Parlay 5, for Online Bingo in Multiple Languages
With bingo being one of the most popular games in the world, it was only a matter of time before online bingo software developer Parlay, invented a new generation product that could reproduce online bingo in all languages. Apparently this is what Parlay 5 is all about!
In the past year online bingo operators have launched sites in Polish, Swedish, Dutch, Italian, Spanish, French and Flemish and now online bingo fans are able to enjoy their favourite game in their own language. Parlay 5 makes it much easier for online bingo operators to launch bingo sites in multiple languages and currencies. It also makes it easier to configure games and chat rooms in a variety of languages, including non-roman scripts.
Online bingo players will have more options to choose from when deciding the currency of their account; once the online player has registered they will be able to see their balances in the chosen currency, even if the game uses a different currency.
The European Managing Director said that the software is sensitive to the subtle cultural changes throughout the European Union, for example in Spain the numbers are called very quickly and there is no free space on the cards in Sweden, even though they play the seventy-five ball game.
Parlay Entertainment Recieves UK Online Bingo License
The worlds’ foremost supplier of online bingo and gaming software development has recently bee granted a license from the UK Gambling Commission to develop, adapt and install online bingo and other gambling software throughout the UK.
This makes the company one of only thirty companies throughout the world to be granted a UK remote gambling software license and it is the only bingo software developer to receive a UK license.
Parlay received the UK bingo software licence through its subsidiary, Parlay Malta Limited, they presently hold a Class 4 remote gaming license in Malta and are certified for developing bingo software on the Isle of Man.
The Managing Director of Parlay’s European operations, Steve Cook, say that they are delighted to have received the UK bingo licence as they can now continue to serve their UK based clientele. They will be required to abide by the laws of the UK Gambling Act of 2005. This means that they have to undertake to conduct fair and open gaming whilst at the same time protecting children and the vulnerable (whoever they might be) from any harmful effects of gaming.
Currently Parlay, whose holding company is Canadian, have integrated their software with more than fifty online bingo operators.
Mecca Bingo Has New Bargain Hunter on its Tail
The Guoco Group is a Hong Kong based investment holding and management company that is listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, and they are the latest in a long line of investment companies who are trying to get a foothold in Mecca Bingo (Rank) shares. The have previously declared and interest in Mecca Bing0, when they purchased the £31 million Clermont Club, Berkley Square, London.
This purchase entitles the investment company to a 3.17% shareholding in Mecca Bingo, and although this might not seem like much of a shareholding, it is large enough for Rank to have issued a regulatory statement.
Guoco is very keen on making an impact on the UK bingo market and is obviously still trying, this time through its Rank shareholding. The Chief Executive of Guoco is Quek Leng Chan and he is the former employer of Mecca Bingo’s Ian Burke. So who can help but think that perhaps the two former colleagues might have been engaged in talks surrounding Mecca Bingo’s present beleaguered financial position.
I don’t know about you, but I think that 2008 is going to a pretty interesting year for the land based bingo industry in the UK and deserves keeping a close eye on.
Playtech Online Bingo Speculation
Mere moments after having read speculation about the intent of Playtech (a popular online bingo software provider) to have a more bullish approach to acquisitions for the year 2008, I read that Virtual Fusion has already received a bid from the entertainment giant that could have quite and impact on the online bingo and gaming industry.
Mor Weizer the Chief Executive of Playtech has stated that the company is experiencing unprecedented growth and during 2007 enjoyed significantly buoyant trading. This in laymen’s terms means that the company is doing really well and had a very good 2007 financially, with pre-tax profits said to be in the area of $68.8 million, after sales of $102.8 million.
Virtue Fusion is the online bingo software provider for William Hill, Mecca Bingo and bet 365 and it is understood that the reason for the bid is that the company wishes to increase its own online bingo and other gaming products.
It certainly appears that Playtech intends to strike while the iron is hot and that any speculation regarding its intention to gather a few more online bingo sites and online gaming products under their umbrella, may indeed not be purely speculation. It is interesting to note that Playtech’s Online Poker event which guaranteed $2.5 million in prizes, may bode well for the future prize monies on offer for online bingo players, should the rumours prove to be true.
Hospital Porter’s Bingo Wins Enough to Pay Mortgage
It was a fantastic start to the New Year for a forty-eight year old Abingdon man when he won more than £100,000 whilst playing bingo at the Gala Bingo Club in Ozone Retail Park, Oxford. The win that took place on 30th December 2007 saw him claim the National Bingo Prize of £100,000 together with the house prize of £300, giving him a grand total of £100,300. All of this after completing a full house in forty-one calls.
The winning bingo player said that the feeling he received from the big win was one of the best he has ever felt in his life, coming in only second to the way he felt when his sons were born. He has won on the bingo before, as he has been playing for about ten years, but his biggest previous wins were only between £500 and £1,300.
From the proceeds of his bingo win, in the true spirit of the UK bingo player, he intends to share his wind-fall; first he will pay of his mortgage, then purchase his one son a car and pay the others University fees. He also intends to take his wife on holiday to Egypt and pay for his brothers to go on holiday in Portugal. He recons that the money will be all spent up by then, but it will feel great to be mortgage free!
Pensioner Keeps Bingo Win a Secret
A £20,000 bingo prize that was won by a seventy-four year old pensioner from Morecombe on New Years Eve has been kept a secret from her family.
She said that she has not told them a thing about the win as yet; she wants to wait until she has the cheque in her hands before she tells them. I wonder how on earth she managed to do this, but then again I am not really very good at keeping secrets!
The lucky pensioner was playing at the Gala Bingo Club in Marine Road East, Morecombe and won during the Afternoon Delight game. Her good fortune included the National Bingo prize of £20,000 plus the house prize of £40 when she completed a full house in forty-two calls.
This winner is a widow, she has been playing bingo since 1991 when she started playing with her own mother, and has become a very regular player since. She has two sons, three grandchildren and one great grandchild.
Although everyone in the bingo club was cheering her on and congratulating her, she couldn’t believe that she had won so much money. On being asked what she would like to spend her bingo winnings on, she replied that she hadn’t quite decided, but she might redecorate her living room.
No Free Play for German Bingo
Just out of interest I thought it might be worth mentioning that we in the UK have it easy when considering the opportunities we have to play online bingo.
In Germany recently, sixteen states voted to keep their state run gaming monopolies, this means that it is completely illegal for non-state owned bingo companies to offer bingo online or other bingo services to the citizens of Germany.
This is a huge disappointment to online bingo and gaming companies as this market is now completely out of their reach. It is also interesting to note, somewhat like the UIEGA saga, that voting by the German states to keep bingo and gaming monopolised by the state, is totally in contradiction of EU regulations that are supposed to support free trade within the EU.
It is not only in Germany that the government is flaunting EU trade regulations in particular for online bingo and gaming, there are a number of other EU countries that are trying to keep their online and other gaming opportunities all to themselves, which is not in the spirit of good trade relations between EU countries. How it is deemed ok for a German product to be sold to a UK resident and not a UK product sold to a German resident, is quite beyond me. So for now Bwinn Interactive Entertainment and Fluzz AG are leading the fight to have this unfair situation changed, but perhaps the best place to hit the Germs is in the pocket, by boycotting their products until they are prepared to accept ours!
Gala Bingo Push’s TV Bingo Channel
We recently reported that Gala Bingo is going to be closing down at least five of it’s land-based bingo clubs, and this news came after they had made a statement saying that they were not anticipating any closures in 2008. However, it seems that in response to the decline of trade in their land based bingo halls, they have decided to push their TV channel.
The latest newsworthy development in Gala bingo’s attempt to stave off revenue losses due to unfair taxation and the smoking ban, is hoped to be successful in attracting a more regular and younger audience. So Gala Bingo online TV channel will be their next push to recover market share in the bingo industry.
They have already determined that 20% of their online bingo membership has never visited a land based bingo hall. Their online bingo membership is growing and will be more thoroughly marketed in the future.
Both Mecca Bingo and Gala Bingo have been lobbying for pre budget changes to the current discriminatory tax laws against bingo revenues and they have been joined by various MP’s in an attempt to have these changes enforced.
Gala Bingo operates 270 of the UK’s 600 plus, land based bingo clubs.
Bingo Site of the Year Awards 2007
In a surprise finish, the voting for Online Bingo Site of the year 2007 resulted in the winner being “Think Bingo”. Online bingo players participated in the voting process with great enthusiasm and the winner, who came fourth in last years competition is the UK’s first ever stand alone online bingo site.
Three years ago, Think Bingo took a leap of faith and entered the online bingo market, obviously this was a good decision for them, and they have worked tirelessly to make the site something to be proud of.
The UK online bingo community certainly feels that Think Bingo is a great site and have accordingly voted it as such. The Which Bingo Site of the Year is a much sought after award and being voted the best by UK online bingo players will definitely give Think Bingo a marketing edge over other online bingo sites.
I was really surprised to see that the Big Brand Bingo site, Gala Bingo came in 24th, but Mecca Bingo did take fourth place.
UK Online bingo players also voted for The New Site of the Year award, where Gone Bingo who took first place and Bingo SY, second. The high street retail bingo brands such as Betfred Bingo and Ann Summers trailed miserably behind, so they are going to have to pull their socks up for next years awards if they want to get a look in.
Well done to the winners!
Government Urged to Take Note of Bingo Hall Closures Due to Tax Burden
For some time now, the large bingo groups, together with their supporters have been lobbying for the Government to ease the tax burden that discriminates against bingo from all other gambling activities. Alistair Darling is now under a great deal of pressure from ministerial colleagues to call a halt to this unfairness.
Following on the announcement of Gala Bingo to close down five land based bingo clubs at the risk of putting 130 people out of work, Rank (Mecca Bingo) and Coral Group (Gala Bingo), have the Government in a bit of a stranglehold. Do they have a real case that supports the Governments unreasonable enactment of double taxation? I think so! One does not like to think that either of the groups is putting pressure on the Government at the cost of bingo club employee’s livelihoods. But perhaps this is just the push the Government needs to realize that this industry might just collapse if they do not change things in a bit of a hurry.
Sometimes it takes a show of strength such as the closure of revenue losing businesses, and sacrificing jobs, just to get the Government to open their eyes a little and take stock of what is really happening in the industry.
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