The House of Lords this week voted in favour of a motion to increase the number of gaming machines in bingo halls.
Currently bingo clubs are only allowed to operate four 'B3' gaming machines. 'B3' gaming machines as they are referred to have a £1 stake and a possible £500 win. The new motion will see the amount of machines allowed double from four to eight.
Analysts believe this could make a substantial difference to some clubs takings, and operators are likely to act quickly. On news of the new motions, Rank Group (who own Mecca Bingo) saw a slight rise in share price.
The law will be effective within the next month and Rank are expected to add around 300 machines to their Mecca clubs.
This is the first step in the continual struggle for relaxation of bingo gaming laws which some say sees bingo operators imposed with unfair restrictions and heavy taxation. On top of all this, some bingo clubs are still struggling to find their way after the smoking ban which saw many of their regular players absent for periods of time while taking cigarette breaks, with some not turning up at all.
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