Gaming group Gala today said customers had flocked to its bingo halls and casinos over Christmas.
Sales at the privately owned group rose by 6.9% to £71.5m in the seven weeks to 7 January, an increase of 5.9% on a like-for-like basis.
Chief executive Neil Goulden said: “This is a great set of numbers, despite a challenging time on the high street.”
He said the average age of new bingo players continued to be 25 and the game was especially popular with groups of young girls.
“More and more young people are playing bingo, he said. “It’s the in-thing to do. It’s finished by 10pm so there’s still time to go out afterwards.”
The average age of existing bingo members was 40 to 45, while casino members were usually 35 to 40.
Gala’s 166-strong chain of bingo halls posted a 7.2% hike in sales to £55m, while like-for-like sales were 6.8% higher. This was after it paid out £181m in prize money.
The casinos arm, which operates 29 sites in the UK, the Isle of Man and Gibraltar, benefited from growth in new members caused by the relaxation in membership rules.
Sales at the division rose by 5.7% to £16.5m in the seven weeks and by 3% on a like-for-like basis. Total group sales for the year to September increased by 17.9% to £544.4m.
Gala is owned by private equity group Candover, which said last March that it was well-placed to exploit deregulation of the gaming industry.
One of its main rivals is Rank, which has the Hard Rock Cafe chain as well as casinos and Mecca bingo halls.
Listed company Rank said last month that its gaming and betting arms recovered from a challenging first half.
It also said it considered itself well-placed to benefit from the government’s proposed changes to UK gambling laws, which will see the opening of new Las Vegas-style regional casinos.
References: EGi News 20/01/05
