Bradford City Centre Management, part of Bradford Council’s Department of Regeneration and Culture, has opposed the plans which would see the former Woolwich bank in Kirkgate turned into a bingo hall.

London Investments, which owns the building, has applied to the council for a change of use to allow the building, which is currently a clothing store, to be turned into a licensed bingo hall. London Investments said that the bingo hall would be run by one of “the UK’s leading bingo hall operators.”

Councillor David Green, Bradford Council’s executive member for regeneration and economy, told the Bradford Telegraph and Argus, “Kirkgate is one of the main shopping thoroughfares in the city centre and I believe the shops there should be used for retail. There are more than sufficient bingo and amusement centres in the city centre and if we are to continue working to revive the retail offer in Bradford it is important that we try and bring as many of the empty units back into use as shops rather than amusement arcades or bingo halls, because I think it would be a lost opportunity for the city centre.”

source: Telegraph and Argus

The State Assembly and Senate voted on 11 January to allow interstate gambling, which means players would only be playing bingo against other players in New Jersey.

The legislation now had to be approved by New Jersey governor Chris Christie; he has 45 days to pass it or veto it. The only concern for those hoping for online bingo in New Jersey is that Christie may come under extreme pressure at federal level to block the legislation. It is believed that the federal government is concerned that states will legislate online gambling in a piecemeal way, meaning that there is no consistency from state to state and the federal government would get no tax benefit from legislation.

A large number of online operators are likely to be interested in operating online bingo in New Jersey, with Playtech’s Virtue Fusion division likely to make the biggest push to be the main software provide for a New Jersey bingo site.

Search for New Jersey Bingo halls

Land based bingo halls have been struggling in recent years to attract customers and compete with the seemingly ever growing and popular online bingo sites. They have also had to deal with the smoking ban and the deep recession.

News like this will not help the reputation of bingo halls and if older players don’t feel safe on their way to and from their preferred bingo halls, they will lose more of their core customers.

It is not known whether the attacker was present in the bingo hall or overheard conversation while travelling on the same bus, or was simply an opportunist. Warwickshire police announced that they are actively seeking the attacker.

Although attacks like this are rare, it is unlikely that the victim will return to play bingo as she will fear for her safety every time she makes the trip.

Gary Shanks, manager of the Mecca Bingo hall in Ellesmere Port said, “It’s inspiring to see how generous people have been, especially given how difficult this year has been financially for many. Our success is without doubt down to the members of the team around me and to our customers. Everyone has been dedicated to doing their bit to raise money for Marie Curie Cancer Care. We just wouldn’t have achieved this without them.”

According to an article in the Ellesmere Port Pioneer, fundraising activities throughout the year included holding a Blooming Great Tea Party for customers, taking part in the Great Daffodil Appeal and other fundraising initiatives.

The money raised will all go to help fund Marie Curie Nurses who care for terminally ill people in their own homes.

Local Marie Curie Cancer Care fundraiser Siobhan Heffernan was delighted with the amount of money raised by the bingo hall customers and said that “Every £20 raised will help provide an hour of care for terminally ill people”.

Across the country, Mecca Bingo members and customers are helping to raise a total of £200,000 for Marie Curie Cancer Care, which will provide 10,000 hours of nursing care for cancer sufferers.

According to the Birmingham News the county revenue department is seeking payment of the county’s two-cent tax on every dollar of sales, including nearly $6.6 million in sales taxes from 12 of the bingo halls. Amounts of sales taxes sought from the other two bingo halls were not included in court records.

With penalties and interest added to the tax bill, the bingo halls will face payment of nearly $8 million. The companies in ownership of the bingo halls have filed appeals to the Circuit Court.

The county revenue department filed the emergency tax assessments on June 3, the day before the bingo halls shut down after the district attorney in the Bessemer Cutoff warned they faced raids if they did not close.

The county has collected sales taxes in the past from bingo halls in Jefferson County, generally filing the tax notices for a budget year that starts Oct. 1 and ends Sept. 30. But the revenue department filed emergency tax notices in June because the bingo halls were about to shut down, court records show.

The city of Fairfield also has filed separate suits against seven bingo halls that had been operating there, seeking the full June payment of the monthly fee the operations pay. Employees at one shuttered bingo hall also have sued separately for back wages they contend they are owed.

The bingo debate in Alabama has been long running, since Governor Bob Riley started an anti-gambling Task Force, which he allowed to raid what he believes are illegal gambling premises.

source: Birmingham News

Hosted in a very old church in the city, the event follows the success of the car maker’s London-based events (Vauxhall Skate, Vauxhall Ice Skate and of course Vauxhall Motors Bowling Club this summer), which have proved hugely popular.

According to an article on savemoneyoncars.co.uk, the event organisers have tracked down a “mysterious ,yet infamous, bingo sect who can be found travelling in a pack from New York to Nottingham, Las Vegas to Leeds spreading their own bespoke bingo vision to the unsuspecting public,” to make an appearance at the special event.

The special Corsa has been covered by a special pastel bingo sheet, with over 2,000 balls stuck on to the car by hand.

Tickets to this bingo event are free, but the capacity of the venue is strictly limited to 500.

Littlefield Corporation has already signed an asset purchase agreement to purchase two bingo halls in an existing market.

According to the company announcement, the purchase is in addition to previously announced acquisitions. The following list shows the previous acquisitions made by Littlefield Corporation.

1. The acquisition of another bingo hall in an existing market for which the due diligence is almost complete and the closing is therefore imminent.

2. The renovation and reopening of a bingo hall in an existing market which had been previously subleased. This bingo hall will open before the end of the calendar year.

3. The acquisition of up to four bingo halls in an existing market subject to resolution of issues that are beyond the Company’s ability to control. While this is still a viable acquisition, and the Company is committed to completing it, the passage of time understandably makes the probability of a successful completion less certain.

The company also released details of its intention to expand its current bingo hall portofolio to a total of seventy five bingo halls in the next three years.

Jeffrey L. Minch, President and Chief Executive Officer of Littlefield Corporation, was delighted with the announcement and said, ” These additional halls will complement existing successful halls in the region.During the fourth quarter we plan to complete this asset purchase of two halls, conclude the asset purchase of a previously announced hall and reopen a hall currently closed for renovation. I look forward to the completion of this acquisition and would like to thank those contributing to our continued growth.”

Littlefield Corporation, headquartered in Austin, Texas, is the largest public owner of charitable bingo halls in the United States. The Company, through its corporate subsidiaries, develops, owns and operates 36 halls in Texas, South Carolina, Alabama and Florida. In Texas its corporate subsidiaries are involved as a licensed commercial lessor and only in South Carolina as a licensed promoter. Over 100 charities conduct bingo in these charitable bingo halls. (from Littlefield Corporation website)

Interim CEO Neil Goulden recently announced he would be stepping down from the board after over ten years at the company. Gala Coral moved quickly to hire Carl Leaver as new Chief Executive, while they also hired Debenhams boss Rob Templeman in the role of non-executive chairman. Goulden will remain active in the running of Gala Coral until January 2011 to ensure a smooth handover period to the new bosses.

Commenting on his departure and the new chiefs, Neil Goulden said, “I would like to warmly welcome Carl and Rob to the Gala Coral Group. They both have huge reputations built upon a successful track record in the retail and leisure sectors. I have no doubt that they will have a significant positive impact on the Group.

I feel the time is now right to step down from the group. Having successfully led the group through its recent financial restructuring, and helped to recruit a top-notch chairman and CEO to work alongside our CFO, Gary Hughes, I know that I am leaving the company in good shape and in very capable hands.”

Goulden will continue to do work for Gala Coral in a consultant capacity for three years after he leaves in January. The company also rewarded his incredible contribution to the development of Gala Coral from “number two bingo operator in the UK to the leading gambling company in Britain” by inviting him to become chairman Emeritus of the group.

Gala Coral has over 3.5 million active customers in the UK and has around ten per cent of the UK gambling market from online bingo to land-based casinos. The Gala Coral Group is the only gambling company in the UK with significant businesses in the bookmaking, bingo and casino markets, both on the high street and online.

With bingo now played by many more people than it previously was thanks to the invention of online bingo and popular sites such as Foxy Bingo, Crown Bingo and Jackpot Joy giving people access to bingo games much more readily and from the comfort of their own home, many keen players will be unaware of the interiors of bingo halls and their quirks and nostalgic detail.

Inside the halls he visited, Hess found some interesting old characters, tables covered in lucky charms, slot machines everywhere and a longing for the old days of bingo in the sixties when it took of in the U.K.

Hess’ striking black and white portraits of bingo players will be complimented with recordings of conversations in the halls over the past five years and some trinkets that he managed to find in his five year journey around the bingo halls of Britain.

source: The Independent

Total bingo revenue from the third quarter of 2010 was $2.2 million, just over $3,000 shy of the company’s record revenue for the same period. Normally, the third quarter of the year is the weakest period in the year for bingo operations thanks to a traditional slow period in July and August.

Littlefield’s total gross profit was up by nearly 25 per cent on the same period last year to $585,000 – up nearly $113,000 on the same period last year. This also increased the company’s profit margin from 21 per cent to 27 per cent for quarter three.

The company also listed $275,000 worth of “notable items” from the Q3 2010 results, which were; $134,000 of expense associated with the start-up of new halls and re-openings at halls in Texas, $116,000 of legal expense for South Carolina, Florida, Texas and its Furtney litigation and $25,000 for non-cash stock-based compensation.

Results from the Q3 in 2009 (the companies best recorded performance in this period of the year) included $271,000 of notable items, including; $303,000 of expense associated with the start-up of new halls and re-openings at halls in Texas, $73,000 of legal expense for South Carolina, Florida, Texas and its Furtney litigation and $17,000 for non-cash stock-based compensation which were partially offset by a $122,000 reduction of estimated prior year reserve for incentive compensation.

source: Market Watch

In 2008, the owners of Buckingham Bingo, Alchemy Partners effectively sold its stake in the company to Barclays Bank in return for a waiver on its debt. Now, according to the Manchester Evening News, Buckingham Bingo have sought advice from corporate finance specialists KPMG to explore all options for the company’s future, which does include the sale of the company.

Alchemy Partners purchased the company for £90 million in 2006 and the value of Buckingham Bingo is thought to have plummeted since then so any potential buyers would only have to pay a fraction of the price.

Buckingham Bingo attracts more than 1.7 million players per year to its bingo halls and online site, but it has suffered, like many bingo companies, during the recession, after the smoking ban and the introduction to gross profit tax to replace bingo duty. All of these factors reduced Buckingham Bingo’s revenue enough to put it at risk of closure.

KPMG said of Buckingham Bingo’s future, “There can be no certainty in relation to the continued support of the bank and therefore the directors have concluded that a material uncertainty exists that may cast significant doubt upon the group and parent company’s ability to continue as a going concern.”

If Buckingham Bingo were to be taken over by a new buyer there would be risk to the jobs of 350 employees at 11 different sites across northern England.

The Victoryland bingo hall and dog track was closed on Monday to prevent any raid. Around 600 people are employed at the bingo hall and would lose their jobs if the anti-gambling task force has its way. Victoryland’s owners have said that they will re-open the dog track today but the bingo hall will remain closed.

The Supreme Court turned down a request from John Tyson, the commander of the anti-gambling task force, to warrant an immediate raid of the Victoryland premises. Lawmakers believe that there is no emergency that warrants an immediate raid and seizure of the bingo machines at Victoryland.

Lawyers for the bingo hall say that the next step forward for them to ask the Supreme court to reconsider the ruling that they made recently that states Tyson and his task force do not need permission from the county sheriff or district attorney to raid any bingo halls.

The Conservative politician recently visited a Beacon Bingo hall in his constituency to find out first hand how bingo halls and the industry as a whole was being damaged by such excessive taxation. Bingo halls currently pay a higher rate of tax than high street bookmakers.

Mr Binley told the Northampton Chronicle, “Bingo is one of the least damaging forms of gambling and yet it pays one of the highest rates of taxes. Most of the people who play bingo use it as an opportunity for social interaction. The previous Government created 24 hour casinos and wanted to place more of them in many of our large cities and towns, even though all the evidence suggested they were one of the most damaging forms of gambling. Yet they placed a granny tax on bingo enthusiasts.”

Whether Binley succeeds in his bid to have bingo halls tax made fairer is another question, especially as the recent budget made no changes to the system.

Rank Group operates 35 casinos and over 100 bingo halls in Britain has seen the number of players visiting and playing increase. Its Mecca Bingo halls and Grosvenor Casinos have proven to be very popular with the general public and regular players alike.

This popularity was highlighted by the fact that customer numbers increased by nearly 12 per cent to more than 2.5 million during the first half of this year, with average spend per visit also increasing by 1.5 per cent to £22.50.

Rank Group CEO Ian Burke said, “All of our businesses have achieved growth in revenue as a result of increased numbers of customers and customer visits.”

In other news, Rank is planning to spend £500 million to purchase five new casinos in England and five other gambling venues over the next two years.

It has been reported that Ian Burke suggested that the company is looking into opening a casino in Newham, which was the first borough to win one of the government’s casino licenses as part of the 2005 Gambling Act.

Tel: 01685 374422
Fax: 01685 371163

Email: merthyrenquiries@castlebingo.co.uk

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The Castle club in Merthyr Tydfil is at the heart of the community, where our members come together to create a warm, friendly and welcoming atmosphere.

A ‘heads of the valley’ club which is head and shoulders above the rest.

The staff and management are here to ensure you have a fantastic visit, every visit!

Tel: 02920 221230
Fax: 02920 388421

Email: cantonenquiries@castlebingo.co.uk

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Castle Bingo Canton was the first purpose built bingo club in the UK. The club is located only a stone’s throw from the magnificent Millenium Stadium and Cardiff city centre is within walking distance. The club has two floors for bingo with a bar and coffee bar facility on each floor.

Over 200 people protested outside the Alabama Supreme Court on Friday. The majority of the protestors came from Greenetrack bingo hall, which has recently had all its machines seized by Governor Bob Riley’s anti-gambling task force. Representatives from other Alabama bingo facilities came to protest alongside their Greenetrack colleagues.

The protest group have the support of some important people in Alabama, including state senator Bobby Singleton, who came to the protest representing Greenetrack. He said that the bingo hall is seeking legal advice on how to pursue the matter further.

He told reporters from WAFF48 Newsthat, “We’re now waiting on the supreme court justices to appoint a judge to hear that case, and we think that once they hear that case, based on the Greenetrack amendment saying that they could play electronic bingo, that they will find out that we are legal and that it is a legal establishment.”

Governor Riley maintains that electronic bingo machines are are illegal slot machines and says that his task force are only upholding state law when they seize machines from bingo halls.

Pop’s Bingo World was given approval to open a bingo hall on Willow Pass Road, Concord, California in April 2010. However, the Concord Blue Devils bingo hall, a local rival, went to the city’s Planning Commission to lodge an official appeal against the planning approval.

Thanks to this second appeal the final decision has been further delayed and will now be made on 13th July by the City Council. The Blue Devils appeal asks that the Planning Commission undertake a full environmental study on how the new bingo hall would affect parking, traffic, crime and the provision of city services before issuing an approval.

The owners of the prospective Pop’s Bingo World argue that the building was previously used as a gym for many years, so there is plenty of evidence as to the environmental impact of using the site.

Bingo is popular in California and there are nearly 200 bingo halls in operation in the state.

All bingo halls in California must operate to raise money for charity, although bingo hall operators are allowed to be for-profit organisations which hire out their equipment and hall to charities who want to operate bingo nights.

Angry protestors  blocked the entrance to the Greenetrack bingo facility for 12 hours before being arrested. They were trying to prevent state troopers from carrying out the Alabama governor’s orders to seize 800 electronic bingo machines.

The closure of Greenetrack will see some 400 employees put out of work in a part of the state where unemployment is already hig.

Democratic state Senator Bobby Singleton of Greensboro was one of the 16 arrested and protestors included the Democratic nominee for governor. All 16 were released on a $1,000 bond.

The decision to close Greenetrack has become a huge political issue in Alabama and also has racial undertones, with black legislators identifying it is a major issue which affects a predominately black workforce.

Bob Riley, Alabama’s Republican Governor,  has stated that he believes the electronic bingo machines are in fact illegal slot machines and contravene state laws on gambling. He has been backed strongly by gambling task force commander John Tyson Jr who has helped close more than 20 bingo halls in the past two months. Only Victoryland in Macon County, which has more than 6,000 electronic bingo machines, remains open alongside the three state-endorsed Indian casinos in Alabama.

There are 34 charity bingo halls in Alabama, which are not offering electronic bingo and purely run bingo games for the purposes of raising money for local charities, which is permitted under Alabama state law.

Pop’s Bingo World was granted approval to open a bingo hall on Willow Pass Road, Concord, in April 2010 but a rival bingo hall, the Concord Blue Devils bingo hall, appealed against the approval through the city’s Planning Commission.

The Planning Commission approved the Pop’s application and the Blue Devils appealed again, meaning that the decision will now be made by the City Council on 13 July.

Their appeal claims that the city must not issue an approval without a full environmental study on how the new bingo hall would affect traffic, parking, crime and the provision of city services.

However the owners contend that because the building that the bingo hall uses was a gym for many years there is plenty of evidence of the environmental impact of using the site.

Pop’s Bingo World is the second bingo hall with that name; the other operates as a bingo hall in Richmond, Virginia. There are 197 bingo halls in California, all of which must operate to raise funds for charity, although bingo hall owners can be for-profit organisations and hire out their space and equipment to charities who want to operate bingo nights.

The bill proposed that online poker would be allowed in California with up to 20 per cent of the profits going to the state. Bill sponsor Roderick Wright cancelled the vote in the face of vehement opposition from Indian tribes with gaming interests in the state and California’s card clubs.

Wright, a California Democrat Senator for Inglewood,  said he would continue to look for ways to legalize poker in California in order to help boost the state’s empty coffers. It is widely thought that legalizing poker would be a gateway to allowing other online gambling across the USA with bingo being one of the most attractive games to allow, both because it is widely ingrained in American culture but also because of the low levels of problem gambling associated with the game.

Ironically it is the Indian casino and card clubs in California that first strongly supported the idea of online poker in the state. But when it became clear that Wright’s bill would allow Nevada companies and foreign poker operators to bid for the licence to run online poker, they switched to opposing the bill. One critic told Bingo News: “As soon as the Indian casinos and card clubs realized they may not be the beneficiaries of this bill, they immediately changed their minds. If online poker is legalized and they are not running it then there is likely to be a major negative impact on their land-based businesses.”

The Morongo Band of Mission Indians, Commerce Casino and Hollywood Park Casino were among those who were most vocal in their opposition to the bill. All agreed however that online poker in California was desirable and that they expected it to be legalized within the next three years.

Check out California’s bingo halls at California Bingo.

Alabama’s voters have spoken and they don’t want electronic bingo supporters involved in government.

Bingo operators near the city of Bessemer said they would shut down electronic bingo operations on Friday, June 4, to avoid being raided by Governor Bob Riley’s Task Force on Illegal Gambling.

The task force  was recently reactivated by a state Supreme Court ruling. The shutdown of bingo operations in Bessemer was timed to coincide with the exact moment of the task force’s reactivation.

The bingo hall is on the site of the old Velocity gym and will run charitable bingo to raise money for local charities, including the Community Youth Center and East Bay Services to the Developmentally Disabled.

Bingo will be played every night and the hall will be allowed to stay open until 1.30am on Fridays and Saturdays.

Pop’s Bingo World, which also has a bingo hall in Richmond, Virginia, is run by Chuck Lessin.

There is one other Pop’s Bingo World, in Richmond, Virginia.

The only other bingo hall in Concord is the Blue Devil bingo hall on Nelson Avenue North.

Check out California bingo hall at California Bingo

The Marina Bay Bingo Club in Richmond was opened with a fanfare of publicity on 31 March with local politicians and charities hailing the 32,000 square foot 500 person facility as great news for charitable fundraising.

But less than two months later the American Legion-sponsored club has been hit badly following revelations of the criminal past of its Commander, who has convictions for money laundering and operating a bingo permit kickback scheme in Oakland.

Post 875 Commander Eddie Welbon, 70, has served a 12 month sentence for money laundering and mail fraud. He is a preacher who has been regularly named in court documents by organisations, some of whom claimed that he has misused their name.

The city has revoke the bingo hall’s license on the grounds that it offers prizes greater than city laws permit and that it is being operated by a different organization than stated on the permit.

Marina Westshore Partners, the landlord of the building, has issued an eviction notice and is pursuing unpaid rent of $45,000 through the courts.

Find local CA bingo halls at California Bingo

A change in any legislation regarding bingo in Missouri would see bingo halls being able to open earlier, close later and be able to offer games twice per week. Previously, bingo parlors in Missouri could only have games once a week.

Since the middle of the 1990′s the number of premises licenced to hold bingo games has fallen by more than 50 per cent. It is hoped that new legislation will lead to bingo halls being more competitive with other forms of gambling entertainment, such as casinos.

One aspect of the law that will not change regarding the operation of bingo parlors in Missouri is the fact that they can only be run by charitable, religious, veteran, fraternal and service organizations.