Ladbrokes Bingo only saw a one per cent rise in their active player numbers in the three months from July to September 2010 but their player base increased losses by 11 per cent.

Ladbrokes Bingo operate on Virtue Fusion software and Ladbrokes have been pushing their bingo hard in recent weeks, with their Free Bingo product now having its own tab on the navigation of Ladbrokes’ home page. It is thought that the record £3.5 million progressive jackpot on the Clover Rollover slot will have also contributed to increased revenue as players chase a life changing payday for just a £1 stake.

Across Labrokes as a whole, the online part of the business saw a 17% growth in revenue and across the entire company net revenue was up 12 per cent and operating profit, excluding high rollers, was up 128%.

However the company acknowledged that the like-for-like comparisons were not difficult to out perform, given how dismal previous trading had been.

Richard Glynn, the recently appointed Ladbrokes chief executive, said: “Although bolstered by successful latter stages of the World Cup and an easy comparative period, the growth rates achieved in the third quarter give the Board confidence that the Group is on track to meet its full year expectations.

“Ladbrokes has a great brand and a strengthened management team determined to drive operational improvements going forward. Though much remains to be done, I am encouraged by the progress we are making across the Group and I look forward to updating the market in February 2011.”

New players signing up to Lots of Bingo will receive £5 for free and they will match a first deposit of up to £250! The deposits will be matched instantly so there is no delay for the player.

The site, despite being very new to the market is a comprehensive bingo site with all the features a player would expect from a well established competitor.

Players can also play free bingo every day and win real cash prizes. Another popular game on offer is LotsofBingo.com’s “Deal or No Deal” bingo game.

Tombola Bingo launched their first free game i-scratch in April 2008 and since then there have been another six free games including their most recent game – Lucky Pick.

Lucky Pick is their most revolutionary free game to date as you have total control over your own actions – so its up to you whether you win. There are 49 cash values hidden behind shutters and each day you get the chance to open 6 shutters, match the right amount of cash values and the prize is yours for the taking!

‘Shelleybabe01′ one of Lucky Pick’s most recent winners had this to say “I was totally taken aback when I won £500 on Lucky Pick. As a rule I am not a lucky person, so I was so shocked. Most of it will be going on next year’s holiday for myself and partner. Thank you tombola you are the best.”

tombola’s free games are open to all depositing players so for your chance to win head over to Tombola Bingo and take advantage of their £25 Money Match signup bonus!

The TV ads feature one pence coins and only last 10 seconds. They will be running on TV channels across the UK throughout August and September.

Little Big Bingo is the latest online bingo site from Cashcade, the parent company of Foxy Bingo, Cheeky Bingo, Think Bingo and Bingo Scotland. They have also released free to play bingo site Foxy Zero Bingo this week, which is also backed my a major TV campaign.

The theme of Little Big Bingo is that for small stakes you can win big prizes. Their catchphrase is “Spend A Little – Win big”. All the bingo games are for low stakes – starting at one pence per card and the maximum cost is just five pence per card.

Check out Bingo News’ review of Little Big Bingo.

Cheeky Bingo is the latest bingo site from Cashcade, owners of Foxy Bingo, Think Bingo, Think Bingo Cosy and Bingo Scotland.

The site launch is being backed by a TV advertising campaign, which will air from February 9th.

The launch of Cheeky Bingo will further invigorate the UK free bingo market. Cheeky Bingo will offer free bingo from 8am until midnight seven days a week and plan to have three rooms open between 6pm and 10pm and two rooms from noon until 6pm and 10pm to 11pm. Prizes in the free rooms will be randomly allocated and will be either£1, £2, £5, £7 or £10.

The site will also feature real money games, including budget 5p and 10pm rooms at all times with progressive jackpots on offer.

To get people to sign up Cheeky Bingo will be offering a 200% bonus on first deposits.

They are offering to pay £30 towards the cost of their members having their cat or dog spayed. The first 100 members to “provide a current Veterinarian’s invoice and a photo of their beloved cat or dog enjoying their newfound lack of responsibility” will get a cash refund.

Neutering in the UK costs around £180 for a bitch and £100 for a dog.

LiveBingo.com Manager Andrew Housego said they were trying to help cash strapped bingo players during a time of economic hardship: “It’s no coincidence that the RSPCA’s demand increases during tough economic times. People are finding it tough enough to keep their existing animals healthy and happy without the addition of unwanted arrivals.”

What we haven’t worked out is how bingo and spaying pets has any connection whatsoever. But we have discovered that for the first time we can tell a bingo site that their promotion is a complete load of bollocks and they were happy to agree with us.

£1,000 GUARANTEED JACKPOT EVERYDAY IN DECEMBER

Virgin Bingo have got a guaranteed jackpot Bingo Game running everyday for £1,000. There’s going to be 31 winners of these terrific pots during December sharing a total of £31,000. Join in the Fun every night at 9pm in the Virgin Bingo 90 ball room. You’d be mad to miss this chance!

Jason Owens, 25, will be the face of Free Bingo Hunter. The company behind the website claims that Jason “is the inspiration behind a new website, which will help UK bingo players find the best free bingo”.

But this isn’t just a promotional stunt – Jason is a former regional finalist in the Bingo Caller of the Year competition.

He said: “Women of whatever shape or size love bingo and online bingo gives them the chance to carry on their busy lives while socialising and winning prizes.”

The company say the plan to set up a second web site shortly named bingominis.com, “aimed not at little people but for those who like to play shorter bingo games”.

At Bingo News we do like innovative PR but feel this one might have gone a bit too far. The press release says: “Instead of visiting dreary bingo halls and spending cash they can ill afford, tens of thousands of women are logging on to play free bingo on their mobiles, at the gym or from the comfort of their home computers.” Since when did people play online free bingo in the gym? And since when were bingo halls dreary? Isn’t that where they found their new spokesman?

Incidentally, Jason Owen (he seems to have added an s to his name since then) was nominated for the south east regional heat of Bingo Caller of the Year in 2007 when he worked at Mecca Bingo Hall in Wandsworth. It will be interesting to see if he has cleared this new gig with his bosses at Mecca Bingo because we gather that parent company Rank Group are quite protective of their employees and don’t like them working for rival online bingo operators.

They will be having fun and games throughout the evening with host CM Santa (also known as CM Tunaman!!) who will be giving out some fantastic Christmas prezzies too!!

Don’t forget your free £5* for the party will be in your account in time for the xmas party!!

We have also got a preview of the chat game that will be played for prizes……

Bingo Christmas Tree
Choose 3 numbers 1-90. One of the numbers must end in “0″ (zero). When all 3 are called, shout “Xmas Tree” & your numbers 1st to win the chance to choose a numbered bauble on our Xmas Tree and win the prize that is revealed!

So get along to Crown Bingo for freebies, laughs, fun and games on Tuesday 16th December from 6pm!

*must be used by midnight on 16th December

Virtue Fusion claim to be the largest dedicated online bingo software company in the world. They have a stellar list of the world’s top gambling companies using their bingo software.

Virtue Fusion holds an Alderney gaming licence and is in the process of applying for a Maltese licence.

Virtue Fusion is run by Alex Haig-Thomas and Robert Keown-Boyd. They are unusual in the world of online bingo in that both are old Etonians. The company has approximately 340 employees, of which 260 are chat moderators.

Virtue Fusion’s bingo product grew out of bingo software developed for Gala Group. Following Gala’s decision to build their own bingo platform, Virtue Fusion signed Mecca Bingo as their first client in 2005. They then signed Crown Bingo as their second client and first end-to-end bingo solution client in November 2005.

Sites currently running on Virtue Fusion software include:

UK Facing Online Bingo Sites

Mecca Bingo

Crown Bingo

Sky Bingo

Bet365 Bingo

Jackpot City Bingo

Jackpot Bingo

Ladbrokes Bingo

William Hill Bingo

Paddy Power Bingo

Carlton Bingo

Blue Square Bingo

Vernons Bingo

Scot Bingo

Bingo Loopy

Crazy Bingo

Minxy Bingo

Buckingham Bingo

Capitol Bingo

Take A Break Bingo

Fruit Bingo

Bonanza Bingo

Big8 Gaming

River Belle Bingo

Beach Bingo

Bingo Crazy

Bunny Bingo

European facing online bingo sites

Bingo Corona

Bingo.ie

Other territories and forthcoming launches

Virtue Fusion are planning to launch sites in Sweden and Denmark in early 2009. Virtue Fusion does not accept clients from the United States.

The CGTV cable channel will allow Canadian players to play free games, including bingo, blackjack, video poker, slot machines and skill games. They will be able to play at www.cgtvcanada.com.

Allan Weinrib, Senior Director for CGTV Canada, said: “With the addition of Parlay’s gaming suite to CGTV Canada’s website, our viewers now have the opportunity to interact with the CGTV brand online. Since we are the first and only television network in North America to celebrate the casino and gaming lifestyle, it seemed like a natural fit to partner with Parlay to offer free online gaming content.”

CGTV Canada said it plans to promote the online games through advertising on its television network and in print campaigns.

“Our free-play gaming solution allows web operators like CGTV Canada a hassle-free opportunity to reach new audiences with interactive online content,” said Perry Malone, CTO for Parlay Entertainment. “Operators benefit by exposing players to branded messages, offers and other advertising within the game, while at the same time building their marketing database through site registration.”

Kicking off December with an absolute cracker (pardon the festive pun), Ladbrokes are giving you the chance to win FREE BINGO for a whole year (in the form of £200 free credit every month during 2009). From the 1st December to the 7th December, every 20 Bingo tickets bought (or every £2 spent on mini-games) buys you one entry to the prize draw.

So looks like Christmas is coming early to Ladbrokes Bingo so get over there and get signed up before the Christmas rush!

To celebrate Bonfire Night this Wednesday, Ladbrokes Bingo have a ‘Penny for the Guy’ bingo night. Games in the lounge, Attic and Bedroom will all be 1p, with prizes up to a cool £500! Simply play between 5pm and 10pm – so there’s no excuse if you are going to a bonfire party!

Also this month, Ladbrokes are running free bingo games on Saturday 8th November. These games will be available in the Attic between 11am-12pm and 6pm-7pm.

New customers should sign up now, deposit £10 and get £20 free to use on bingo!

Free play is available from 9am to 4pm every day and 10pm until 9am the next day. All play is in euros and players can buy up to a maximum of six tickets per free game.

There’s not many players on the Bingo.ie site at the moment but the ones who are there seem really friendly and apparently their will be some Chat Moderators joining the site shortly.

Bingo.ie is aimed at Irish online bingo players but anyone in Europe can sign up and play.