Casino news and the bingo club sector

Here at onlinecasino.ie, when we report on Irish casino news we are usually discussing either Ladbrokes or Paddy Power the two best known online casino operators in Ireland. This month however we thought we’d pick up on recent speculation in the press regarding Gala Coral, or more accurately the Gala Bingo operations. Gala Coral is now an American owned company which recently sold most of its casinos to Rank Group and is now thought to be considering offloading their 140 bingo clubs at an asking price in the region of £250 million. The overall strategy appears to be to prepare the company for a flotation of the gambling and online businesses next year. It is no secret of course that the bingo industry is seen as a declining sector following the smoking ban, increased tax burden and competition from the online casinos who nearly all feature bingo in their casino games range, but there are potential buyers out there. Apparently Risk Capital Partners run by Luke Johnson may be among the interested parties, and some observers are suggesting that Mr Johnson’s former business partner Hugh Osmond may also be in the running. Knowledgeable observers of the bingo industry may remember that Risk Capital made a huge return on their investment in Mayfair Gaming, owners of Riva Bingo when they sold it in 2006, two years after they bought it so the bingo industry has been good for them in the past. In spite of the difficulties faced by the bingo clubs in recent years it remains a cash-generative business and may turn out to be an attractive investment at the right price.