Christmas will soon be upon us and that means only one thing in the world of Paddy Power Bingo – his elves have come out to play!

Everyday throughout advent these mischievous Elves will be unveiling a brand new promotion which will guarantee you’ll be full of seasonal cheer.

Paddy Power Bingo have got Escalator Jackpots, some amazing Christmas prize giveaways, free Bingo tickets and lots more. Make sure you go and visit the Paddy Power Bingo elves every day to see their new promotion.

That’s not all though, Paddy Power Bingo’s Elves are a competitive (and resourceful) bunch and have built a leaderboard to keep things interesting throughout the month. It’s really easy to earn points – simply play your favourite bingo rooms and side games and you’ll start earning! Don’t forget to check your position daily, there’s a massive prize pool of over £/€7,000!

For more information, go and visit Paddy Power Bingo now.

Oh….and if all this fun gets too much, we’ll give you the chance to tell Paddy Power Bingo your New Year’s Resolution in our New Year Paddy Room.

Paddy Power Bingo have launched a brand new room and what’s more YOU can help them decide the schedule. They’ve already ran one live lab and their Roomie Subjects came up with some cracking new games…..and they all survived! Are you ready for Paddy Power Bingo’s second experiment?

The Live Lab 2 – 7.00pm – 9.00pm – Wednesday 7th December

Here’s your chance to have a say in how a Bingo Room should really be run. Paddy Power Bingo will be giving all their roomies the chance to create their favourite Bingo game…. and then get free tickets to play it! You can select the speed of play, 1/2TG & BOGxF  options, the pattern and whether it is FFA/Even Stevens. Phew….and breathe*!

If your game gets chosen it will stay in the The Lab’s schedule for the next fortnight and you will be awarded 5 free tickets to each game**. Paddy Power Bingo will also let you nominate 10 friends to get free tickets to your game too (the game display name will include your chat name), that way you’ll get to show them what a Bingo expert you really are! Once the fortnight schedule is complete, Paddy Power Bingo will return to the test schedule…..Until the Live Lab runs again!

• 7pm-8pm           90 Ball Speed Bingo – the hour will get progressively quicker, can you keep up?

• 8pm-9pm            Discount Hour – Buy tickets in bulk and save £££

• 9pm – 10pm       Even Stevens & Fair For All games

• 10pm – 11pm     Strippers Bingo

*Players will not be able to request ticket price or seed as these will be within a pre-determined set of limits.

**Players will not receive free tickets on the evening of the Live Lab. They will receive tickets for their ‘named game’ on the day after the Live Lab. Certain game types do not allow for free tickets – where this happens free tickets will be allocated to other games. Paddy Power Bingo cannot accept responsibility for players nominating ‘friends’ incorrect i.e. if incorrect/incomplete/invalid user details are given.

The Gala Bingo Merry Million will be spread over 24 days, with up to £5,000 up for grabs 3 times a day from 1^st – 5th of December, increasing by a generous £1,000 each day from the 6^th December, culminating in a £50,000 jackpot on 24^th December.  All bingo players need to do is take part in daily jackpot games and get a full house on the number that matches the date e.g. 19 on 19th December wins £19,000.

The promotion, exclusive to Gala Bingo is guaranteed to bring some festive cheer to the bingo community throughout December. Christmas is all about sharing with others so when a lucky winner hits the jackpot on 50% of the prize will go to them and the remaining money will be split between the rest of people playing in the room at that time and spreading the Christmas cheer all round!

There will be three special jackpot games per day at 8pm, 9pm and 10pm, plus Christmas themed graphics and the usual online features. Gala Bingo members can also enjoy 24 days worth of festive side games in a “surprise advent calendar” format.  Promotions will change daily so players are urged to visit Gala Bingo each day to find out what’s in store.

Matt Prevost, Marketing Director of Gala Bingo said: “It is great to be able to help our online community countdown to Christmas with the Gala Bingo Merry Million. We’d like to wish all our players good luck this December and here’s to a very Merry Christmas one and all!”

[Malta – October 6, 2011] – NeoGames, leading software and service provider of online scratch cards and instant win games, announced today the release of its latest scratch card title which belongs to a series of NeoGames’ next generation games.

Inspired by the popularity of horoscope themed scratch cards both in the online and offline world, ‘Horoscope’ is a multi scratch card featuring 12 different designs, one for each zodiac sign, and is available in multi-language and multi-currency, with a top award of 200,000 currency units.

The title is offered to all branded operations of NeoGames and is yet another scratch card of its next generation series of soft games. Presenting all 12 astrological signs in highly innovative 3D animations, players will choose their own sign and play up to four cards in one game with the aim to match 3 identical astrological signs. Furthermore, the player can read the horoscope for each sign on daily updated basis.

“We are very pleased to announce the release of ‘Horoscope’, which for the first time combines utmost gaming experience with additional entertainment as we offer our players personalized content by delivering the daily horoscope for each sign. Through advanced 3D graphical animations, the game allows increased player interactivity” states Shay Bar-Josef, Managing Director at NeoGames International.

NeoGames constantly expanding portfolio of over 120 interactive games delivers a highly advanced gaming experience through a wide range of next generation scratch cards, instant win and slot games.

One lucky grandfather from Weston-Super- Mare is celebrating after scooping a fantastic £391k jackpot on leading bingo website galabingo.com.

Unable to sleep the restless shift worker, who wishes to remain anonymous, logged on to have a quick play on the site’s popular five-reel Irish themed Leprechaun’s Luck slot game. Just minutes later the 61-year-old hit the pot of gold – winning a staggering £391,146.

In total disbelief the ecstatic aircraft refueller had to wait until the morning to confirm his eyes weren’t deceiving him and he in fact clearly had the luck of the Irish!

Still in shock, he said: “I keep pinching myself. This kind of thing doesn’t happen to me! I’ve always longed to be my own boss and this win has allowed me to do just that. I’ve just handed in my notice and now plan to set up my own gardening business.”

He added: “I’m also looking forward to spoiling my family. My fifth grandchild is due in the summer and winning on galabingo.com will allow us to treat the whole family.”

Lesley Whyte, consumer PR manager for Gala said: “We give away over £62 million a month and always love hearing how our players plan on spending their winnings. We wish this lucky customer all the best in starting his new gardening business and spoiling his entire family.”

Lesley added: “While our Leprechaun’s Luck jackpot may have just gone, there’s still plenty of opportunity for our players to strike lucky with our other games such as Alice’s Wonderland, which currently has a jackpot of nearly £100k*.”

*Jackpot correct at time of going to press

A lucky mother of two was celebrating today after winning a fantastic holiday and the opportunity of a lifetime to compete in Gala Bingo’s Ultimate Bingo Championships in Gibraltar.

50-year-old Susan Mayhew logged on for a quick game of bingo at leading online bingo site galabingo.com and was soon celebrating after winning a trip to the sunshine isle of Gibraltar and the chance to win a share of the £100k jackpot up for grabs.

The ecstatic retail manager, who plans to whisk her husband Richard away with her spoke of her excitement: “I can’t wait to jet off to Gibraltar, we’ve visited the island once before and thought it was absolutely beautiful. I’m so excited that galabingo.com is giving me the chance to go back and play to win a share of £100k.”

Asked what she would do if she were to be crowned the Gala Ultimate Bingo Champion, Susan said: “I’d share the money with my family, perhaps take them all on a lovely holiday. I would also spoil my daughters and buy them each a new car. My youngest is starting driving lessons next year and it would be lovely to be able to buy her a car for when she passes her test.”

The 2011 Ultimate Bingo Championship is taking place between Monday, 7 and Wednesday, 9 November and will see players whisked off to Gibraltar for a three day stay in a top four star hotel while competing to become the Ultimate Bingo Champion and win a share of £100k prize money.

In order to be in with a chance of winning a place in the final players need to take part in special games marked with the trophy logo running daily at Gala Bingo and on galabingo.com. There are four qualifier games per day on Monday to Saturday, plus three games on a Sunday.

The winners of these games receive the normal game jackpot but also entry into the leading bingo sites’ Big Sunday Playoff game at 9.30pm in the all new Tournament club. The lucky winners of all of these Sunday night playoffs will find themselves heading to Gibraltar to compete in the biggest game of the year. There are still plenty of chances to qualify over the next 11 weeks exclusively at galabingo.com

Lesley Whyte, consumer PR manager for Gala said: “We love giving away large jackpot prizes at galabingo.com, awarding around £62 million a month in prize money and never tire of hearing our winner’s stories. We hope Susan and Richard enjoy their holiday and wish Susan the best of luck in her quest to become the Ultimate Bingo Champion.”

Players can also qualify by playing the dedicated games in Gala Bingo’s 142 clubs.

Hosted by Bullet Business, the ceremony took place after day one of the sixth Online Bingo Summit. Award winners were determined by votes from more than 300 industry delegates and attendees at the conference held at the Victoria Park Plaza, London.

Virtue Fusion Commercial Director, Rob Keown-Boyd said: “Virtue Fusion’s continued success at the Online Bingo Industry Awards further consolidates our reputation as the leading name in the market.

“It is extremely satisfying to have won this award for the third consecutive year, especially as the votes come from key members of the industry itself. We are pleased that once again our efforts haven’t gone unnoticed by our peers and will continue to build on this success in the year ahead.”

One request that has always been made from you, their members, has been the ability to play and win solely with players from bingo.ie. At long last Bingo.ie are proud to announce that on Friday 27th May they will be opening their very own Private Bingo Lounge for a few hours wherein the roomies alone are guaranteed to win every prize!

Join Bingo.ie  in the Bingo Lounge from Friday 9pm where they will be playing a selection of roomie favourite bingo games!

Acknowledged for its best-of-breed products, Playtech was named RNG Casino Supplier of the Year and was awarded Bingo Network of the Year through its subsidiary Virtue Fusion, the world’s leading developer and licensor of internet bingo products.

The industry’s premier awards, which are now in their second year, took place at Chelsea Football Club on Tuesday 3rd May and recognise the very best B2B providers in online gaming.

Playtech CEO Mor Weizer said: “Winning EGR B2B Awards for two major product categories sends a significant message about the strength and capability of Playtech’s products across the group. As a leading name in the industry, we were delighted to be recognised at this prestigious event and look forward to building on our success in the coming year.”

One lucky lady from Manchester is ecstatic after managing to scoop a staggering £345k from just a £1 stake on leading bingo website galabingo.com.

Laying in bed with her laptop the sales administrator, who wishes to remain anonymous, thought she would have a quick play on the site’s Alice’s Wonderland slot game before she went to sleep. Just minutes later, the 32-year-old hit the jackpot winning an amazing £345,775.

At first, she didn’t believe it was happening and had to phone her partner who was out for the evening to return home and check that she had actually won the money.

Still in shock from the win, she said: “Things like this just don’t happen to me. It’s fantastic, I’m completely overwhelmed! The most I have ever won is £300. All my girlfriends are now logging onto galabingo.com to see if they can also win big.”

The delighted lady, who plans to stay in the Manchester area, is still not sure what she is going to do with the money, but she is planning a quick weekend away with her partner to have a think about it.

She added: “We have wanted to move for a while and this win means we can now start to put this plan into action. I don’t really want a lot – maybe a holiday and some spare cash to help my family and friends.”

Lesley Whyte, consumer PR manager for Gala said: “We love giving away prizes at galabingo.com and are thrilled that we’ve had another jackpot winner on our popular progressive jackpot game Alice’s Wonderland. On average we give away around £62 million a month so we never tire of hearing how even a quick game at bed time can deliver a jackpot win.”

Gala Bingo, the UK’s number one bingo operator, is embracing the social revolution by launching a fantastic new blog, MyGala.co.uk, as well as dedicated Facebook, Twitter and YouTube pages.

The great new MyGala.co.uk site contains all the latest entertainment reviews and showbiz gossip, bingo news and Gala Bingo promotions – making it a ‘must go’ destination for any bingo fan!

Running across the top of the blog are a number of tabs where the dedicated team of writers are ensuring that bingo fans can immediately access information on the nation’s favourite past-time, side games, Roulette, Lotto, Gala TV and discover all the in-club Gala Bingo news.

And, to keep the bingo community buzzing 24/7, from the top right-hand corner of MyGala.co.uk, players can also access the dedicated Facebook, Twitter and YouTube pages as well as subscribe to the RSS feed.

In just a few short weeks the Facebook group has attracted nearly 3,000 fans and is already proving a real place for fans to chat, comment and engage with the company as well as post their own photographs of their bingo playing antics.

For up to the minute information Gala Bingo customers can also keep up to date with the big wins and bingo promotions via its official Twitter found at @galabingo. Already nearly 2,000 people are following Gala Bingo’s every move!

Lesley Whyte, consumer PR manager for Gala said: “We’re really delighted with the initial response that we’ve had from our new social sites. It’s already really clear that our customers want to engage with us this way as the feedback we’ve been receiving across both our online and club customers had has been extremely positive. Customers also seem to really like the mix of showbiz and entertainment news along with all of the latest winning bingo tales and promotional offer updates.”

EveryMatrix will make the Miles Ahead software available to its 25 existing customers who include Centerbet, Chilli Poker and BetClick . They will also offer customers the chances to use Miles Ahead’s software on a standalone basis.

EveryMatrix chief executive Ebbe Groes said: “Miles Ahead has one of the strongest development teams we’ve met so far. Their games are fast, well designed, and with cool graphics. In particular this is a team with great experience and skills in mobile development. They fit in beautifully in our organization and we’re very proud to join forces with Miles Ahead and have reached a level of maturity that allows us to do transactions such as this.

“We’re now focusing on bringing these products to the market, using synergies in sales, marketing, operations, and support. We have also initiated new development projects aimed at the fast growing mobile gaming market, allowing us to package this together with the new OddsMatrix mobile sportsbook,” he added. “We’re very excited about this acquisition, it raises our game to yet another level after last year’s successful launch of GamMatrix and we’ll be moving fast in using the opportunities this brings us.”

EveryMatrix was founded in 2008 and is privately held, mainly by Ebbe Groes, who is also the majority shareholder in odds comparison service BetBrain, and Stian Hornsletten.

Rank had been expecting the refund but management estimated on 25 February that they would receive £65 million plus interest so they will have been delighted to get almost £10 million more than they had expected.

Shares in Rank shot up 16.5 pence to 146 pence on the news, a rise of 12.7 per cent.

HM Revenue and Customs are appealing against the VAT ruling, which was on interval bingo games, and Rank will have to pay back all the money if the case is reversed in the European courts.

The sale adds two extra sites – Bucky Bingo and BOGOF Bingo – to Betfred’s exisiting Betfred Bingo site. The sites all run on Playtech’s Virtue Fusion platform.

Betfred, whose online operations are run from Gibraltar, announced the deal today, telling affiliates:  “Betfred.com, one of the world’s largest independent sports betting brands, has acquired the online bingo brand BuckyBingo.co.uk and sister brand BOGOFBingo.co.uk. The acquisition will be highly beneficial to the operation and marketing of the BuckyBingo brand, building on their current experience and strengths.

Betfred’s Managing Director John Haddock said, “This is a great acquisition for Betfred.com of a leading brand in the Bingo market. Our intention is to continue with the Bucky brand and it will be business as usual.

“What I can say is that there will be plenty of investment that will give our customers a fantastic experience in the future.”

KPMG Corporate Finance partner Neil Meredith, who helped advise on the sale, said, ‘’BuckyBingo and BOGOFBingo provide an established and highly regarded online bingo offering, that is well positioned to enter its next phase of growth under the new ownership of Betfred.’’

It will be interesting to see how Betfred will use the Bucky Bingo brand, given that it played off and acquired players from the now defunct Buckingham Bingo brand. It is rumoured to have been a successful online bingo brand for a few months after launch but numbers dropped sharply after the initial marketing push.

It is thought Betfred will have paid in the region of £500,000 for the Bucky Bingo brand. Andy Cunningham, chief executive of Buckingham Bingo, is likely to have known the purchasers well because of his close links to the Manchester region, where Betfred founder Fred Done lives.

Fraser Capital Management, the parent company of Club 3000, has bought three bingo clubs in Manchester and one in Bradford, Liverpool, Peterlee and Preston.

The funds to acquire the business have been lent by Clydesdale Bank and ends another chapter in the long and turbulent history of the Buckingham Bingo chain.

Club 3000 currently runs three bingo clubs in Coatbridge, Glenrothes and Cardiff and expects turnover to quadruple from £5 million to £20 million on the back of the acquisition. The company will grow from 120 employees to 480 employees.

Brian Fraser, managing director of Fraser Capital Management, Brian Fraser, said: “We’re delighted to complete this acquisition which will allow us to progress our plans for expansion of the Club 3000 brand.

“Our outlets in Scotland and Wales have been extremely successful and our aim is to replicate that success in our new North of England locations with a full relaunch under the Club 3000 brand in August.

“The industry has had a tough few years due to the general state of the economy as well as factors such as the smoking ban and an increasing tax burden. Despite these challenges, our commitment to providing customers with good service and value for money has paid off and we’ll be carrying those values forward into our expanded operation as we bring our new outlets on stream.

“This is very much a niche industry and Clydesdale Bank have seen how we’ve operated down the years and have developed a real knowledge and understanding of our business.

“We’re long-term customers of the Bank and their support has been vital in helping us to build our existing clubs from scratch into a major success story.”

Brian Fraser has been involved in the bingo industry for more than 30 years. In 1997, he founded the Riva Bingo chain before selling it to private equity investors in 2004.

Ken Smith, managing partner at Clydesdale Bank’s Lanarkshire Financial Solutions Centre (FSC), said: “Brian is recognised throughout the industry for his track record of success and for the shrewd approach he has taken to building the Club 3000 brand.

“We’ve worked with Brian and his team at Fraser Capital for 11 years and the close relationship we’ve been able to develop meant we were fully aware of the potential which extending the brand across the UK had for the business.”

Launched in February 2011 BingoGiftVouchers.com was set up by Vikki Taylor; a Geordie lass with a real love for online bingo. After working in online bingo for the last 4 years Vikki became good friends with the players on her site and after sending her friend Sarah ten pounds in a birthday card to play bingo online, she had that eureka moment and Bingo Gift Vouchers was born.

Vikki says “Bingo online is the same as bingo in the halls, there’s a real community there. When you’re part of a community you want to buy your friends gifts they’ll really want, and this is where Bingo Gift Vouchers comes in.”

With over 30 bingo sites already signed up including big names like; Foxy Bingo, Ladbrokes Bingo and Wink Bingo there is a real buzz around the gift vouchers, which were aptly called the “high street voucher” of online bingo by a customer.

Vouchers start from £10 and unlike most vouchers you purchase online they are professionally printed and posted out; and to create that extra special gift customers can add on hand-made chocolates and greetings cards.

While building Bingo Gift Vouchers, Managing Director, Vikki put a lot of thought not only into her customer’s needs, but also their worries. Vikki says” We have made sure that all our customers can feel confident when buying a voucher. We are currently regulated by the Financial Services Authority; carry out secure payment processing and uphold all rules given by GambleAware, the responsible gambling charity”

As well as offering Bingo Gift Vouchers for Mothers Day, Bingo Gift Vouchers also have a great competition to win £100 of vouchers. Just visit http://bingogiftvouchers.com/win to enter.

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

Gala Coral Group’s highly successful partnership with Sue Ryder Care was celebrated at a House of Lords reception on Thursday evening (January 27) after it smashed its £1.5million target for the charity.

Sue Ryder Care, which provides expert and compassionate care to people living with conditions including Cancer, Multiple Sclerosis, Stroke and Huntington’s disease, was selected as Gala Coral Group’s chosen charity after taking 50 per cent of the votes in an employee ballot in early 2008.

Over the last two years the Group has pulled together to deliver some truly record-breaking fundraising activities including the Highest Game of Bingo ever played – where a team of 25 Gala Coral Group employees accompanied by a Sue Ryder Care employee trekked to Everest Base Camp to play bingo, raising over £110,000. They even got Gala Coral Group’s directors to go ‘Back to the Floor’ in 2009 and 2010 to host a night at Gala Bingo Woking to raise money for the charity.

Other fundraising initiatives over the last two years that have enabled Sue Ryder Care to continue to liberate lives in its 14 care centres and community-based services across the UK, include Barack Obama’s step-mother Kezia helping the cause during the President’s Inauguration by having a dedicated game on galabingo.com, which raised £20,000.

The fundraising target was initially set at £1million to be reached by the end of 2009. However, due to the fantastic support demonstrated by employees, the Group smashed the target and increased it to £1.5million by December 2010. Each area of the business was set individual targets to hit including galabingo.com who, in addition to ‘Mrs Obama’s Bingo’ set bespoke Sue Ryder Care games where a percentage of the proceeds went to the charity, raising over £75,000.

A weekly fundraising table was also set up within the Group to create friendly rivalry and to guide each club and team’s performance to ensure the target was met.

Gala Bingo Coventry Walsgrave become the highest ever fundraising club in the Group’s history after raising £50k thanks to general manager Gary Colledge and his team’s determination. They organised and carried out numerous activities including bungee jumps, skydives, mammoth cycle rides as well as completing the 3 Peaks Challenge in July 2010.

Dr Colin Morgan, Head of Corporate Responsibility & Internal Communications at Gala Coral Group said: “Raising £1.5m during a recession is a performance in itself. We have never raised so much before for one charity and it is a testament to everyone in the business who got behind such a worthwhile cause. It has been fantastic to work so closely with Sue Ryder Care who do some truly amazing things for those who need extra care and we know they appreciate every single penny.”

Paul Woodward, Chief Executive at Sue Ryder, said: “We have been so impressed with Gala Coral’s continued commitment and enthusiasm in raising vital funds for Sue Ryder over the past two years. £1.5million is a fantastic achievement and will go a long way to helping us grow and develop our services to reach more people that need end of life and long-term health and social care.

He continued: “In these uncertain economic times all voluntary income is much needed in order to help us continue to provide care that makes a real difference to people’s lives. On behalf of Sue Ryder, my sincere thanks go out to everybody at the Gala Coral Group.”

24th January, 2011 – Playtech Ltd, the international designer, developer and licensor of software for the online, mobile, TV and land-based gaming industry, has established a bingo licensing agreement with Nordic Gaming for NordicBet.com, Triobet.com and Tobet.com.

Nordic Gaming will become Virtue Fusion’s second major Scandinavian bingo licensee, confirming its capabilities in the region. It will see Nordic Gaming add online bingo to its sportsbook, poker, casino and games offerings at all three of its sites through Playtech’s award-winning Virtue Fusion platform.

Playtech’s Virtue Fusion is the world’s leading developer and licensor of internet bingo products and operates in 12 languages and six currencies. Nordic Gaming’s localised and specialised offerings will benefit from their feature-rich products and unrivalled prize pool liquidity.

Mor Weizer, Playtech’s Chief Executive, said: ‘It gives us great pleasure to announce this agreement with Nordic Gaming, an operator with impressive B2C marketing capabilities and a strong local profile. The deal expands Playtech’s increasing portfolio of significant operators across Europe and adds to what is already a strong presence in the Scandinavian region.’

Ben Clemes, Nordic Gaming Head of Casino Operations, said: ‘Launching bingo is something that we have been planning for a long time and we at Nordic Gaming are very confident that we have chosen the right partners to do this with in Playtech and its Virtue Fusion network.’

Members at Gala Bingo Stratford saw the New Year in style after local father Joao Trindade hit the leading bingo operator’s unique High 5 jackpot, the week before Christmas.

Originally from Portugal, Joao moved to London six years ago and has been a regular at the Stratford club ever since. The father-of-one went to the club to play bingo on Wednesday, December 22 and won the full house prize of £2,000, but was thrilled to discover he’d also hit the High 5 jackpot, taking his winnings up to £127,000.

However Stratford’s lucky streak didn’t stop there. Due to the groundbreaking nature of the High 5 game, half of the overall £250,000 jackpot was shared between the 56 players in the club at the time, meaning they each took away a fantastic £2,233, kicking off 2011 with a bang!

The win came at just the right time for 30-year-old Joao who was recently made redundant.

The excited winner said: “I still can’t believe that I won! This has been the perfect start to 2011. It means I can now spend some quality time with my beautiful three-year-old daughter before returning to work, while still being able to put some money aside for her future.”

Joao added: “I’m so glad to be able to share my win with everyone at the club. It’s come just at the right time of year. Everyone at Gala Bingo Stratford was so lovely and congratulated me straight away!”

Club operations manager of Gala Bingo Stratford, Craig White, said: “It was a brilliant evening. The atmosphere in the club was fantastic and the place erupted as soon as Joao called house. It’s always exciting to see our members win big prizes and it was a fantastic start to the New Year for everyone here.”

Over 51 million Gala Bingo members have played the High 5 game since its launch in 2007. The club leading the way by awarding the most prize money is Gala Bingo Fenton, having paid out an astonishing £1.38 million. At odds of some one in 1,145 million, Gala Bingo in Warrington saw two £250,000 wins in the space of just six days in the week before Christmas 2009. The High 5 Jackpot has paid out a total £18,921,890.09 since it began, and it’s easy to see why the game has been one of Gala Bingo’s most successful to date.

The High 5 game offers a unique chance for customers to play for a jackpot. With better prize money and even more chances to win, the linked High 5 game is Britain’s biggest bingo jackpot.

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

Sites already on the Bingo Entertainment Network include; Glamour Bingo, Bingo MEGA and Premier Bingo.

After five years as a stand alone site, A1 Bingo will benefit hugely from being part of one of the fastest growing online bingo networks in the UK market. Such benefits will include increased player liquidity and network wide promotions and higher jackpots.

Players on the Bingo Entertainment Network sites have the chance to play in the Bingo World Championship and the Bingo Cruise Tournament.

A1 Bingo offers some of the best bonuses for its players with a £10 no deposit bonus as well as a massive 350 per cent first deposit bonus.

This amazing win came courtesy of bet365’s Clover Rollover – a magical Slot Game in which players can enjoy the luck of the Irish while spinning the colourful reels. This is exactly what happened to taaloo1, who was lucky enough to spin five shamrock symbols and trigger his fantastic jackpot win.

On realising he’d hit the Progressive Jackpot, taaloo1 was understandably shocked and excited. The sheer scale of his win has not yet fully sunk in, so he’s not made any immediate plans for what he will do with the money. One thing he says he is looking forward to, though, is celebrating in style with a cracking party!

Clover Rollover is just one of an extensive range of Slot Games available to Bingo players at bet365. Games such as Big Top Tombola, Pirate Plunder and Snow Queen’s Magic also offer massive Progressive Jackpots – where the prize money continues to grow every single day.

About Bingo at bet365

You will find 90 Ball, 80 Ball and 75 Ball Bingo games at bet365, along with great promotional offers and a wide variety of side games to enjoy, including Slots, Roulette and Scratch Cards.

Bet365 is one of the world’s largest online gambling groups with over five million customers worldwide. bet365 offer games for every bankroll and a bingo experience that’s unrivalled. The Group employs over 1,400 people and is the UK’s seventh largest private company.

In the 2010 eGaming Review Awards, bet365 was named Operator of the Year and Casino Operator of the Year, as well as receiving the Best Website Performance award. The company also came top in eGaming Review’s Annual Power 50.

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Saturday 1st & Sunday 2nd January

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According to the ASA website the email sent out by Profitable Play Limited on behalf of Jackpot Joy was headlined “Find out why we’re Britain’s best value night in!” Text below stated “Hi [recipient's name], [recipient's friend's name] wants you to join in the fun at Jackpot Joy and we do too! We’ve got loads of hot slots, bubbly bingo and casino classics for you to enjoy from just a penny! But don’t take our word for it, ask [friend's name]. And if you click here to Join Now, you’ll get our 100% Cash Match Welcome Bonus. So deposit £10 and you’ll get £20 to play with. Plus we’ll give you and [friend's name] an EXTRA £10 EACH once you’ve played with your first deposit! Join now and get two big bonuses!” A clickable button below the text was labelled “Register Now”.

The complainant thought that the offer to give an extra £10 to each player after playing with their first deposit was misleading as it could be interpreted by people that to mean that when they played with their first deposit they would immediately receive an additional £10, at no additional cost, with which to bet on the games on the website.

Profitable Play argued that the email, sent out when an existing player at Jackpot Joy referred a friend to join, clearly stated that the £10 award was a bonus and that the bonus had wagering conditions. Also, they claimed that an error in the email meant that a link to the specific terms and conditions of the refer a friend promotion sent people to the generic t’s and c’s instead.

The ASA stated that the email breached advertising CAP code on three counts, under clauses 3.1 (Substantiation), 7.1, 7.2 (Truthfulness) and 34.1a (Significant conditions for promotions).

Neill Whyte, Head of Bingo at Microgaming said in a statement to the press that, “These latest Side Games are further evidence of Microgaming’s continued commitment to offering the very best entertainment mix possible. With player enticement and retention paramount for our operators, Side Games are an increasingly important element of our Bingo offering and we are constantly striving to add top quality content. November’s Side Games provide a real sense of variety, with video slots, AWP style games and instant wins, which we’re sure players will respond very well to.”

The four new side games feature a selection of slot games with various themes, including an excellent slot game with a medical theme.

The following information is taken from the Microgaming website.

REEL GEMS is the latest five-reel slot to join Microgaming’s portfolio of Bingo Side Games. The jewel-laden game features 243 Ways to Win and showcases Microgaming’s new re-spin feature. Reel Gems is focused on the glittering theme of precious gems and offers diverse winning opportunities through a mix of Wild, Scatter, Multiplier and retriggering Free Spins.

When 3, 4 or 5 Diamond Ring symbols appear on the reels it will activate 15 retriggering Free Spins, which triple all wins, with the opportunity of up to 120,000 coins on this feature alone. Rewards can be reaped by using the glistening Reel Gem logo as a substitute for other symbols, delivering up to 40,000 coins in return.

MAGNIFICENT 777’S is an AWP style game with three reels, holds and nudges. The game’s symbols are a mix of coloured seven’s and stars, and wins are awarded when three of a kind symbols appear on the win-line. Red Sevens are worth up to 200 times the original bet, Blue Sevens are worth up to 10 times and any mix of Red and Blue Sevens are worth up to double the original bet.

When a coloured star appears on the middle reel’s win line, a random number of winning spins are awarded, with the value of each added to the balance at the end of each spin. A Bronze Star pays out lower end total, a Silver Star pays out middle range total wins, with an odd chance of paying a high total win and a Gold Stars pays out high end total wins. The reel band also has ‘dash’ symbols that do not produce a three of a kind win, but they will break up potential wins.

PHAROAH’S GEMS is the second game in November’s double bill of gem themed Side Games and takes the form of a three-in-one instant win card. Big prizes are the aim of the game and players have three chances to win in the pharaoh’s tomb, with the opportunity to take home up to 7500 times their original stake.

The game’s theme is the grandeur and opulence of Ancient Egypt, as players are challenged to search for the treasures of the pharaohs. With three games on offer, discovering a win in the treasure chest in game 1, matching a gem to the winning symbol in game 2, or revealing a prize from the Nefertiti statue in game 3, all lead the player to riches.

GERMINATOR is a highly infectious slot style game where a host of colourful germs act as the symbols. The aim is to match three or more similar germs in a horizontal or vertical line to win. When a row of germs are involved in a winning line they are “cured”, allowing the germs above to cascade down and fill the gap, offering players the chance of even more wins.

If three or more bonus pills appear on the grid at the end of the game, the Medi-Bonus will trigger, allowing players to remove an entire strain of germs from the screen. The maximum jackpot for a single winning line is 360 coins, but players can benefit from an infinite number of cascades, greatly increasing their win potential.