Independent News & Media has deposed of  its 18% stake in the British based online bingo company Cashcade  £13.2m to Party Gaming. The actual final sales amount could be increased depending on Cashcade reaching specific profit targets. Cashcade runs perhaps some of the most popular online bingo brands in the UK  including Foxy Bingo, Think Bingo and the pioneering free-to-play site Cheeky Bingo.

Many see the purchase by Party Gaming as one of the first steps to stengthen their position in the UK gaming sector after a few years of decline.

Virtue fusion are to launch three innovative new online bingo games;. The games Arabian Delights, Beat the Banker and Beach side Bonanza will each have a summer theme. Each of the new releases will include the latest in scratch card technology plus will also offer massive   exclusive progressive jackpots.

The  new bingo games are scheduled to be launched on July 21^st and July 28^th.  Bob Mcculloch, he CEO of Virtue Fusion, stated that the launch of the new games will help virtue Fusion  stay ahead of other industry rivals. McCulloch also explained that the reason behind the games  being linked to exclusive progressive jackpots and boasting scratch card technology s is to ensure the products’ longevity in the market.

Bingo players throughout the UK  are angry at a government decision to increase tax on the game. Many are worried that the tax hike will mean that they will no longer be able to afford to play. On what seems like a tax to cash in on the popularity of bingo, the duty has just jumped from 15 per cent to 22 per cent – the only form of gambling to suffer the rise.

It basic terms it means that a 10-page book of games at the Mecca Bingo which currently costs £12 will rise by £1.50 to £13.50. The new tax will not only hit bingo players in the pocket but bingo operators to. The tax increase means that Mecca will have to pay an extra £9 million a year in duty. With many bingo halls throughout the UK already suffering from the new indoor smoking ban the increase in tax could not have come at a worse time.

Hermes Private Equity is disposing  of its equity in the Riva, which has 25 adult gaming centres and 13 bingo clubs.

The group was very close  to be taken over by its banks, including  RBS, after disposing of its seven highest-losing bingo venues.

Riva chief executive Simon Hannah is taking seven clubs which he has bought from Riva having paid what is thought to be a nominal amount for them.

Live bingo is going through what can only be desribed as a tough time in the UK having been badly hit by the smoking ban and the reduction in the number of £500 jackpot machines in each bingo hall. Additional taxation has also been imposed on the industry by both Gambling Duty and VAT.

There is no doubt that the live  bingo industry in the UK is downsizing with the spate of bingo halls closing but gaming sales are up, according to a report by the Gambling Commission.

The report showed that there are now 675 UK bingo halls,  run by 222 operators on March 31st 2008, with Gala and Mecca owning over 40% of the clubs between them.

It has though been well publicised that closures of bingo halls have been widespread with revenues still suffering following the 2007 smoking ban and the increase of taxes on bingo clubs.

Today  the number of bingo halls had fallen by just over five per cent to 641, while the number of operators had fallen almost three per cent to 216.

Mecca Bingo and Gala Bingo remain the top two owners, claiming 15.9% and 24.6% of the existing clubs, respectively.

Independent and smaller operators own 48% of clubs, while other top owners include Top Ten Bingo, Carlton, Riva Bingo and Buckingham Bingo.

Despite the closures of bingo halls, gross gaming sales from April 2008 to March 2009 increased by 4.6 per cent on the previous year.

During  2009, British bingo giant, Mecca Bingo increased takings by over £5million from £227.6million to £230million)  Mecca report that the growth in revenue was due to increased spend per customer as the halls had actually seen a fall in customer visits in 2009.

The bad news is that Mecca’s  profits fell from £37.9million in 2008 to £32.3million last year.Mecca claim the fall in profits  is down to the increased levels of taxation brought in by the government. The bingo hall’s performance was also adversely affected by the poor weather at the start and end of 2009 plus many also feeling the UK smoking ban is taking its toll.

The owners of Mecca, Rank Group PLC have called for a simplification of the gambling tax system in the UK and a system that will increase fairness for bingo halls, casinos and online gaming companies.

Just last week Kezia Obama was week gazing up at the dizzy heights of the White House as a VIP guest for the inauguration. Yesterday Barack Obama’s stepmum had her eyes down -concentrating hard on her bingo card.

Kezia Obama, 68, got straight back to the game she loves after flying home first class to her council bungalow in Bracknell, Berks, Britain.

And she had plenty to talk about with her fellow players. Kezia said: “Barack said to me ‘Sorry it’s so cold. I want you to come back and stay in the White House in the summer when it’s warmer’.”