NEWS


Bingo, casinos wrestling with the same problems


And they come down to two words: the Net


Cost-conscious consumers seek their fun at home; smoking bans kill the pleasure of traditional gaming venues for tobacco addicts; high broadband penetration makes playing online an easy alternative. Sounds familiar, perhaps. But this isn’t (only) a description of (parts of) the casino industry: as a new report from research firm Research and Markets indicates, it’s the state of Bingo too. The study, Bingo in the Digital Age: Global Market Assessment and


Forecasts, paints a rosy background to the sector: “Bingo is one of the most popular and socially accepted games in the world,” it says, with 100m land- based players and, in some nations, greater popularity than cinema. The game has also “long benefited from being seen as a safe pastime played by people who would not necessarily be the expected demographic to visit a casino or betting shop,” the researchers say. But it’s being hit by falling attendances and declining revenues for many of the same reasons afflicting some western casinos – and Bingo players, too, are moving online. Indeed, the game’s social acceptability is likely hindering land-based Bingo halls as much as it’s helping them, the report says: “Customers who would not necessarily regard themselves as ‘gamblers’ are unlikely to feel any unease about playing Bingo and are flocking to the online game.”


The question for Bingo operators, then, is not whether to embrace the


Internet, but where to do it: should they enter markets such as the UK or continental Europe “where competition is already intense and global market share of gross gaming yield is set to fall, or a less developed market such as India which by virtue of being unproven carries greater risk”? Most likely, if the shift to online gaming continues unabated, there’s


revenue to be earned from both. But there’s also another option: might Bingo halls, building on their reputation as dens of pleasure rather than iniquity, reinvent themselves in the guise of comprehensive leisure destinations? We report on page 8 how one British casino operator, Rank’s Grosvenor division, is doing just that – and it could be that if land-based Bingo is ailing from the same ills as casinos, it would benefit from the same cure.


Who’s in charge here? EU will let states govern gaming...mostly


The spirit of diplomatic compromise is flourishing in Brussels, where the European Union’s competitiveness council recently issued conclusions on the framework for EU gambling legislation that essentially read: “Member states can make their own rules. Well, except when they can’t.” In the conflict between instincts for pan-EU regulation and individual nations’ independence, the council seems to have come down on the nationalist side, saying that “the need to effectively regulate gambling services requires that member states supervise provision in their territories through regulatory public authorities, established according to national legislation”.


But it also notes that “co-operation between the member states seems


required” on issues such as sharing information on operators and consumer protection. The European Casino Association welcomed the council’s position, with


Chairman Ron Goudsmit saying: “We absolutely endorse the view that stronger co-operation between countries is required both to improve the regulatory environment and to establish effective law enforcement.” The fine line between co-operation and coercion has, however, yet to be drawn.


4 JANUARY 2011


IJACK 32Red, the British online casino, is offering players what it says is the first real-money Blackjack app for Apple’s iPhone. Called Blackjack – 32Red Casino, it’s a free download with winnings paid to bank accounts within 24 hours.


INBRIEF


WITH THE MOSTEST Online gaming firm Genting Alderney has created a “virtual hostess”, Gabrielle Genting, to lead its social media campaigns.


DOUBLE WIN WMS Industries has entered the list of America’s 100 Best Small Companies maintained by Forbes magazine, which ranks firms based on earnings growth, sales growth and return on equity in the past 12 months and five years. It has also been named best large employer in its region, in the Top Workplaces 2010 list published by the Chicago Tribune newspaper.


ON THE SIDE Microgaming has added four new side games to its online Bingo package, including AWP-style content, video slots and instant wins.


MOBILE CROWN BetNow received the accolade of Best Gambling Company at the Mobile Entertainment Awards, beating off competition including Paddy Power, Betfair and Rank.


PUNCHY PROMO Merkur Gaming hosted Lucian Bute, the IBF Super Middleweight world champion, on its stand at the Entertainment Arena Expo in Bucharest. Bute gave autographs to promote Merkur’s Games Unlimited package.


DOWN FLORIDA WAY Incredible Technologies has been approved by Florida regulators to supply its Magic Touch Class III casino games to venues there. Florida is the fifth state in which Incredible has received approval, and it is also authorised as a gaming supplier by several Native American tribes.


SPEAKING IN TONGUES Inspired Gaming Group has added a multi-language commentary module to its Virtual Sports products, including horses, football and speedway. Online gaming firm bet365 is the first to go live with the 16-language system.


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