Fully Electronic Bingo Hall Opens in Surrey
5th December, 2007
The pioneering UK bingo hall in the London Borough of Sutton, in Surrey, has opened their doors as the first and only fully electronic bingo hall in England. Bingo cards and callers have been completely replaced with over 600 handheld personal terminals.
Twenty of these terminals are located in a external smoking area, which will prove to be the saving grace for all players who’ve stopped going to their local bingo hall because of a much needed cigarette break. In fact, statistics show that over 40% of bingo players like to smoke during their bingo game, and since the July 1 smoking ban took effect, bingo halls have faced dramatic declines in profit.
For Riva Gaming Group, who launched this first electronic hall, the ability to smoke in their halls will prove to be half the reason for their success. This trial bingo hall will determine how quickly Riva moves to open more all-electronic bingo halls, and now soon other struggling operators follow suit. So far, customer turnout has far exceeded their expectations, and signs look good for a future of fully electronic bingo halls
Simon Hannah, Riva Group CEO mentioned the challenging circumstances which operators are currently experiencing at this point in time (i.e. the double taxation laws and smoking ban).However, he also pointed out that there is still plenty of growth opportunity for companies like his to provide unique facilities which strive to solve the current bingo hall problems.
Hannah is very pleased with the Riva Sutton branch, and claims it as one of the most innovative clubs in the country that has manage to maintain their traditional customers while at the same time attracting a new audience.
“Sutton provides our patrons with an exciting new bingo experience,” Hanna notes. “We’re thilled that so many players are wanting to be part of this evolution of the game.”
The first electronic bingo hall seems to be the land-based bingo industry’s response to the recent online bingo phenomenon. Do you think that electronic bingo halls stand a chance against online bingo sites? Or do they cater to completely different markets? Tell us what you think in our bingo forum!
