Show Business Bingo has always been popular with Gala online bingo players. The good news is that following its huge success earlier in July, Gala Bingo is again going to air their Show Business Bingo event on the live bingo channel throughout the month of October.

Leading celeb columnists Dean Piper and Heat magazine’s Lucie Cave and the Sunday Mirror’s ‘Mr Showbiz’ will be there on Showbiz bingo giving out the some steaming celebrity gossip. Also, Camilla Dallerup of Strictly Come Dancing, one of the most popular shows on  TV’s will be visiting Gala Bingo to give her views on how this year’s contestants are faring  and the probable winner.

Director of programmes for Gala Bingo TV, Paul Tremain said, “We were overwhelmed by the response to July’s ‘Showbiz Bingo’ that we’ve decided to bring it back. Adding Camilla to the line-up for a dedicated ‘Strictly Showbiz’ version of the show is set to be equally popular as Gala TV’s chat rooms have been buzzing with conversations about the new series.”

Showbiz Bingo’ first appeared on Gala TV in July and follows the channel’s previous monthly-themed shows, which include ‘Horoscope Bingo’, ‘Soap Star Bingo’, ‘Housemate Bingo’ and ‘Don’t you just love Fridays’. The new Showbiz bingo event is due to be aired between 8pm and 9pm every Friday night during the month of October. To tune in via your TV, you need to go to sky or freesat channel 861.

As you may know Gala TV broadcasts 24 hours a day on Sky and Freesat Channel 861. The channel is also streamed live through www.galabingo.com. Viewers can register via their remote control, on the website or by using freephone telephone number 0800 587 4880. Players then press their red button to purchase tickets for the bingo games or play on the website. Visit Gala Bingo here.

Written for www.londonbingo.co.uk by Irene

 Your star sign has a lot to do with your bingo luck or so says the popular online bingo site Gala Bingo’s latest research.  A comparison of the amounts won and the number of bets placed between 01/07/08 and 30/06/09 on Gala TV among its UK players show that maximum winners are Taureans   while Virgos turned out to be the unluckiest with over 35% less wins.

Claire Petulengro the clairvoyant / astrologer co-hosting Gala TV’s ‘Horoscope Bingo’ show says: “Taureans are known for being the luckiest sign of the zodiac and have a wonderful ability to keep their eyes on the prize. This means they will slowly and steadily get the things they want. Unlucky Virgos are generally more level headed and weigh up the options carefully.”

Cancerians are most likely to take the maximum risks suggests the research. “Cancerians are instinctive and quick to trust their gut,” said Claire, “They are excellent strategists and good at making pincer movements to close a deal. Once they get the prize, they won’t ever let go.” Librans known for their balanced approach   were found to be cautious players, playing 30% less games than Cancerians. Claire said: “Although Librans appreciate money and what it can buy, they will have saved up for the splurge. Says Claire: “All signs of the zodiac have key traits which mean they react differently in certain situations. However, all star signs have the potential for lady luck to shine, as the planets are moving all the time.”

 Throughout September Claire is co-hosting Gala TV’s hour-long ‘Horoscope Bingo’ show providing star sign predictions and lucky bingo tips as well as eight bingo games. The live interactive show  starts at 8pm and is broadcast on Sky, Freesat channel 861 and streamed on the Gala Bingo website. Players can text or email Claire their own horoscope-related questions and find out about what luck has in store for them. Tune into Gala TV to find you’re the best day to play bingo.

 Written for www.londonbingo.co.uk by Irene

With the government refusal to change the current tax rate to the previous 15%, the Gala Coral group has been forced to face a nationwide closure of some of its bingo hall clubs.

Gala Bingo’s popular bingo hall in Aldridge closed down forever on the 1st of August. Regular bingo players of the club had all turned up on the fateful evening for one final, and rather emotional game of bingo. Doreen Wilson of Bentley Drive, a veteran bingo player at the Aldridge club for more than 25 years and also a proud winner of a handsome £42,000 jackpot said that she has very happy memories of the club and that a lot of people are going to miss it. Glenda Allinson, a retired nurse of Leighswood Avenue, commented: “I can’t understand the closure when this club has been making a profit. There have been people coming here for years and years, and this is the main centre of entertainment in Aldridge.” Besides the regular players, it was a somber moment for the staff members too – some having to loose their job after serving the club for ages. Among them were deputy controller Irene Geoghan who has been at Aldridge hall 32 years and bar supervisor Mary Eden a staff for 33 years.

A week earlier the Gala Bingo club in Pitsea, Essex faced a similar fate and played its last bingo session on Monday 27th July 2009. Another popular Gala Bingo hall, the Leven Gala Bingo hall has recently closed too. Gala Bingo stated that this is a direct result of the government’s refusal to reverse the increased bingo duties The government’s refusal to revise the tax rate will only invite more closures, job losses and continued damage of a popular from of social interaction. 

Visit Gala Bingo online gaming site here.

Written for www.londonbingo.co.uk by Irene

 Currently Gala Bingo is a part of the Gala Coral group, which also owns a large chain of high street betting shops and casinos across the UK. However, Gala Bingo may be on its way to becoming a stand alone company as part of a restructuring planned by its lenders the Royal Bank of Scotland. As reported by The Observer the lenders have approached potential bidders who would like to buy the company.

The report in the Observer states that the bank has been actively seeking investors without first consulting Gala Coral. RBS heading the negotiation with shareholders stated: “The Company needs to address its debt burden and is considering a number of options to raise cash.” However Gala Bingo representatives told The Observer: “We are not looking to sell off assets or break up the group. We have £200m on the balance sheet and we are not seeking an equity injection.”

The main shareholders in Gala Coral are in the process of restructuring their loans with a variety of banks but have a £80 million loan to repay in September and a further £150 million next year. In total they have debt of £2.7 billion of debt. Recent reports show that growth at the Gala Bingo website has slowed significantly in the past one year and potential buyers are concerned at its ability to market itself as a leading player in the online gaming world especially with the steady growth of other rival sites. In addtion, the Group is also fighting a multi million tax reclaim with the Government but the recent change in gross profits tax is now having an increased burden on the Group with an extra 7 percent tax being taken of their bingo income.

Gala Coral are the UK’s largest bingo chain with a dedicated online bingo site registered in Alderney.

Written for www.londonbingo.co.uk  by Irene

At Gala Bingo there is never a dull moment. There have recently introduced three brand new slot games: Transformers – Ultimate payback, Dungeons & Dragons and  Battleship. The Transformers may rake your memories of an all time popular TV programmes of the same name and in recent times the movie Transformer which became a huge hit on the big screen. The other two newly introduced slot games – Dungeons & Dragons, a fantasy themed game and Battleship which many youngsters may have played in form of a board game also have the same whiff of adventure. So buckle up your seat belts and look forward to a rollicking time with these three new games.

Transformers – Ultimate payback: The goal is to achieve a winning combination of icons on any of the 25 selectable lines. Payouts depend on the number of coins played and the winning combination of icons achieved. A minimum of 1 and a maximum of 5 coins can be bet on each line.

Dungeons & Dragons:  In this game you have to achieve a winning combination of icons on any of the 20 selectable lines. Payouts depend on the number of coins played and the winning combination of icons achieved. You can bet a minimum of 1 and a maximum of 5 coins on each line.

Battleship: You have to achieve a winning combination of icons on any of the 25 selectable lines. Payouts depend on the number of coins played and the winning combination of icons achieved. You need a minimum of 1 and a maximum of 5 coins can be bet on each line.

For all the three slot games, all combinations have to start on the first reel on the left. Remember that awards occur only on the selected lines and only one award (the highest) is paid per line. Awards are always shown in coins. Play Gala Bingo here.

Written for www.londonbingo.co.uk by Irene

 For every £1 that you spend on playing your favorite online games at Gala Bingo, you get to collect 2 points – known as Nectar Points. These points come into good use for purchasing tickets for any online bingo game at Gala Bingo site. Registered members can start collecting Nectar points by registering their Nectar card by going to the Update Personal Details section under Account Options. If you are not a registered member then join in today and do remember to register your Nectar card at the time of sign up process so that you can  avail of all the rewards Nectar has to offer. You will be given the option to enter your Nectar card number after you have gone through the sign up process. Once you have registered you can start collecting points straightway each time you play at Gala Bingo.

Remember that to earn Nectar points the online player must register Nectar card number with Gala Bingo Online either at galabingo.co.uk or galabingo.com. Thereafter, the player can collect points for purchasing tickets for any online bingo game played on both galabingo.co.uk and galabingo.com websites. This applies to Bingo games only. The Nectar points will be issued at the rate of 2 points per £1 spent each day on such tickets. Payments made by a player at different times on same day will be added together for the purpose of calculating the number of points to be issued to the collector on that day. If a customer spends less than £1 during a day the points will not be awarded. If all conditions are met, points are allocated within 28 days.

So don’t wait any longer. Just join Gala Bingo, grab your Nectar card, start collecting Nectar points today and treat yourself to chances of winning some fantastic prizes.

Written for www.londonbingo.co.uk by Irene

My! Hasn’t Cryptologic had its hands full this year with all the big online bingo and casino deals. The latest headline in the world of online game world is that Gala Coral has teamed up with Cryptologic to bring some fascinating games to UK online bingo players. Gala Coral is  UK-based online gaming company, operating four of Europe’s most popular online gaming sites. This owner of popular bingo sites such as Gala Bingo, Coral, Eurobet and Gala Casino has signed a multi-year deal and will be provided at least 10 of Cryptologic’s online slots. Sounds fantastic, doesn’t it? This news will be bringing more joy to UK online bingo players.

The new slots will be available on the four online bingo and casino sites mentioned above, in the next couple of months, and industry experts are predicting a shift in online bingo traffic. Cryptologic’s strong presence in online slots and casino games is bringing them more and more business this year. Cryptologic is an instant hit not only with the online bingo industry names, but also with the online bingo players. The CEO of Cryptologic, Brian Hadfield, unabashedly states that, both parties are continuing to single out Cryptologic as the best in terms of quality.

Cryptologic is giving the online bingo players what they ask for, and they are being reciprocated with all the support and fan following. Recently, they were awarded Gambling Online Magazine’s Top Casino Software award. This award is based on the votes of online casino and bingo players and this being their fourth consecutive win, there is very little debate as to their popularity. Online slots and casino games are the strengths for this fast growing name in the bingo industry. What can I say, I am very sure, that the launch of these slots will not only bring in the jackpots, but also plenty of bingo promotions. To find out more about the slots that are going to be released soon and bingo promotions associated with them, keep reading this space.

This article was written by Bingokitty for www.londonbingo.co.uk

It is said that the real point of the festive season is not so much in the receiving, as in the giving. It’s a tough lesson and one that it’s easy to lose sight of, particularly when there’s so many things we want. We tell our loved ones what we’d like to receive this year, or we leave circled catalogues in obvious places around the house.

But that’s not what Christmas time is about – we just lost sight of the fact because we live in such a consumer driven society. And because it’s so hard to remember, we want to draw attention to one company that really got it right this year.

You have no doubt heard of Gala Bingo. How can you not have?  It’s  the biggest land bingo chain in the UK, both through its online website presence and through its many clubs in around the country.

Like most big businesses, Gala Bingo has been hit hard this year by the stock market crash and the economic downturn that resulted. In order to keep the company viable they’ve had to downsize, and many of their traditional land-based bingo halls have had to close.

But that hasn’t stopped this company from remembering what the festive season is all about, because back in October when all the stores on the High Street were beginning to put tinsel in the windows and remind us to buy things, Gala Bingo was been involved in promotion called Bingo for Breakthrough – a drive to use its bingo facilities to raise funds for a charity called Breakthrough for Breast Cancer.

Its name is self explanatory – this charity raises funds for research into the treatment and eradication of breast cancer. Well, this year Gala Bingo – and the people who play there – did their part, because when the final totals came in, Gala Bingo had raised an astonishing £212,000 for this worthwhile cause!

“Bingo for Breakthrough has once again been a fantastic success,” said Simon Longbottom, Gala Bingo’s MD. “We’re delighted to have been involved in the campaign this year and a make difference to such a worthwhile charity, thanks to the tremendous support of all our customers and staff. They really enjoy giving something back to such a good cause and as you would expect from our bingo players, had a lot of fun raising the money!”

I’m sure everyone here at London Bingo joins me in congratulating Gala Bingo on such a monumental achievement – you have really made a difference. Thank you!