Smoking ban hits Bingo night tills

Sep 8 2007 by Gavin O'Connor, South Wales Echo

Smokers are staying away from bingo halls in their droves. Gavin O’Connor investigates how the smoking ban is hitting the bingo hall tills

BINGO halls across South Wales are feeling the drag of a major profit slump six months into the smoking ban.

And managers are bracing themselves for more dwindling revenue when the colder weather soon kicks in.

The serious profit slide has been caused by smokers avoiding the big cash-generating games to catch up on a quick puff outside the buildings.

Since April, when the ban came into force in Wales, the whole culture of bingo playing has changed, say staff, players and managers.

The numerous bingo halls the Echo contacted all reported a drop of between 15 to 20 per cent in revenue and workingmen’s clubs and associations where a pint and a fag go hand in hand have also said the same.

A worker at a Castle Bingo hall, who did not want to be named, said: “There have been meetings about the drop in revenue but I’m not sure exactly how much we’re suffering by.

“The paper games which take place early in the evening are fine – the problem relates to the telebingo and 25p, 50p and £1 games where most of the money is made.

“Players, the majority of which are smokers, use these times as opportunities to nip out for a fag. The fruit machines are also emptier than they’ve ever been because of this.”

Kelly Davies, 23, of Merthyr Tydfil, has been a member of Castle Bingo since the she was old enough to play.

The company set up in the town exactly 11 years ago this month.

Kelly said when interval of the paper games takes place at 8pm, there’s a mass exodus of smokers through the door before an 8.15pm resumption.

“The ban is an absolute nuisance when you want to play,” said Kelly.

“You’ll regularly get about 40 smokers outside where the fag end trays have been put. It’s totally changed the evening and I’ve noticed there’s definitely less people going now.”

There are believed to be three million bingo players in the UK.

Kelly’s friend, Alison Griffiths, 31, of Cherry Grove, Gurnos, is one of the smoking-ban casualties.

She stopped playing three months ago because of the new law.

She said: “Everything is interrupted now and you can’t enjoy it the same because it’s a different experience.

“I think a lot of people feel the same.”

South Wales’ biggest bingo operator Castle Bingo refused to comment in any way on the smoking ban but managers at competing clubs say the issue is very real and worsening.

St Minver, which operates the world’s largest bingo network, carried out a survey of 3,000 UK bingo players to find out their attitudes towards the ban.

The survey found internet gaming services would experience a boom with more and more smokers putting their feet up at home, lighting up and clicking online.

The study revealed 62 per cent of bingo players are smokers and that 33 per cent of them will play less often while 21 per cent will stop playing in clubs altogether.

Just 14 per cent of smokers said they will kick the habit so they can continue playing with 63 per cent of smokers saying they will increase the amount they spend playing online as a result of the ban.

Mambha Param, who has been manager at Riva Bingo in Splott for more than a year but involved with the industry for nearly two decades, said it was a depressing time for the bingo industry and takings at his hall were down about a fifth.

“We’ve been struggling really badly.

“There is so much competition now as well and so many things are happening in the industry.

“You’ve got the bookmakers like William Hill, Mecca, Coral and the likes promoting internet gaming online with £10 and £5 sweeteners to attract more customers.

“The whole betting industry’s changing.”

Workingmen’s clubs are trying different methods to combat the revenue slide.

John Gould, steward at Cilfynydd Constitutional Club, said: “The smoking ban has certainly had an effect.

“In the last couple of weeks, we have put an outside smoking area in and that’s helped.

“We had a few in for the rugby games recently but after an hour, they bought some cans and went home to watch so they could smoke as well.

“For the next three months, we’ve knocked the price of beer and lager down by 5p and 10p – hopefully, that will bring some people back.”

Pat Grabham, stewardess at the Royal British Legion in Bridgend for 25 years, said the end of the summer season spelled frostier times at the till.

She said: “We’ll definitely be hit harder in the winter. I didn’t think there should’ve been a total ban but it’s here now.

“So many of our customers are old people. We hold three bingo nights here and we’ve already found the weather has a big say in the turnout. Elderly people are not going to go out in the cold for a fag.

“So far we’ve been lucky because the Crown (adjacent pub) has closed – the tenants were smokers and they decided to finish. We’ve picked up some of their custom and we’re putting some money away to cope with what’s going to happen in the winter. It’s not something we’re looking forward to.”

gavin.o’connor@wme.co.uk

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