It will be no secret to anyone that after the pandemic many businesses are struggling to recreate revenues resembling those from before the lockdowns, and unfortunately in some cases, have been unable to continue operating.
On land casinos and bingo halls are no different in this respect, but recently Mecca Bingo and Grosvenor Casinos owner, Rank Group, have announced promising improvements in sales since the reopening of their venues in May.
It is reported that in the 13 weeks up until August 15th of this year, Mecca Bingo was down 21% from the period before the start of the pandemic and Grosvenor down just 19% after comparing the same periods. This comes as a massive boost after the company reported losses of up to nearly £93 million for the year up until 30th June of this year, after reporting a £21.5 million profit for the year before.
Online Gambling
The global pandemic brought a lot of financial uncertainty for many businesses but the gambling industry has seen a huge rise in the online betting sector. Casinos and bingo companies that have taken advantage have managed to offset the heavy losses that land-based venues like bingo halls and casinos have had to face.
Britain’s gambling trade has seen an overall drop of 0.6% gross gambling yield, whereas the internet’s GGY has increased by 8.1%. During the first months of the lockdown, the popularity for online casinos and betting sites grew naturally as land based venues were closed, but as the popularity grew so did the technology and accessibility, and with this we saw a rise in the amount of online betting sites available. As more of these sites were created, the deals and bonuses became more and more competitive, like no deposit bingo.
More and more variations of people’s favourite games are being created on a daily basis and the lightning advancements in technology running parallel with this enormous rise, it shows no sign of stopping soon.
The future of bingo in the UK
Bingo is predicted to continue growing in demand and fame, with online bingo being the essential driver of the game’s development. Maybe the greatest benefit that live bingo offers over the internet based adaptation is the social aspect you get with different players when playing in land-based venues – this may be duplicated by VR innovations, live casino games, and other technological advancements soon.
The fact that so many players were compelled to explore different avenues regarding internet betting because of the COVID-19 pandemic will probably just hurry this change. These players may not quit their physical bingo venues altogether, however all things considered, some, if not all, of their betting time and cash will be spent on the web.
The actual game is probably going to keep on developing also, as new forms and ideas pop up consistently. Hybrid casino games that blend one or more type of entertainment, such as dancing, may enable live venues to contend with their internet based competitors while also acquiring a constant flow of new players.
What’s on the horizon for bingo? The game probably isn’t going to slip off the standard gambler’s radar at any point in the near future.
If the history of bingo is of interest to you, then check out how the bingo industry is growing with the rise of online gambling for a more in-depth look.
Almost a billion-pound Industry
From April 2019 to May 2020, bingo venues, both on the web and land based, created a GGY of £910 million in the UK. The majority of that, £635.9 million, was from live bingo, however statistics show that web-based bingo might be catching up.
The volume of cash bet on online bingo was up 0.9% throughout the above time span, while the amount of cash bet in land-based venues fell by 5.7%.
In light of current sales trends, a continuous improvement in business across all departments and an assumption that venues can stay open, Rank Group alone expects net gaming income for the year up until June to be in the scope of £700m to £750m and pre tax profits to be somewhere in the range of £50m and £75m.
To learn more about how the gambling industry is doing after the reopening of venues and the boost of online gambling, why not have a closer look at the latest gambling news and data.
An offline boom
While many may feel that the rise in online bingo could be the end for bingo parlors across the world, there’s really motivation to be hopeful for organizations who own land-based bingo halls.
That is on the grounds that online bingo is attracting a fresh new crowd, with a more varied player base, attracting more men and a more youthful age of player. The previous year has seen those players channel into bingo venues where it’s been possible, and we could well be seeing full houses come the year’s end.
It seems that with the rise of online casinos and bingo sites, the gambling industry is beginning to find its feet again. You can now enjoy your favourite casino games from the comfort of your own sofa, on the train while travelling to work and we can still visit those physical halls to socialise and gamble your hard-earned cash. Furthermore, we have the excitement of how the latest technologies and innovations could make your regular picks even more enjoyable and engaging.
Bingo itself has come from something that many perceived as something your Nan might play on a Wednesday night to a new exciting game that you can play on your laptop or even visit your local hall to meet friends and socialise with whilst playing.