Bingo News: May 2008 Archives

As reported by onlinebingo.net on the 30th - ITV1 has confirmed it will air a new regular late-night free-to-play bingo television show from this coming Wednesday. Melinda Messenger will front the new show. Bingo Night Live, will be hosted by Melinda Messenger and Michael Underwood, it is effectively a replacement for the channels Play TV block.  In theory I guess they need to replace those lost revenues.

ITV are set to launch free bingo on the TV this summer in an effort to win back the confidence of it's viewers after the telephone scandal that saw viewers calling into enter competitions when the winners had already been chosen. ITV Bingo is already up and running online but this is a new concept for ITV.

A trip to the loo some four years ago proved lucky for one Gala Bingo member on Sunday night after she won £187,000 at the Platinum play offs. The lady from Cosworth only started playing bingo after she had to visit the toilet there four years ago because "the one at Matalan was closed". She then decided that she really enjoyed playing bingo.

Yesterday I wrote about how one of the William Hill Bingo TV adverts had been banned because it was deemed to condone "socially irresponsible" gambling. This isn't the first time that bingo advertising has been under fire, not so long about it was Paddy Power with their campaign that used the slogan "Who says you can't make money being short" The Advertising Standards Agency felt this campaign was indicative of "increasing sexual prowess".

For some reason I've been strangely drawn to Swedish online bingo sites recently, could it be that I'm being pushed? As a result of my new found interest the story of NetEnertainment and Bertil appealed to me - watch out for my cheering on Sweden in Group D of Euro 2008!

First news is another big online bingo slot winner and this time it's a player from online bingo site Bingos UK. The lucky player, Rachet666, spun in a win of £109,003.87 on the slot game Bring Home the Bacon .This slot is played at many online bingo sites including Paddy Power Bingo, Bingo Boogie and Prime Time Bingo to name just a few. The slot game itself is a 9 pay line and 5 reel game that also holds a bonus round.

Recently I wrote about the new advertising campaign by William Hill Bingo that included a few different takes on the same theme and today I bring you news that one of the set has been banned by the Advertising Standard Agency (ASA) for advocating "socially irresponsible" gambling. According to the ASA their online bingo advert implied that the woman couldn't wait to play bingo or that she had to keep it secret from her husband.

Online bingo was the furthest thing from mind this Bank Holiday as I spent it landscaping the garden, ok, so I lie like a cheap watch - the hubby spent the weekend landscaping the garden whilst I merely caught some rays and supervised. I did have a quick look to see if there was any breaking news in my absence but it would appear that the bingo news took a break too over the Bank Holiday weekend.

How do you fancy being crowned European Bingo Champion 2008? Or fancy driving away in a brand spanking new Chevrolet Aveo? If either appeals to you then you need to get yourself along to Paddy Power Bingo throughout June and take part in the qualifiers for the final taking place on 29th June 2008 to see the first EVER European Bingo Champion crowned.

Agyness Deyn, reported to be the new Kate Moss prefers a night at bingo then a heavy night drinking and dancing at a night club according to her mates. One of her friends is reported as saying "A few shandies and marking off her bingo numbers is her idea of a good night out" - could the bingo call for the number 10 change from Gordon's Den to Agy's Den?

Reported in The Mirror.co.uk on Saturday 24th May 2008

This piece of news is quite close to home for me, geographically speaking not because I steal to fund a bingo habit but because I'm a Dorset lass. A 63 year old woman from Bournemouth has been jailed for 10 months after stealing nearly £80,000 from the law firm she worked for to fund a gambling habit. Suzanne Orton, a solicitor's wife, admitted to four charges of theft from her firm between 4th February 2005 and 17th February 2006.

Last Saturday evening at their local bingo hall could have ended really badly for one group of friends as one started to choke during a bingo session at Bryons Bingo and was refused a glass of water by staff. Valerie Hicking, her sister Betty Barton and their friend Linda James where enjoying a game of bingo at the hall when Betty started to choke. Linda, despite having a bad knee, ran to the food counter to get a glass of water for her friend.....

Big news this morning in the fight against the double taxation on bingo, the Rank Group, owners of Mecca Bingo, have won a claim that some of the VAT tax they have paid on some bingo games are unfair. £36.3 million of VAT to be exact! A VAT and Duties Tribunal found that VAT levied against "interval bingo" violated European Union Law.

What more could you want as a birthday present than a £63,000 bingo win! Well that's exactly what happened to one lucky lady at her local Mecca Bingo club just six days before she turned 73! The woman from Harlow in Essex scooped the house prize of £140, the regional prize of £3,020 and the National Prize of £60,340 by calling house in just 36 bingo calls.

First big news today is that Gala Bingo are to withdraw all 162 clubs from the National Bingo game! The reason behind this is that they want to concentrate on their High 5 game. Could this move put the National Bingo Game in jeopardy? According to the report in The Times Online it could put the future of the game in doubt as it is the main funding source of the Bingo Association. Watch this space!

First in the news today is another big winner at land bingo, a 58 year old man from Upper Norwood hit the big money at his local Gala Bingo club in Camberwell with a win of over £410,000. Now that's not pocket change is it? He was lucky enough to call full house on the National Bingo game in just 41 calls, the lowest number throughout all the clubs taking part.

One Pontypool pensioner seems to have formed a close relationship with Lady Luck this year after winning £1,000 earlier this year only to then scoop more than £26,000 in the same Mecca Bingo Club in Cwmbran. The lucky winner has been playing bingo for many of her 77 years and originally played at her local Mecca Bingo hall in Pontypool until its closure forced her to switch to the club in Cwmbran where she now plays four times a week.

Firstly some boring financial news about online bingo site Bingo.com. I say boring because I much prefer to read (and write) about the players being winners. Today saw Bingo.com announce their first quarter financial results and their CEO, Tarnie Williams, says "Our first quarter for 2008 was a strong one for Bingo.com. Our revenue has increased whilst our costs have decreased. We have seen many new real money players join our site in the first quarter."

As with many of the online bingo sites using the Virtue Fusion software Ladbrokes Bingo currently only hosts the 90 ball bingo game. However the 1st June will see all this change with the introduction of 75 ball bingo. 75 ball bingo is traditionally the American game of bingo but is proving a big hit with the British bingo players too and this is a wise move by Ladbrokes Bingo.

Let's start off with the news that a Gala Bingo worker from Banbury has been jailed after stealing £16,000 from her employers. 28 year old Emma Meechan from Banbury managed to use the Buzzcard system to her gain after she noticed that some of the cards had mistakenly been loaded with £167,000 after a computer error. This isn't the first theft at this club as one manager, Colin Ricalton, stole £23,000 and had been sentenced at a previous hearing.

Without fail every week I receive my personal email from the Foxmeister himself, he likes to touch base with me you know - ok so I lie like a cheap watch, it's the newsletter from Helen Rooney the Bingo Manageress at Foxy Bingo with tantalising news about the preparations for Foxy's 3rd Birthday which falls in June, as well as news about the latest happenings at Foxy Bingo.

I thought I would change the way I bring you bingo news and I'm hoping the boss approves! We'll know soon enough if I'm not here next week! Rather than do several bingo news posts a day I will endeavour to give you a news round up daily - oh this could be like John Craven's Newsround, but it's more Betty Pandora's Blog.

Foxy Bingo has always been known for its great offers at its online bingo site but if you become a member of their bingo forum then you are in with a chance of winning some other great prizes too.

Recently they ran a competition with a pair of Corioliss Hair Straighteners worth £125 and all forum members had to do was post a picture of their bad hair day on the forum.

Although PartyGaming PLC have been letting their bingo software out to all and sundry (ITVBingo, FriendsReunited Bingo and Emmerdale Bingo) the site that is the cream of the crop is definitely Party Bingo and if you visit their online bingo site in May you will come across some great bingo promotions.

888 Ladies Bingo, fronted by funny man Vic Reeves, have a great promotion running from Friday 9th  May until Sunday 25th May 2008 with some superb prizes up for grabs for not one, not two but FOUR lucky main prize winners but it doesn't stop there - three runners up will take away a fabulous prize as well!

The last bingo hall in Harrogate may be about to call "house" for the last time according to a report in the Harrogate Advertiser. Plans have been unveiled that could see the Lucky Numbers bingo hall in Skipton Road turn into a block of flats. The bingo hall was originally a theatre and then after the Great War it became a cinema so it has always been a building renowned for entertainment, demolishing it to build a block of flats will kill the history.

May 2nd 2008 saw yet another blow for bingo when the Government rejected calls, yet again, to scrap the double taxation on bingo. The petition submitted to Downing Street calling for the end to the double taxation levied against bingo held over 2000 signatories but the Government simply responded saying "We do not believe there is a tax solution".

A technical glitch at an online bingo site proved to be a money spinner for one online bingo player as the prize money showing contained a couple of extra 0's then it should have. The game prize should have read £500 but an error in the back office meant the game showed a prize pool of £50,000!

I wasn't surprised to read later that Foxy Bingo honoured the payment and the lucky winner "tracey1801" is now £50,000 richer thanks to the best online bingo site, Foxy Bingo.

Have you ever played online bingo at the Daily Express Bingo site? Now is the month to try it if your answer is no and let me tell you why. In previous months the no deposit welcome bonus was £10, but now it's a huge £25 free to all new players.

Scot Bingo have a great promotion running at their online bingo site this May Bank Holiday with prizes of sets of tickets to some of the best theme parks in the UK up for grabs.