and online bingo halls as an alternative, the latest huge win should provide a boost for an industry still reeling from a recently imposed smoking ban and double taxation.

Written by Bingo Lady

Good full year results posted by Bwin

Austrian online gaming and online bingo giant Bwin has released favourable full year 2007 results, an indication that the company has weathered the effects of the loss of both the US and Turkish markets due to anti-gambling legislation.

Gross gaming revenues rose 24.9%t to Euro 102.3 million. Bwin also reported that its European membership growth rose to 894 000 active and 234 000 new active real-money customers in 2007.

Bwin is currently embroiled in a court action aimed at overturning a recent German online gambling law which will limit online gaming to state-run monopolies. A recent setback in the legal action in favour of the state monopolies saw Bwin shares take an 8% hit, though the court case is ongoing.

Bwin is primarily a sportsbetting and online poker company with a growing interest in online bingo games. The Central European market is not a noted free online bingo market with growth mainly being seen in the Scandinavian countries outside of the established UK online bingo hall industry.

Written by Bingo Lady

Buckingham Bingo

The state of the UK land-based bingo industry has been put into sharp focus in a Clarion Gaming report based on a Financial Times story.

"The Financial Times says the details of private equity firm Alchemy Partners' £100 million buy-out of Buckingham Bingo will hinge upon negotiations with Barclays, Alchemy's main creditor.

Alchemy is said to have two options: inject more equity into the business to cut debt levels or write off its £60 million equity investment, which would give control of Buckingham Bingo to Barclays.

Other private equity firms could find themselves in similar positions as the companies they acquired at peak valuations but high debt begin to suffer reduced earnings in the economic slowdown.

Buckingham and other bingo operators are additionally hurt by last year's smoking ban and changes to gambling laws and tax levels.

"The company is still profitable, but we have seen a step down in attendance and profits are down in line with the rest of the sector," said Jon Moulton, head of Alchemy.

"If you can find a bingo group doing well, we would like to see it."

In stark contrast, the online bingo industry has shown steady growth and is considered one of the fastest growing niches in the online gaming industry. Bingo online has benefited by a steady stream of new players joining online bingo halls as land-based bingo halls face increasing concerns they may have to close.

Written by Bingo Lady

Whising You all Happy Easter

It’s Easter! And I’m going to concentrate on winning at least one of the myriad prizes you can find by taking a trip down Bingo Street. For me it’s a time to be an online bingo player, to play online bingo games and to catch up with old friends at my favorite online bingo halls.

In short, instead of writing about free online bingo, I’m going to spend some time playing online bingo! Time to recharge the batteries and all that,… and I’m looking forward to it immensely.

So one and all have a great Easter and I’ll see you back after the break!

Written by Bingo Lady

Facebook and the Feds

The US government went after online gambling and online bingo in a big way with its Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) and caused untold damage to the law-abiding businesses involved in the industry as a result. Now its seems it’s the turn of community websites like Facebook which are now on the FBI’s radar for possible online betting violations.

A Computerworld has reported that so-called March Madness office pools on social networks have caught the attention of the FBI. “There could be a violation if there’s a payout and if the operators take a cut,” an FBI spokesman said according to the report.

Really? Seriously? Doesn’t the FBI have better things to investigate than March Madness pools?

Note to potential Facebook fugitives – try online bingo games instead. Bingo online is the most community online gaming experience out there and UK online bingo halls are the safest bet in bingo.

Big win at Wink Bingo good for online bingo

I like hearing news about people winning in online bingo. The recent win of Wink Bingo’s £10,000 Guaranteed Jackpot by one Joelybay marks a first in the industry and I hope it means we’ll see more of this type of innovation in other online bingo halls.

The concept of a £10,000 Guaranteed Jackpot is as simple as it is attractive to online bingo players. Each month on the 10th, at 10pm GMT, Wink Bingo gives away £10,000 Guaranteed. Cards are £1 each and each player can buy up to 24 cards. In an innovation unique to Wink Bingo, players can even pre-buy cards anytime before the game.

I’ll let Joelybay explain what it means to take part and win in a £10,000 Guaranteed Jackpot:

Never slept a wink that night and I don’t think it has actually sunk in yet! My young son is getting a nintendo wii and the rest will be spent on a luxury holiday for the family after a good shopping spree.

May I wish all the players the best of luck for 10 April because if I can win it anyone can!!

Many thanks to Wink Bingo for this fantastic boost to my life.

Best Wishes

Joelybay

Well done Joelybay. We’re just glad that you found your way to Wink Bingo via Bingo Street. Best of luck in your future online bingo games action.

Written by Bingo Lady

Should UK online bingo halls take payment in US$?

While it’s technically illegal to accept payment from US-based online bingo players in US$ thanks to UIGEA, it’s not illegal to accept US$ from other eligible players. But is the current massive slide in the value of the US$ a cause for concern amongst online bingo games operators?

Of course, the issue only applies to prices denominated in US$ and few UK online bingo halls outlay prices in that currency. However, there is still the issue of what it means for customers who have to pay in US$ - and there are still enough of them out there to warrant attention.

There is no doubting that the US$ is collapsing with little relief in sight and many currency analysts are projecting continued losses. It is therefore logical to assume that in order to minimize losses to their margins, online bingo operators are going to have to adjust their US$ denominated prices higher to compensate.

Unfortunately this means passing on the loss to those players having to make payment in US$ - so what’s an online bingo hall to do?

As a suggestion, it might be wise promoting ‘bulk’ buying by US dollar-based customers to hedge against the loss of their US$’s value. In the long run this would be better for the players and better for the operators if the US$ continues to slide. The player gets a store of bingo product wealth and the operator’s cash flow is enhanced. The key, it would seem, is in convincing the players that their bingo purchases will maintain value a lot longer than the sorry state of the US$.

Written by Bingo Lady

Budget a slap in the face for land-based bingo?

It’s all wailing and nashing of teeth for the teetering land-based bingo industry in the aftermath of the UK budget – they will not be getting a reprieve from paying a ‘double tax’. The land-based industry blames this tax, along with a smoking ban for its current travails. In the meantime online bingo halls continue to grow and thrive.

For the online bingo games operators in the UK, things remain largely unchanged, a fact most operators will be pleased about. If there is any cause for concern it will be the Chancellor’s projection that economic growth will slow. This will result in possible reduced spending by online bingo punters as the economy contracts.

It’s going to be tough for the land-based bingo industry to rebound from this – they had put a lot of hope in a tax change. Unfortunately they seem to have been hit by a double whammy in the form of an increase in amusement machine license duty. When all said and done, it seems a whole lot less complicated to be an online bingo operator.

Written by Bingo Lady

All eyes on Gala

It will be interesting to see how things develop at Gala Coral, the gaming company behind mainstay online bingo hall Gala Bingo, now that reports in the UK media are claiming that sources have revealed the company has lost half its value.

I think a word of caution needs to be added here considering that we don’t have the full story yet, but confirmation by the company that it is in talks to re-negotiate its lending agreements does not bode well.

The news, if it turns out to be true, is also a warning to the online bingo industry and free online bingo operators in general that complacency is to be avoided. While I do believe bingo online can see out a lot of the recessionary fears currently stalking the larger economy, it still remains crucial that we keep our wits about us and continue to provide the best online bingo games service we can.

Written by Bingo Lady

Why banks may be the key to ending UIGEA

A report by the American Banking Association (ABA) that is negative on the current Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) makes at least three key points on why UIGEA is unenforceable. Quoting from the report:

“(1) the definition of unlawful Internet gambling in the Prohibition leaves the vague definition of the Act uncured and therefore renders compliance virtually impossible;

“(2) the intractable problem of identifying or intercepting cross-border gambling activities and tainted correspondent relationships has not been adequately solved by the proposal; and

“(3) the uncertain standard for knowledge that triggers blocking is too indefinite to be practically operative.”

UK online bingo halls and operators of online bingo games in the US were badly hit by the arrival of UIGEA late in 2006 and, quite frankly, we would all like to see it go away as soon as possible. What the banks are saying through the ABA is that they are very dubious of having to become the virtual police force responsible for enforcing UIGEA. This is what the proposed UIGEA regulations imply will be the case.

For the bingo online industry, it’s quite significant that the financial sector may turn out to be our best bet for a return to the US market and the dismantling of UIGEA. Let’s hope they stick to their guns and continue to resist this destructive piece of legislation.

Written by Bingo Lady

Online bingo must adapt to economic downturn

With world economic headlines starting to paint a dreary picture of a global economy sliding into recession, many investors and online gaming operators may feel a little more optimistic than some secure in the knowledge that so-called ‘sin’ investments such as gambling are usually considered recession proof.

However, this should not alter the fact for many online bingo games operators and online bingo halls an economic downturn does not alter the fundamentals to running a successful online bingo game. Complacency is not the game to play when online bingo players may be contemplating cutting back on their online spending.

So what’s in it for your average UK online bingo player to play at your online bingo site? This I think is the fundamental question every online bingo operator should be asking at this time. A look at what the competition is doing is probably a good place to start and Bingo Street is an excellent resource to search this out.

On the upside, and in the face of a probable economic downturn, it’s still good to be one of the few industry blogs that can actually report on positive developments. Long may this continue.

Written by Bing Lady

Count on Rank to be dropping balls for some time to come

Claims by UK gaming company Rank that its bingo operations should stabilize as the year unfolds will be some comfort to those fans of its Mecca Bingo brand. Mecca Bingo is a major name on the land-based bingo scene and also enjoys one of the more recognizable brands in online bingo.

While Mecca Bingo’s online bingo games operations should easily weather the current downturn being experienced by the land-based bingo sector, it remains to be seen if Rank fully turns things round over the course of the year. The company referred to the next 12 months as ‘challenging’, and given the current world economic mood I would say that their assessment is an accurate one.

However, being a gaming company, Rank can hold out hope based on an old investors lore that ‘sin’ stocks are usually a good bet in an economic turndown. Traditionally, gambling is seen by investors as being in the same company as alcohol and tobacco stocks which usually do well during times of stress. I think we can safely bet on the Mecca online bingo hall being around for some time yet.

Written by Bingo Lady

Online bingo summit

A nod of thanks is due to the good kind people at Eyesdownbingo.com for their early notice on the upcoming Third Online Bingo Summit to be held in June. For those interested (and think this applies to any UK-based online bingo games operator) in attending this event, it will be held at the Royal Garden Hotel in Kensington on June 17th and 18th.

I noticed in the Eyesdownbingo announcement that a number of major online bingo halls will be addressing the summit on a range of subjects concerning the marketing and promotion of bingo online. I for one will be most interested to hear their views on strategies for entering into new markets as the current protectionist issues with many European Union nations are one of the bigger challenges facing online bingo today.

In the face of the considerable damage done by the loss of the US market thanks to UIGEA, it’s been obvious that the more enterprising online bingo halls have been pursuing a strategy of market diversification to compensate. Coupled with this is the growing trend towards industry consolidation in which a number of bingo games online operations have been bought and merged with some of the larger online gaming operators in the industry. I’m sure we will hear some interesting views on these issues at this summit.

Written by Bingo Lady