Relief for UK bingo club operators - perhaps not as much as they would like, but still relief - has been achieved following the Government's decision to reverse last year's reduction in £500 jackpot machines back from a maximum of four to eight.
But there was no comfort for the seasides in the announcement yesterday from Gambling Minister Gerry Sutcliffe.
The bingo industry, which suffered 100 clubs closing since 2005 through suppressed gaming opportunities and the smoking ban, had been promised some measures of relief by the minister.
It was slow coming, but the expected increase in the £1 stake/£500 prize slots back up from four machines to eight, is welcome but still not the 16 machines that the industry had requested.
It was, said Sutcliffe, a one-off measure to halt the decline in the number of neighbourhood bingo clubs which has seen a fall in their numbers of 15 per cent in the past four years.
But the AWP industry had seized the opportunity of a fresh government look at gaming machines to plead for some relief for seaside arcades, similarly suffering from a largely negative Gambling Act and the smoking ban.
The industry had sought an early review of stakes and prizes - earlier than the agreed three-yearly interval - but minister Sutcliffe said he was prepared to advance the review only by one year for low-stake gaming machines.
This would include the 50p stake and £35 top prize AWPs and the ‘trivial’ machine sector, with 10p stakes and £5 prize which is common on fun-type machines such as pushers.
The inland arcades - collectively known as adult gaming centres - wanted an uplift on the stake of £1 and top prize of £500. This was discounted by the minister.
