Gala Bingo joins The Senet Group

Gala Leisure and Gala Interactive are the latest companies to join the regulator, following in the footsteps of other industry majors including Paddy Power Betfair and Sky Betting & Gambling.

"We welcome the further broadening of the Senet Group’s base and look to the group, and all industry leaders and representative bodies, to come together to meet the ambition of the new Responsible Gambling Strategy Board strategy and to build on the industry’s commitment to responsible gambling in Britain," Gambling Commission chief executive, Sarah Harrison, said.

The Senet Group, which was established in 2014, was created by William Hill, Ladbrokes, Coral and Paddy Power, in response to general public concerns on gambling and advertising in particular.

Members of the watchdog commit to a voluntary TV advertising ban on sign-up offers before 9pm, while bookies refrain from advertising gaming machines in betting shop windows and dedicate 20 per cent of shop window advertising to responsible gambling messages, according to the group's website.

"Bingo is recognized as being a community-based activity at the softest edge of gaming. As such, we place great importance on responsible gambling and can see the merits in working together as an industry rather than just as a sector within it," Simon Wykes, chief executive of Gala Leisure, said.