Bingo Resisting the Recession
Anthony Wayne
Bingo Resisting the Recession
The UK offices of PriceWaterhouseCoopers International Limited have revealed in a report that the gaming industry including bingo is performing better than any other leisure industry during the current global recession. The report said that the gaming industry revenues only declined 5% last year compared with larger losses in other leisure industries.
The report states that the smoking ban caused more serious injury to the bingo and gaming industry than the recession has. The report also found that bingo is the least cyclical form of gaming and that the damage done to the industry by the smoking ban has made bingo less vulnerable to the effects of the recession. David Trunkfield, the new Head of Gaming for PriceWaterhouseCoopers stated, 'More habitual, lower ticket forms of neighbourhood gaming will perform better than impulsive purchases such as scratch cards or high stakes betting. Small stakes gaming such as bingo, lotteries and AWPs may well outperform the downturn. It appears likely that betting and casinos will be impacted more by the recession than bingo, which may benefit from the resilience of its target demographic.'
PriceWaterhouseCoopers predicts that bingo will only see a 0 to 3% decline in revenues during 2009 making it the least affected form of gaming. The report notes that many bingo players are pensioners with a steady source of income and not subject to lack of job security. Trunkfield stated, 'In addition, the key target demographic may be insulated from the downturn by pension income and their disposable income should benefit from anticipated falls in the inflation rate for food and utility bills.'
The report found that casino gaming, particularly high stakes gaming, was hard hit during the last recession and the firm expects things to be the same this time around. Trunkfield says that high rollers are struggling the most in the current economy. The recession has also benefited internet bingo. Many in the UK are seeking cheap home based entertainment and internet bingo is a perfect fit.
Internet bingo sites are now offering bigger bingo bonuses, jackpots and some highly original games to attract players. Potential players can now comparison shop for the best bingo bonuses offered to players. Most bingo sites will usually offer players a substantial bingo deposit bonus along with a free play option. Fierce competition among online bingo providers has benefited players in the form of higher jackpots and more player perks. At present it looks like bingo is surviving the recession very nicely.
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