Gala Coral, one of the UK’s biggest gambling operators with over 175 land based bingo halls, said that its decline in customers has levelled off. This is good news for the company, as 2008 has been a bad year for land based bingo halls, due to the smoking ban and getting rid of high-jackpot gaming machines as well as the growth of online bingo sites.

Earlier this year, Gala shut 13 bingo halls and 4 casinos as a direct result of the smoking ban, but with the tide turning and the decline in customers reversing, there are no more planned closures. Gala Coral’s Chief Executive Dominic Harrison said, “We’re predicting a modest increase in bingo next year,” and added that low ticket prices should protect the business from the recession.

Gala Coral released its end of year results earlier this week, stating that the overall brand showed a growth of 17%, while Gala Bingo cut its running cost by 25% and cash balances increased by nearly £50 million to £146 million.

Dec 09 2008