The casino and bingo club markets have experienced contrasting fortunes in recent years, with the former enjoying strong growth on the back of some important new openings and the latter enduring slow but sustained decline in venue numbers, admissions and profitability.
However, the halving of Bingo Duty in the 2014 Budget has created an important opportunity for capital investment in the club estate on a scale that could radically redefine its future, while the casino sector requires another round of regulatory liberalisation to create a similar sea change in potential.
As well as these and other key developments in the two markets, this report examines consumers’ experience of casinos and bingo clubs, the activities they are interested in taking part in within them, and how operators can respond to the challenges and possibilities emerging.
Definition
This report focuses on casinos and licensed bingo clubs.
Casinos are defined as clubs that are licensed by the Gambling Commission for the purposes of gambling, and which generally incorporate games such as roulette, blackjack, baccarat and casino poker. Gambling is defined by the Gambling Commission as being an “activity in which the only product that changes hands is money”.
Bingo clubs are defined as clubs that are licensed by the Gambling Commission for the purposes of playing cash bingo. Other ways of playing bingo (usually ‘prize bingo’ for prizes or lower cash returns) are also discussed, although they do not form part of the report’s core focus.
Traditionally, bingo has also been played in licensed social clubs, working men’s clubs and political clubs in addition to the licensed bingo clubs already mentioned.
These venues are considered outside the scope of this report, as are online casinos and bingo games, although these may all be referenced for purposes of context where appropriate.
The term ‘drop’ as used in this report, refers to money exchanged for chips at casinos. Spend per head, as detailed in this report, relates to net expenditure rather than the ‘drop’ or money consumers have staked.
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