Bingo News: July 2008 Archives

Yet another online bingo television advert is under scrutiny by the ASA and this time it's the turn of Ladbrokes Bingo. The advert in question is the one from Ladbrokes Bingo that depicts a man scrutinising a car part whilst his wife looks on rather bored. I think this advert was one I picked apart in a previous article.

Was it really just two weeks ago that the Platinum Play Bingo Ball for Life promotion launched? It seems more than that to me but according to a press release I was reading today it really has just been two weeks since online bingo site Platinum Play Bingo launched this bingo promotion.

Do you have £1.2 million floating around or stored under your mattress? If you do then you might be interested in making a purchase of an old Gala Bingo hall in Nuneaton. The building has come back up for sale after the previous buyer of this old Gala Bingo hall pulled out due to "abortive negotiations" according to the Coventry Telegraph.

Recently The Boss bought you details of Sun Bingo parting ways with Tombola as a software platform and of course being part of the same newspaper group means that News of the World Bingo will be leaving too - personally I think it is a huge mistake for both online bingo sites. Tombola has to be one of the best platforms available and moving to Jackpot Joy is suicide in my opinion.

I wrote a while back about the influx of online bingo sites launching on the St Minver Network and now I'm about to tell you about one that is closing its doors. Angel Bingo have made the decision to close play at their online bingo site according to an email I received today but there is no hint as to why this decision has been reached.

A couple of days ago I received an email from Wink Bingo informing me that they are reducing their welcome bonus at their online bingo site to all new players at Wink Bingo on 1st August 2008.

What used to be called Think Bingo Plus has now become Think Bingo Cosy and according to a press release from onlinebingo.co.uk they were the first to review the site. So hey, looks like I am playing catch up with onlinebingo.co.uk today. The press release however does not explain the name change and I can't understand why the change of name - Think Bingo Plus - Think Bingo Cosy - what's the difference?

Isle of Man based Microgaming have just been given a licence for their bingo product from Malta granted by the Lotteries and Gaming Authority (LGA). Bingo is the latest addition to the Microgaming platform and bingo sites like Dream Bingo, Platinum Play Bingo, All Bingo Club and 32Red Bingo have all chosen the Microgaming software for their online bingo sites.

Rumours are making the rounds via the Bingo blogsphere on the recent news of The Sun Bingo move from Tombola. One site in particular which has our trust due to their impartial approach and honest opinions on online bingo believes the move is going to come as a bit of a shock for current SunBingo players.

We received this last night on our Sun Bingo Players Account.  It seems The Sun have decided to move away from one of the best bits of online bingo software around. Tombola, to go for a new as yet unknown option.  It could be like Ladbrokes Bingo and William Hill Bingo if the Sun Bingo have decided to go for Virtue Fusion software or similar.  Watch this space. 

Although All Bingo Club is a fairly new online bingo site they have wasted no time in listening to what their online bingo players want. A firm favourite would appear to be another bingo room at All Bingo Club and this is exactly what the site have done. The new room to launch at All Bingo Club is called the Sunshine Room.

Have you been trying to access your favourite online bingo site today? Had a few issues? There has been a power failure in Gibraltar meaning all the bingo sites that are hosted on the servers out there have been bought to their knees while the powers that be in the electric company pile in a few more 50p pieces into the machine!

How shocked was I this morning to read that my favourite television advert for online bingo had come under scrutiny by the Advertising Standards Agency! The advert for Foxy Bingo had come under scrutiny after one viewer suggested the advert may appeal to younger children as the main character, the Foxmeister, is a FOX! I feel very strongly about this issue after all the Foxmeister is my bingo hero!

Recently the Government agreed to increase the number of high payout gaming machines in a bingo hall dependant on the size of the bingo club and today I have been reading about a Gala Bingo hall and a Shipleys Amusement hall who have applied to separate their premises in order to be able to increase the number of these machines in their premises.

It would seem that the changes being made on many online bingo sites are being led by market leaders Foxy Bingo as more and more bingo sites change their bingo lobbies to look the same as the layout offered by online bingo sites powered by Cashcade.

We are fast approaching the end of the month and for all us avid bingo players this can only mean one thing; the big guaranteed jackpot games. The weekend sees some mega money on offer at quite a few online bingo sites and it would be remiss of me not to give you a run down of when and where these can be played.

Foxy Bingo, one of the giants of online bingo, have recently launched their mobile bingo and although it isn't exactly my cup of tea I thought I should bring you details of the addition to the Foxy Bingo empire. I do feel the need to clarify that the reason it isn't my cup of tea has nothing to do with the game play of the mobile bingo; it's simply not something that I personally am interested in doing - playing bingo on my mobile phone.

One lucky lady from Scotland is laughing all the way to the bank after taking home a jackpot win of £32,000 from her local Gala Bingo club in Townhead, Irvine. The 63 year old grandmother managed to call bingo in just 42 numbers to take home this superb win on Saturday according to The Evening Times Online.

How many times have you been to land based bingo with a handbag full of sweets and pop? I know it's something I do when I go to a bingo hall simply because sometimes the prices are a little high but one bingo club has been ordered by the local council to stop it's members from taking their treats with them or they will be banned from using the facilities altogether.

Blackpool Club Bingo have just announced one of their biggest winners to date at their online bingo site; the lucky lady managed to scoop the progressive jackpot in the Royal Room at Blackpool Club Bingo after it had been rising and rising. When "mandthomas" finally managed to win the progressive jackpot she took home a massive £7442! As you can imagine she is thrilled with her win.

A local MP took to the mike at the local Carlton Bingo club in Hartlepool for a charity night to raise money for the Alzheimer's Society recently. MP for Hartlepool Iain Wright visited the town's Carlton Bingo Club on Friday last week and proved to be quite a hit with the local bingo players.

One lucky winner at a Mecca Bingo hall in Basingstoke was presented with her 2nd bundle of joy just 6 months after the birth of her son when she won more than £10,000 at the land based bingo hall. Susan Ralph, who is still on maternity leave after the birth in January, was just a little shocked when she managed to scoop £10,500 on the High 5 game at Mecca Bingo at Basingstoke Leisure Park.

Yet another old online bingo site has chosen to re-launch recently and again the network of choice has been St Minver. Bingo ID have been around in the online bingo industry for a while although I have to admit it wasn't one of the online bingo sites on my must visit list but today I received an email telling me of their re-launch on St Minver.

Mecca Bingo are to launch handheld gaming devices in 21 of their land based bingo halls in the UK are signing and agreement with eQube International Inc for the provision of their services. Mecca Bingo have made this decision in a bid to halt the revenues losses that they have seen since the introduction of the smoking ban.

The Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) has upheld a complaint made by The Bingo Association (BA) over and advert run by the National Lottery for its Flamin' Hot Scratch card. A while ago the National Lottery ran and advert that depicted bingo halls as old and decrepit and immediately the BA made a formal complaint. The advert implied that bingo halls were permanently closed and with the bingo industry facing closures weekly it was considered to be in poor taste.

PartyGaming are blaming Euro 2008 for the drop in trade recently. As well as Bingo Night Live PartyGaming are responsible for PartyPoker, PartyCasino and PartyBingo. Not to mention being the software behind Emmerdale Bingo and ITV Bingo and the company are blaming the losses on "seasonality and player's watching Euro 2008".

Paddy Power Bingo this year hosted this years European Bingo Championship with qualifiers taking place throughout June and the final taking place on 29th June. Prizes on offer included a brand new Chevrolet Aveo and free bingo for a year to mention just two of the great prizes up for grabs. Over 660 players entered the competition but first place went to a chap from Nottinghamshire.

The American gaming industry is once more in the dark over the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) because congress cannot decide what operations the law is meant to cover. The acts whole purpose was to stop gambling companies trading in America and stopping American citizens playing online. Originally bought in two years ago to tackle illegal online gambling no-one really yet knows what activities are banned.

NetPlay TV have scored a hit by hiring the former Head of Light Entertainment for the BBC, Michael Leggo. Mr. Leggo was the creator of such hit shows as Noel's House Party and Not The Nine 'O Clock news, although neither of which are on our TV screens any longer.

There are more and more gaming channels on our television screens than ever at the moment and another is launched on 1st July after Two Way Gaming and Virgin Media Television signed a deal.  This new channel offers viewers the change to play along from the comfort of their sofas in all types of casino style games and the opportunity to win "BIG" money.

As I am sure you are all aware last Friday saw the biggest guaranteed jackpot game played at online bingo to date played at Foxy Bingo and it gives me great pleasure to bring you news of the winner. PeteLilly has been playing bingo at Foxy Bingo for 6 months now and usually frequents the Perfect 10 room. Friday 27th June at 9pm was the first £25,000 guaranteed jackpot game and PeteLilly had made use of the pre-buy facility and wasn't even logged in to the site!

Back in June 2007 Gala Bingo, the land based bingo halls, introduced Nectar points and now they have introduced them to their online bingo business. As a bingo operator Gala Bingo boasts some 2.5 million members who are winning a share of over £15 million every week. This new introduction comes as a variation to the usual loyalty scheme found at many online bingo sites usually offering extra deposit bonuses or free bingo money.