Gala Bingo

Gala Bingo Explained

Gala Bingo was created in 1991 as a division of Bass plc. It later became an independent company, and then became the Gala Coral Group after acquiring Coral Eurobet in 2005. After the sale of its 126 clubs in 2015 to Caledonia Investments (who rebranded them as Buzz Bingo in September 2018 [1] ), Gala Coral retained the online Gala services and was later acquired by Ladbrokes (which was later acquired by GVC Holdings).

History

The chain began as bingo clubs operated by Bass Leisure, a division of Bass plc. As of 1983, Bass had 22 clubs operating under the Coral brand, and another 24 located in its Pontins holiday camps. [2] That year, Bass purchased a chain of 80 bingo clubs from Thorn EMI for £18.2 million. By 1988, Bass was down to 72 locations, but added another 30 by purchasing Zetters Leisure for £23 million. [3]

In May 1991, Bass purchased Granada plc’s chain of 74 bingo clubs for £147 million. [4] [5] Combined with Bass’s 91 clubs, the chain was tied with the Rank Organisation for the largest bingo operator in Britain. A united brand for the combined operation, “Gala”, was chosen by John Murphy of Interbrand as a simple word incorporating letters from “Granada” and “Coral”. [6] Gala was officially launched on 17 October 1991 when 17 clubs re-branded and launched a new image.

In 1997 a management buy-in purchased all 130 Gala Bingo Clubs from Bass for £235 million. [7]

Over the next few years, Gala began acquiring other bingo clubs to increase their portfolio, including 17 clubs from Ritz in July 1998 and 10 clubs from Jarglen in March 2000. In April 2000, they added 27 Riva Bingo Clubs from First Leisure for £90 million. Gala diversified outside bingo for the first time when it purchased 26 Ladbroke Casinos for £235 million from the Hilton Group in December 2000. In 2001 it added the Jamba Online business for £1.5m. [8]

The owners sold the whole business for £1.24 billion in February 2003 to the private equity firms Candover and Cinven. [9] Permira bought a stake in the company in August 2005, which valued the business at £1.89 billion. [10]

In October 2005, Gala acquired Coral Eurobet for £2.18 billion and changed its name to Gala Coral Group, creating the United Kingdom’s third largest bookmaker and largest bingo operator. [11]

The group added another 10 bingo clubs in 2006 when it purchased the County Clubs in Scotland for £64 million. [12] The company spent another £14.5 million in February 2006, when it bought the Leo Casino in Liverpool from Dolby Management Ltd increasing the number of casinos in the estate to 31 (at the time). [13]

Gala Coral won 403 betting licences in Italy in an open market tender in December 2006, under its Eurobet brand. The group formally established an international division in 2007. The group also set up a joint venture to attempt to launch bingo shops in China. [14]

In 2011, a decision was made to move substantial parts of the business to Gibraltar, including almost all of the remote gaming division. The group, through acquisitions and new developments had over 30 casinos and 1,800 licensed betting offices.

Gala’s total clubs peaked at around 174, but since 2007 and the introduction of smoking bans in Great Britain, this total declined to around 140. [15] In their year end accounts of 2012, the company reported employment of 4,801 staff in their bingo clubs, along with 10,849 in 1,600 Coral shops, 2,776 in 25 casinos, 276 in remote gambling and 98 in Italy where it had over 400 betting outlets, plus a further 374 in support staff functions. [16]

In July 2015, Gala Coral agreed to be acquired by its slightly larger rival Ladbrokes. [17] The 130 Gala Bingo clubs were not part of the merger, and were sold to Caledonia Investments for £241 million in December 2015. [18] [19] The merger was completed on 1 November 2016, and Ladbrokes became Ladbrokes Coral. [20]

Operations

As of 2008, Gala Bingo operated 137 clubs throughout the United Kingdom, with approximately a 24% share of all clubs and nearly 40% of National Bingo Game ticket sales up until the operator’s withdrawal from the National Game in Summer 2008. Gala has around five million bingo members, of which approximately 1.2 million are active players. Gala Bingo has an average of 600,000 admissions per week.

The bingo division began participation in the Nectar loyalty card scheme on 1 June 2007. [21] Nectar points were originally awarded for club admissions, and additionally for slot machine play from 1 September 2007, a first for the bingo industry. Gala Bingo no longer participates in the Nectar loyalty card scheme.

On 31 July 2007, pensioner Pauline Clarke, 62, became Gala’s first GBP millionaire, after winning a tie break against another online player. [22]

Gala TV was a satellite TV channel that aired from 2006 to 2011, showing bingo games.

Online services under the Gala brand are operated by GVC Holdings, including an online bingo site, GalaBingo.com, and an online casino, GalaCasino.com. [23]

External links

Notes and References

1. News: Gala Leisure to relaunch all clubs as Buzz Bingo with two-year £40 million investment plan. 29 September 2018. International Coin Slot. https://web.archive.org/web/20180929160019/http://www.coinslot.co.uk/2018/05/24/gala-leisure-relaunch-gala-bingo-clubs-buzz-bingo-40m-investment-plan/. 29 September 2018. live.
2. News: Bass buys Thorn EMI bingo. Financial Times. London. Charles. Batchelor. 10 September 1983. NewsBank.
3. News: Bass pays 23 million pounds for bingo clubs. Financial Times. London. Clay. Harris. 7 June 1988. NewsBank.
4. News: Bass reshuffling its gambling interests. Financial Times. London. David. Churchill. 11 May 1991. NewsBank.
5. Web site: Granada Tooting, London . . 28 November 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20130609143008/http://www.cinema-organs.org.uk/venues/lon.tooting.html . 9 June 2013.
6. News: Bass seeks full house in Gala opening. The Times. London. Jon. Ashworth. 23 September 1991. NewsBank.
7. Web site: Memorandum submitted by the Gala Coral Group. UK Parliament. 2007. 28 November 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20161129083048/http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200607/cmselect/cmtreasy/567/567we06.htm. 29 November 2016. live.
8. Web site: Gala will spend £3m to make Jamba pay-to-play. Brand Republic. 7 November 2001. 28 November 2016.
9. Web site: Bingo group bought in £1.25bn deal. 7 February 2003. BBC. 28 November 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20060111040749/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/2738983.stm. 11 January 2006. live.
10. Web site: Permira Funds buy stake in Gala . . 1 August 2005 . 28 November 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140813222841/http://www.permira.com/news/permira-news/2005/aug/1/permira-funds-buy-stake-in-gala . 13 August 2014.
11. Web site: Casino group Gala snaps up Coral. 7 October 2005. BBC. 28 November 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20170801171929/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4320426.stm. 1 August 2017. live.
12. Web site: Gala acquires County Bingo . Casino compendium . 28 November 2016 . bot: unknown . https://web.archive.org/web/20160304065733/http://www.casinocompendium.com/archive/bingocounty.html . 4 March 2016 . dmy .
13. Web site: Gala buys Liverpool casino for £14m. 13 February 2006. The Guardian. 28 November 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20161129083136/https://www.theguardian.com/business/2006/feb/13/gambling.uknews. 29 November 2016. live.
14. Annual Report 2007. Gala Coral Group. 18. 1 April 2018.
15. http://www.galacoral.co.uk/divisions/gala-bingo.html Gala Bingo
16. http://www.galacoral.co.uk/fileadmin/content/doc/annual_reports/gala_coral_group/financial_statements_for_the_year_ended_29_09_12.pdf Annual Reports and Accounts 2012
17. News: Ladbrokes to merge with smaller rival Coral . BBC News . 24 July 2015 . 25 July 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150726135706/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-33647635 . 26 July 2015 . live .
18. News: Gala Bingo acquisition “strange”, says consultant. Gambling Insider. David Cook. 27 October 2015. 2017-12-27. https://web.archive.org/web/20171228112322/https://www.gamblinginsider.com/news/1515/gala-bingo-acquisition-strange-says-consultant. 28 December 2017. live.
19. News: Caledonia Investments completes Gala Bingo acquisition. Morningstar. Alliance News. 21 December 2015. 2017-12-27. https://web.archive.org/web/20171228173023/http://www.morningstar.co.uk/uk/news/AN_1450685511798145700/caledonia-investments-completes-gala-bingo-acquisition.aspx. 28 December 2017. live.
20. Ladbrokes Coral Group – Completion of Merger. Ladbrokes Coral Group. 1 November 2016. 2017-12-27. https://web.archive.org/web/20170423173644/https://www.ladbrokescoralplc.com/media/press-releases/ladbrokes-coral-group/2016/01-11-2016. 23 April 2017. live.
21. http://www.nectar.com/earnpoints/earningExclusions.nectar#galabingo Gala Bingo joins Nectar
22. Daily Telegraph, 1 August 2007 Issue Number 47,325 Pensioner is bingo’s first £1m winner
23. Web site: About GVC Holdings PLC. https://web.archive.org/web/20191003060141/https://www.reuters.com/companies/GVC.L. dead. 3 October 2019. 9 November 2020. reuters.

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Gala Bingo

Gala Bingo was once a brand seen in many UK towns and cities. These days, it’s an online bingo site that rivals some of the biggest and best around.

Take a look at these Bingo Offers.

Unfortunately, Gambling Expert doesn’t have an affiliate relationship with this brand, therefore, at this time we cannot provide a link to their site.

3 years ago

• Well-Known Brand
• Great Design
• Wide Selection of Bingo Rooms
• Massive Jackpots
• Tournaments and Loyalty Rewards
• Excellent Customer Support

• Web Wallets Excluded from Welcome Bonus

Gala Bingo is one of the biggest names in UK bingo. Gala Bingo clubs were purchased by Caledonia Investments in 2018 and rebranded as Buzz Bingo, but the name still exists online, where it is operated by LC International Limited.

The “LC” in that name stands for Ladbrokes Coral, a subsidiary of Entain, a multi-billion pound gambling company that owns Bwin, Ladbrokes, Foxy Bingo, and several others. It means that Gala Bingo has the reputation, experience, and network needed to be successful.

So, is Gala Bingo any good?

Welcome Bonuses

New customers at Gala Bingo are offered a £50 bingo bonus with 40 free spins. To qualify, you must deposit and wager at least £10 on bingo tickets. The tickets and spins are valid on selected games only and you have 7 days to use them.

The free spins have a value of £0.10 each and there is no wagering requirement, so you can keep and withdraw what you win.

As for the bingo bonus, it has a wagering requirement of 4x.

You can withdraw your real money balance at any time while the bonus is active. However, doing so will invalidate the bonus.

The only real downside to this bonus is that you can’t use PayPal and other web wallets. They are still available on the site, but if you deposit using these methods you will void the bonus. You can’t simply deposit again with a valid method, either. It won’t be your first deposit and you will no longer be a new member, so you’ll be excluded.

Loyalty Offers

Check out the “My Rewards” section of the Gala Bingo website to see what loyalty promotions you can collect. There are many of these available at any given time, and they apply to the slots and bingo games.

Gala Bingo also has a good selection of real money tournaments. You must opt in to play these tournaments, after which you can start collecting points and climbing the leaderboard. There are many prizes to win, including cash, bonus credits, and free spins. More importantly, they are completely free to enter.

Bingo Games and Slots

The clean design of Gala Bingo reminds me of some of its hugely respected sister brands. I have criticised a lot of bingo sites for their poor designs, terrible graphics, and problematic interfaces. There are no such issues here.

Gala Bingo has 30, 36, 50, 75, 80, and 90-ball variations of bingo. More importantly, it has some of the most interesting and unique creations I have come across. These include bingo games based on Coronation Street, Fluffy Favourites, and Deal or No Deal, as well as massive jackpot games like £100k Big Bingo.

There are games running all of the time and there’s usually a wait of just 5 minutes between them. If you don’t mind which game you play, you will never need to wait more than 30 seconds to play bingo.

Several games cost just £0.01 to play, and there are tickets that cost more than £1. It’s bingo for everyone, which is just what you’d expect from the country’s best-known bingo brand.

Customer Support

You can tell a lot about a gambling site by how it treats prospective players. And I’m not just talking about the size of its welcome bonuses.

I always send an email to a site before I conduct a review. I ask a simple question and note how long it takes them to reply.

Many send automated replies relating to the subject matter but missing the point, suggesting they use the email equivalent of those annoying chatbots. Some insist I provide my account details, even though I was only asking a yes or no question, making it clear they didn’t read my message.

And then you have the ones that ignore me completely, which accounts for about 80% of the sites I email.

It tests their actual level of customer care, as opposed to their perceived customer obligation.

With Gala Bingo, not only did I get a response in just a few hours, but they answered my question. For perspective, the latest batch of emails I sent spanned over 150 sites. Of those, only 5% replied quickly and answered in a helpful manner.

Once I actually joined and used Gala Bingo, that level of support continued. They are excellent in this area and there are no complaints from me.

Deposits and Withdrawals

Gala Bingo accepts PayPal, Visa, MasterCard, and several other popular payment methods. It’s not one of those sites that charges you for withdrawals and it also doesn’t ask you to wait several days for your withdrawal to be processed.

It should take no more than a couple of hours to process a payment. If you’re using a web wallet, the money will be in your account almost instantly. For Visa and MasterCard, you may need to wait a few days, but that delay is down to your bank and not Gala Bingo.

Verdict: Gala Bingo Review

Gala Bingo is an excellent site and one of a small number that gets top marks. It has excellent bonuses, a fantastic layout, and some genuinely brilliant games. I enjoyed my time here and will be adding Gala Bingo to my regular cycle. When you remove the theme and colour scheme, there’s not much separating Gala Bingo and Foxy Bingo, but as I also gave Foxy Bingo full marks, that’s a good thing.

FAQ

Does Gala Bingo Have an App?

Yes, there are Gala Bingo apps in both the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store.

Does Gala Bingo Have a Website?

Yes, and this is it, but it’s not the Gala Bingo that you might be familiar with. As noted in the above review, the brand’s clubs were sold to the owner of Buzz Bingo a few years ago.

Does Gala Bingo Have a Reward’s Program?

Yes, and it offers some great opportunities for active players. You don’t need to be a high roller to benefit, but obviously the biggest and most active players will get more out of it.

Can I Use PayPal at Gala Bingo?

Yes, but you can’t use it if you want to collect the welcome bonus.

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