Gala also owns the Coral chain of betting shops and the Gala casinos. Bingo in the UK has seen 24 clubs close this year and over 100 in the past three years. There are now only 550 bingo clubs remaining in the British industry, of which Gala owns 160.
The blame has been placed initially upon increased taxation on the industry, plus the effects of the smoking ban and the general recession.
Gala's Coral betting shop chain has increased by 15, on the other hand, which fuels the arguments in the UK that fixed odds betting terminals are absorbing large sections of leisure spend.