Online bingo surges as bingo clubs suffer; Gala, Mecca not converting, report confirms 03/07/2009

Jon Parker

Internet bingo is booming as land-based bingo suffers, new research on the UK bingo market has confirmed.

The industry data from 2006 until the end of 2008, the last full-year for which data is available, show a 60% increase in the number of people playing bingo online, accompanied by a 10% drop in the number of people visiting bingo clubs.

The data, compiled by market research company Mintel, lends weight to anecdotal evidence from online operators that bingo is their fastest growing market.

However the report highlights that “the past decade has seen a radical change in the age and social status of the typical bingo players [with] greater numbers of young and affluent people drawn into the market.”

But it warns club owners that the new breed of younger, richer players are also most likely to drift to online bingo instead of bingo clubs.

“Around 6% of club bingo players have played online and the proportion experimenting online is growing. There is now a slow bleed of club players to the online world,” it concludes.

Consolidation has meant that Gala and Mecca together now dominate the club bingo market, the report reveals, but adds that the bingo giants have been only partially successful in converting their high-street strength into online strength.

“Gala and Mecca are the only brands with a significant online brand presence, but even they face stiff online competition from non-traditional bingo brands. They control 80% of club revenue, but combined they hold only an estimated 23% of online revenue,” it says.

As reported on EGRmagazine.com, Mecca owner Rank Group recently appointed Mark Jones as managing director of Mecca after former Mecca MD Simon Wykes left in May

As reported on EGRmagazine.com, new operators have sought to enter the online bingo market this month alone. Chili Poker is looking for a bingo partner, while Microgaming has launched a standalone bingo product.

The Mintel report attributes the hardships experienced by bingo clubs to the British recession and to the smoking ban and, but adds that “the decision to raise bingo duty by nearly 50% in the 2009 budget signals another blow to the industry.”

FoxyBingo is the UK’s most visible bingo website, a ranking of the 20 most visible online bingo brands in the UK seen exclusively by eGaming Review recently revealed.

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Posted: 03/07/2009