Sixty five Gala Bingo clubs in the UK have members who have reaped the benefits of playing the High Five game. The great thing about this game is when a winner wins it, the rest of the players in the club get a share of the prize, so everyone becomes a winner, one can only imagine what celebrations go on in these bingo clubs when everyone leaves a couple of thousand richer, literally hundreds of people have won on this game.

The Gala Bingo High Five was launched when the new UK gambling Act came into place. This Act allows bingo clubs to roll-over amounts that have not been won, which makes the jackpot higher than ever. The game has to be won when full house is called on a number ending in five, and when the game was won in Newcastle and Falkirk the prize money was a whopping ₤689 479.73. This enabled 384 people to go home with more than ₤1 000 each.

Gala Bingo has already given away ₤7.9 million in the High Five game and the Managing Director of Gala Bingo, Simon Longbottom says they are of the opinion that they are delivering the best value game to their bingo customers.

With the new Gala Bingo “one to go” promotion, taking place daily on the site, this frustration becomes a thing of the past. There are scheduled games every day in all of the online bingo rooms that allows all players with 1tg the opportunity to win. Ok it is only 50p, but it is certainly better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick. And this is certainly how some people feel when they have 1tg and someone else wins. The 50p is awarded to all one line, two line and full house games and applies to those who actually did not win on the game. The one to go games take place daily at 10:00 – 11:00 am, 16:00 -17:00pm and in the evening at 20:00 to 21pm.

If you fancy trying to win a ₤1 000 guaranteed jackpot for as little as a 5p wager. There is a game played daily at 6pm, you never know if your luck is in, 5p is nothing to bet for the chance of winning a whopping ₤1 000. The excitement is mounting, I can’t wait to see what happens next, online bingo sites are becoming so innovating in the types of games and prizes they are offering to online players.

The bingo club used to be the Moderne Cinema which opened its doors for the first time in 1936, when it opened the cinema could accommodate 1 500 people and as well as showing films it featured local talent acts.  But this was no match for television once it had be introduced to the UK and in 1963 the Moderne was changed into a bingo club.

 A spokesman for Gala Bingo has confirmed that the club was being considered for closure, lets hope this is one that can be saved from being turned into a modern, high rise block of flats. It seems to be the way things are going with all the other bingo closures and lets face it, how many more blocks of flats do we need?

The latest male winner is a sixty-five year old gent from Leicester, who was playing at the Gala Bingo Club in Beaumont Leys, he won £35,215 in the National Bingo Afternoon Delight game, plus the Regional prize of £2,000. As well as playing bingo with his wife about three afternoons a week, the retired gentleman who was born and bred in Leicester, say that he also enjoys fishing and gardening.

He has been a member of the Gala Bingo since its inception and has been playing the game for fourteen years, he completed a full house in 39 numbers and says that he was truly shocked when he learned just how much money he had won as he thought that he had only won the house prize of £100.

Although the idea of his big win hasn’t quite sunk in properly yet he is planning to buy a new car and take his wife on a lovely relaxing holiday.

The lucky winner who works as a nurse manager, was completely in shock when she realised just how much money she had won. This is nothing new, it seems that it is true what they say about bingo players they actually play for the fun and not the money, so that when they do win, instead of being complacent about their winnings they go into absolute shock..

The woman, who has been playing bingo at the Gala since 1998 is a mother of two and Grandmother to four, was playing bingo with her mother on the afternoon of the win and says that the surprise she received on being told about her win; still hasn’t really sunk in. But she plans to use some of the money to take herself on a cruise.

Perhaps she should join the I Bingo cruise to the Caribbean, she never knows, if her luck holds out, she might just win on board and recoup the money that she paid to go on the bingo cruise in the first place!

This will be the first of its kind in China. They believe that the bingo club will be the first of hundreds to open in the province since the Chinese have a love of numbers based games. Although Gala Bingo still needs a license from Beijing, they have already secured the property for the club.

They have also recently acquired a bingo club in Italy. Both moves are seen as entry into the market with the hopes of following with bingo online. Gala Bingo already has Coral betting shops in Italy and is looking to expand to other places including South America and the Balkans and well as India, Spain and Greece.

Gala Bingo, like other UK bingo operators, is feeling the effects of the smoking ban, the limit on the high paying fruit machines and the tax laws. Their executives foresee the closing of one hundred bingo clubs, none of them Gala Bingo, across the country in 2008. However, if the situation in the UK continues, some Gala Bingo clubs could also be closing. Gala Coral has offset the losses in the bingo clubs with the profits from their bingo online operations. The expansion into foreign markets is also seen as a way of maintaining profits.

Gala Bingo has been feeling the effects of the new gambling regulations that became effective in September like all of the other bingo operators. In spite of their problems, Gala Bingo reports an eleven percent rise in their pre-tax and pre-interest profits. Their other operations offset the decline in bingo revenues of ₤16.4 million.

The smoking ban combined with the limit on high paying fruit machines and the tax situation on bingo and casinos are what are strangling the brick and mortar bingo industry. A company executive said that they are taking a cautious approach to the situation in 2008. A fall in consumer spending may also contribute to the problems faced by the bingo operator.

Gala Bingo was created from the merger between Gala Bingo and Coral, which offers gambling activities. The merger made Gala Coral a full service gambling establishment. The company has recently moved into the Italian market. Industry watchers will closely monitor the situation in coming months to see if the bingo operators can reverse the current declining trend.

Bingo callers from all over the United Kingdom are eligible to enter the contest. The yearly contest is popular among the bingo playing set. Players are eager to see their own club’s caller receive recognition and bingo callers are interested in vying with each other for the title.

The contest is already in progress. The competition process begins in July when entries must be sent in. The six Regional contests were held in the month of September and the results are posted on the Bingo Caller of the Year website. The Finals will be held in London during the weekend of November 24 and 25. The outcome of the exciting event is eagerly awaited for.

There are both National and Club Competitions. The big bingo chains hold their own competitions for the best caller among their staff. Gala Bingo has announced that Michael Edwards of its St. Ann’s Gala has won its 2007 competition and will receive a trip to Las Vegas.