Bonus Bingo » Mecca Bingo

Bingo Staff Go All The Way To The Top

Joe — Mon, 26 May 2008 14:40:13 +0000

Members of staff from the Mecca Bingo hall in Ellesmere Port are going to be going all out in their fundraising efforts for their nominated charity, Whizz Kids. In fact the are ready to climb every mountain for them and this is precisely what they are going to be doing, trekking up a mountain in Wales to raise the much needed funds. The Mecca team together with colleagues from Mecca bingo in Wednesbury Cross, are going to be climbing mount Snowdon.

The organizer of the climb, Nick Debear, who is the operations manager at Mecca bingo Wednesbury Cross said that his is the 6^{th time they have made this monumental trek for charity and this time he expects it to be much more successful as their team has grown to encompass twenty members. This is the first years that the bingo club is climbing for Whizz Kids. He said that the entire team is really enthusiastic and they want to raise more than ₤1 000, 10% of the overall ₤10 000 target they have set to raise funds for charity in 2008.}^{Whizz kids is the UK national charity that provides mobility to disabled children giving them the independence they need for home, play and school.}

Rank Plc, Mecca Bingo Claims for ₤3.6 million in VAT

Joe — Fri, 23 May 2008 16:22:43 +0000

The Rank group which operates the UK’s second largest bingo chain, Mecca Bingo has released a statement saying that a the VAT and Duties tribunal has accepted its application for a ₤36.3 million tax refund after it found that the game was unfairly taxed. According to the decision, European Union law is being violated by charging VAT on certain kinds of interval bingo, interval bingo is played between the main bingo sessions in UK clubs. The UK government is more than likely going to appeal this ruling though.
This VAT taxation is considered to be discriminatory as other gaming concerns such as casinos are only taxed one and bingo is liable to two different types of tax, VAT and Gross Profit Tax. The Vat burden is said to be one of the major reasons for losses suffered by bingo companies in the UK, but bingo operators in the country have tried in vain to get this ruling lifted and the Government is adamant that they will not remove it.
The ruling of the VAT and Duties Tribunal will more than likely have no material benefit on the bingo group this year, the appeals deadline is July 10th.

Bingo For Breakthrough 2008

Joe — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 08:45:08 +0000

Bingo for Breakthrough is a national campaign that is supported by the National Bingo Game Association and its sister organisation the Bingo Association to support the breast cancer cause. This event takes place every year and more than four hundred bingo clubs nationwide dedicate a full week to the cause by playing games to win pink teddies and various other fund raising activities. Traditionally Bingo for Breakthrough takes place in October and this year is it scheduled to take place from Sunday 19^th – 25^th October 2008.

Many bingo clubs, including uckingham, Mecca, Gala, Carlton and Castle bingo participate in the Bingo for Breakthrough activities. This support started in 2003 and has since raised ₤2.75 million for breast cancer causes, last year alone was a record year, raising ₤500 000, a fantastic achievement.

Bingo for Breakthrough has also, quite notably won the BIG Tick Award in 2005, 2006 and 2007. Last year, for the second year in succession, celebrities joined the campaign, they drew doodles of things that make them smile using bingo dabbers and these were subsequently sold on e-Bay, this also increased awareness and raised even more funds. Throughout the course of the year, we will keep you updated on the preparations for this very worthwhile fund raising week.

Mecca Bingo Pennies Promotion

Joe — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 09:46:15 +0000

The Mecca Bingo online site is again hosting its Pennies Promotion, every Wednesday in April, online bingo players will be given the opportunity of playing for pennies between 12 and 8pm. The games are available in some of the bingo rooms and the prize money is ₤25. This is very good value for money as you can get one hundred tickets for a pound.

For those who are not already a member of the Mecca Bingo online site, it is really easy to get started and there are plenty of online winners. The latest big online winner “Blackopal” caught the Mega Ball Booster jackpot of ₤52 444.66 in thirty two calls with a ₤1 stake. She is a regular player who lives alone with her little dog, she plays nearly every day and when she won the prize, she said that her dog must have thought she had gone mad, because she kept on repeating “I’ve won the Mega.”

She is going to be putting most of her bingo prize money into savings, but she also wants to buy a small car as she lives in a village which is several miles away from the town. She will also be using some of the money to help her family as well as buy some new items for her home.

Mecca Bingo Makes a Difference

Joe — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 05:56:07 +0000

Now bingo players can make a Mecca Difference in the lives of some deserving children.

Mecca Bingo is preparing to launch a new campaign focusing on charity. Big Heart Bingo will not be left alone in the giving community. Now the “Mecca Wheel Difference” will combine the efforts of Mecca bingo and a company called “Whizz-Kidz” to focus on providing wheelchairs and other mobility equipment to children who would not otherwise have access to them.

The best part of this campaign is that it will be spread by word of mouth infinitely. Everyone seems to know someone in their family or community that plays bingo for fun. They also know someone, or of someone who could benefit from the type of services that the Whizz-Kidz program provides.

Pairing these up was a matter of ease. The directors of each organization are truly excited about the prospective future of this program. The possibilities are endless. Nationally, there are almost 70,000 children that require some form of mobility assistance. Many of these children are not getting the tools they need because of the incredible expense, and subsequent strain on the family budget.

This program will look to identify the families and children in need, and provide them with the equipment – as well as training to maximize the effectiveness of the donated equipment.

Now the hearts of bingo players can be shown throughout the community, and families in need have the chance for their lives to be transformed.

Mecca Bingo Win for Seventy-five Year Old

Joe — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 11:06:41 +0000

The new National Bingo game is really on a roll and it seems that it is becoming easier for more people to win. Since the introduction of the game last month there have bee some really big winners and this seventy-five year old Islington woman is no exception.

She was playing bingo at the Mecca Bingo Club in Lordship Lane, Wood Green when she won £86,683 from the Platinum jackpot, £7,220 which was the national game prize, the regional prize of £1,066 and just as a cherry on the cake, the house prize of £69. Not bad going for an afternoon playing bingo!

She shares the Platinum prize with another winner in Bristol, but is certainly not complaining. The women reported that the manager of the Mecca Bingo Club came over to her and asked her if he told her how much she had won, she wouldn’t have a heart attack would she? Never in her life did she expect something this big to happen to her.

She is a widow and she plans to buy her house with the money as well as treat her five children, seven grandchildren and three great grandchildren.

Mecca Bingo and the Spice Girls

admin — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 13:41:14 +0000

There is a special at Mecca Bingo this week, November 19th through November 25th. Players may get lucky and win a chance to see Ginger, Baby, Posh, Scary and Sporty in their new comeback concert tour.

The Spice Girls are appearing Saturday, December 15th at the 02 Arena in London and Mecca Bingo Online is offering its players a chance to win a pair of tickets along with ₤250 in spending money. This money can be used to cover the cost of traveling and lodging for the winner that has to travel to London for the concert. The contest for the tickets can be found in the Mecca Bingo Chat Rooms. Players can enter the contest by playing bingo online in the Friendship Never Ends theme and playing in certain Spice Girl themed online bingo games.

The online bingo games are offered between 7 a.m. to 8 a.m., 12 p.m. to 1 p.m., and 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. These are the only times that the games are offered. The player picks a number between one and ninety and this selection will generate either sugar or a spice. The player wins an entry into the drawing for the tickets if their number selection results in a spice. Winners will be notified by December 1 so they can make their plans for the London concert.

The Spice Girls World Tour will also take them to Madrid, New York, Beijing, Hong Kong and Sydney. The December 15th date is the only appearance the Spice Girls will make in the United Kingdom. Fans of the group will not want to miss this opportunity.

Jean Fights to Keep her Bingo Jackpot

admin — Sun, 18 Nov 2007 13:27:35 +0000

Jean McCullagh was the second big winner in the new bingo game – Big N game. She attended the game with her sister-in-laws, Rose and Jessie McCullagh.

Rose and Jessie claim that they all agreed to share their winnings and that Jean promised them each a ₤250,000 share in the big jackpot. Jean claims that promise only applied to the ₤10,000 local jackpot. Jean won the big one and her sisters-in-law want their share. They went to court and obtained an order that froze the winnings so Jean can’t withdraw them. Jean claims that there was no agreement but the sisters-in-law claim otherwise and that there was a staff member in the bingo hall that witnessed their conversation.

The case is now headed for court since the sisters-in-law could not work out their differences. Jean’s lawyer, Cameron Fyfe, believes that there are enough witnesses from the Forge Mecca Bingo hall to prove that there was no agreement, as Jean claims. Jean and her husband went into hiding after the situation became public and received worldwide publicity. They have just recently returned to their Uddingston, Lanarkshire home. Reports indicate that Jean is not going out much. An event that should have been happy is now on its way to a full court case.

The State of British Bingo

admin — Sun, 18 Nov 2007 13:21:06 +0000

The state of bingo in the UK is not good. Ian Burke, chief executive of Rank Group (Mecca Bingo), is warning that the bingo industry is on the verge of collapse.

Mecca Bingo had a profitable month last month but they are experiencing a decline in customers due to the smoking ban. That is keeping customers away at a time when they need them. Many players are making the switch to online bingo because they can play in the safety of their own homes and smoke if they want.

In addition, the limit on the big jackpot gaming machines is also contributing to the financial woes of the industry. People who would play these slots during the breaks now find they are limited. Those who smoke now go outside to smoke in a designated area and don’t play the fruit machines.

Adding to their financial woes is the tax situation. Bingo operators pay a 15% gaming duty plus a 17.5% VAT. Industry representatives will meet again with Chancellor Alistar Darling to push for ending the VAT. Bingo is the only segment of the gaming industry that is experiencing double taxation.

Mecca Bingo and other operators are watching their profit situation slip due to the situation. Bingo players are angry when their bingo halls close. Bingo has been a popular form of socialization in the United Kingdom since the 1960s and these people don’t like what is happening.