Mecca Bingo Hits Rock

Those who enjoy a flutter, whether it involves £1,000 roulette chips, a £5 bet on the horses or a tenner spent during a night at the bingo, will make other sacrifices before giving up their habit if money becomes tight. Unfortunately for Rank, its bingo halls have run up against a far more powerful addiction - smoking.

Bingo may be a great social event, adored by millions of (mainly) women, but if you stop them from puffing on a fag while they check their numbers, the pleasure is far less intense.

Rank was far too slow to anticipate just how damaging a cigarette ban would be, despite knowing full well that its customers are twice as likely to smoke than the general population.

Its solution is to frantically set up outside gaming areas, complete with environmentally-unfriendly heaters and ugly cage structures to separate the bingo queens from Joe Public. There is just a slight problem. We are in the middle of a rather chilly winter.

The prospect of sitting in a glorified bus shelter is not enough to tempt people away from the comfort of their living room where there is easy access to a kettle, tin of biscuits and computer for playing online.

Bingo-lovers may be passionate about their game, but they are not desperate. A night out is supposed to be fun, not an endurance test.

If Rank really wants to win its customers back it needs to invest in imaginative semi- enclosed, semi- outdoor gaming halls that offer a bit of glamour and theatre.

Unfortunately, it can't afford to. Just when capex ought to be stepped up, it is having to be reined back so Rank doesn't fall foul of the bank manager. .