According to the land-based bingo industry the recently implemented smoking ban has a lot to answer for when it comes to bingo clubs and their bottom line. Top Ten bingo is the latest company to cry foul after having to issue a profit warning – the smoking ban is to blame.

However, I couldn’t help noticing recently that quite a few blue-chip companies like Ericsson, Citigroup, BP and a few others have been issuing profit warnings, but no mention of a smoking ban as a contributing factor.

Could it be that things are getting a bit tough out there irrespective of whether customers are allowed to smoke or not?  And then there’s that saying about ‘when the going gets tough,….’

In a way I’m thankful for the smoking ban because it means online bingo and online bingo halls have not yet been made scapegoats for the land-based bingo industry’s failures. But these are early days in an industry undergoing far bigger changes than many seem able to comprehend.

Written by John Witherspoon – Come and read all about the online bingo world. BingoStreet’s online bingo news section serves the freshest info of the industry.

A major European think tank has recently conducted a debate over the growing WTO debacle triggered by the US’ attempts to renege on its WTO obligations to do with freeing up its online gambling market.  Natuarally, (and because it’s true) the debate/forum came to the conclusion that the US deserved harsh criticism over its handling of the issue.

However, what is more important to your average online bingo operator and US online bingo players who want to play bingo online at non-US online bingo halls is whether or not the US will take a blind bit of notice.

It seems the US is determined to thwart any move away from its current policy so infamously enshrined in its controversial UIGEA statute.  This may be at the expense of billions in compensation to other WTO countries with whom the US had signed the free-trade agreement with.

But will this do the online bingo industry any real good?  Loosing the US market was a hammer blow and , though the signs are there that free online bingo has been able to adapt quite well to a post-UIGEA world, it would be better for all if the US simply lived up to its obligations – fat chance!

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Yet another major UK gambling group is blaming a loss of revenue on the recently implemented smoking ban in the UK.  The Rank group says its profits are significantly down, affecting the profitability of its Mecca Bingo franchise.

Online bingo players who visit Bingo Street will be well aware of the excellent Mecca Bingo online bingo hall and a fair few will be regular players there.  It is encouraging that, while land-based bingo does seem to be on the out, Rank has had the foresight to establish an online bingo presence as a hedge against the future.

It will be interesting to see how Rank marshals its considerable industry clout in dealing with this downturn in revenue.  Complaining is not an option and I think we will see Mecca Bingo rise to the occasion and continue firmly establishing itself as a bingo online institution.  In the end there is a history of quality associated with Mecca Bingo and this has to account for something.

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When Party Gaming boss Mitch Garber commented offers for the company would be entertained, the mainstream media decided to run with it big time.

The comments were made at the recent EiG conference in Barcelona and have stoked speculation that a US gambling concern might be in the running to acquire Party Gaming.

For online bingo industry observers, the possibilities posed by the US purchase of a major European online gambling icon have all sorts of implications regards US online gambling policy.  Most importantly it could serve to give pause to US actions under their draconian UIGEA law.  It could also add an interesting dimension to the growing compensation problems faced by the US over its efforts to withdraw from its WTO commitments.

We in the online bingo community will be most familiar with Party Gaming’s PartyBingo product.  The is currently thought to be worth a cool $2.5 billion and has done well at mitigating the disastrous effects of the US market shut down due to UIGEA.

So, will Party Gaming pass into US hands? Garber is quoted in the Financial Times as saying he would entertain discussions with major Vegas players.  This of course implies that no such contacts have actually been made.  My bet is that there’s a long way to go before anything substantial comes of this.

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In the clearest indication yet that state-run gambling monopolies have nothing to do with protecting players and everything to do with protecting a lucrative source of income for governments, anti-online gambling Norway has given the go ahead to its own gambling monopoly to install an advanced online marketing system.

Online bingo operators and the online bingo industry in general are facing the prospect of another UIGEA-style law locking them out of yet another market.

Norwegian ministers have made no bones about their anti-online gambling sentiments – yet here we have the very institution that is supposed to guard that country’s poor gullible gamblers gearing up with the means to market its services for maximum profit.

There will be online gambling in Norway, of that I have not doubt. Whether free enterprise bingo online operations or the government itself will profit is, I think, a decision to be made by those purporting to be the guardians of the anti-gambling movement in Norway.

Am I the only one who sees a massive conflict of interests here?

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The UK’s Bingo Association, that bastion of hope for the beleaguered land-based sector of our bingo industry, has just published a report in which it attempts to make a connection between declining community interaction and the demise of the land-based bingo hall.

The report is quite far reaching and certainly provides a comprehensive look at issues regarding the way UK adults spend their leisure time and how that relates back to a sense of community.

However, what I find curious about the report is that within the vast assemblage of facts and survey results, there is very little of substance dealing with the impact of a new generation of online bingo halls and the effect on bingo habits provided by free online bingo games.  It’s as if the report simply does not want to deal with the change in social habits now provided by ‘living online’, as so many UK people now do.

It’s understandable that the Bingo Association and its vested interest in keeping traditional land-based bingo chugging along would look to interpret the results of such a study as evidence that land-based bingo needs to be supported – if only for the sake of our sense of community. But there may be other factors at play here that tell a slightly different story.
Online bingo is one of the online gambling industry’s fastest growing niches, and given that the Bingo Association-sponsored survey shows a large proportion of the population preferring to stay home during their leisure hours, it makes sense that free online bingo is a natural option for such people looking to play bingo.

Also, let’s not forget that one of online bingo’s greatest attractions is that it still facilitates a sense of community via its chat room functions and inter-player communications.  In the end, online bingo is still about ‘community interaction’, it’s just that it’s a different way of communicating within the bingo community.

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As some of the more alert members of the online bingo industry and community may already know, the entire online gambling industry recently gathered for a big pow-wow in Barcelona.

All manner of issues affecting bingo online and the overall gaming industry were discussed and reported with some of the more salient debates being reserved for discussions on business strategy for a post-UIGEA world and the thorny question of state-run gambling monopolies in certain European countries.

However, I’m interested to know if any of you out there in free online bingo land may have had your own experiences at the sixth annual European i-Gaming Congress and Expo?

If so, drop us a line.  We’d love to hear what your take was on the issues being discussed in Barcelona or if you happened to pick up any interesting online bingo news tidbits for us.  Comments and news are always welcome.

Written by John Witherspoon – Come and read all about the online bingo world. BingoStreet’s online bingo news section serves the freshest info of the industry.

I thought it might be interesting for some of us in the online bingo community to see the depths to which some people are descending in the cutthroat world of online gambling – in this case a false-flag email campaign against online casino Maxima.

Maxima Casino has been operating successfully for over five years, yet a list of its customers somehow fell into the hands of either a competitor or disgruntled employee who then used it to email a false claim that the company is bankrupt.

Naturally, Maxima issued an immediate denial of the email’s claims and continues to operate as normal. Nonetheless, this sort of attack really is about as low as one can go.

Maxima does not offer a free online bingo games option and I do not know of any online bingo hall or bingo online operator who has been subjected to a similar attack – and I hope it remains that way.

For those interested, here is the denial issued by Maxima concerning the fake email:

Dear ……

We have been informed that someone is trying to damage reputation of THE MAXIMA casino by sending a spam email telling that we have a management and financial problems.

We are sure that most of you are aware we are still operational without any problems for nearly 5 years and we have no intention to stop. Therefore we are kindly asking you to disregard the email you received or any other emails regarding THE MAXIMA casino that are not sent from our email addresses.

Please be advised that we have full backup from our software provider ‘PlayTech’ and shortly official letter issued by them will be sent to you in order to see that the email you previously received is indeed a scam.

Such It is a rather “dirty job” some are trying to do to many casinos and is very important for you to remain calm and rest assure we will take care of it.

At the same time we would like to thank you for your trust and loyalty. Should you have any other questions or concerns, please do no hesitate to contact our friendly support department and they will gladly assist you.

Sincerely yours,

Dan F.

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There was an interesting moment at the European i-Gaming Congress and Expo currently going on in Barcelona that caught my attention, and probably the attention of a few other online bingo industry observers.

While discussing the penchant for gambling monopolies in many European states, Ron Martin from Neteller came out with a beauty when he commented that: “…the past year had been unexpectedly unchallenging for Neteller and not much fun. The brand had been damaged and repair work was in progress�.

Of course, online bingo players will remember that Neteller’s troubles started with the arrival of the US’ UIGEA law and had little to do with any European state-run gambling monopolies. However, I found the understated nature of the comment on his company’s recent troubles almost unnerving.

To call Neteller’s brush with US authorities ‘a unique and dangerous situation’ for a company involved in the reputation-heavy industry of online payment processing would not be understating the facts. As most players of bingo online know, things got pretty tight for Neteller and their US customer base who began to wonder if they would ever see their money again once US authorities latched on to the Isle of Man-based company.

But all’s well that ends well and Neteller are in the process of wrapping up payments to those US customers who saw their funds frozen for nearly six months while Neteller faced off with US Department of Justice heavies. Better still for the company, things do seem to be on the up and up as they diversify their interests away fro the US market.

In fact, diversifying one’s interests away from the US of A seems to be a theme at this year’s congress – I wonder why?

Written by John Witherspoon – Interested in free online bingo? Our great online bingo portal gives all the info you need.

It’s all go in Barcelona this week as the sixth annual European i-Gaming Congress and Expo kicks off with a host of online bingo hall operators and developers of online bingo games joining the action.

Major players in the online gaming industry will be gathering to discuss a whole range of issues related to the industry, but the one issue that is sure to dominate is the effects being felt by the industry since the implementation of the UIGEA law in the US.

What is likely to come out of the meeting is the general feeling that the industry has shown a remarkable resilience in the face of losing the huge US market thanks to UIGEA.  Bouncing back from being shut out of the US market will be a major focus of discussions by various industry representatives and operators from all walks of online gaming will be there trying to glean tips on how to prosper in a post-UIGEA world.

While I don’t expect to hear of any shocks or earth-shattering developments from the congress, it will be worthwhile taking note on how the industry mood fares once this showcase event finishes.  Let’s see if bingo online and the online bingo community can learn anything from the offerings of a myriad of online gaming industry speakers – you never know what number is coming up next!

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