This week it was announced in the UK we spend over £600 million a year on bingo tickets!!

The data was collected by Bingoport, the online bingo authority who monitors all online bingo sites in the UK 24 hours a day 7 days a week.

 The managing director of Bingo Port Scott Logan said “We’ve seen unprecedented growth in the online bingo industry here in the UK in the past year. The fact that online bingo players are purchasing bingo tickets in the realm of £600 million annually is truly amazing considering the credit crunch, but not surprising considering the licensing of the online gaming industry in the UK.”

UK online gaming operator Rank plc has sold more of itself to the Malaysian Guoco group bringing the Asian company’s total holdings in Rank to 12.67%.

Genting, another Malaysian investment group, also currently owns an 11% stake in Rank. The move has upped speculation that a takeover bid may be in the works. 

Watch this space for future updates.

Online bingo software developer Parlay Entertainment Inc has announced it has been granted an eGambling license by the Alderney Gambling Control Commission.

Parlay, a Canadian company, has recently pursued a strategy of investment into the European sector after deciding to largely divest from the US market in the wake of the implementation of UIGEA (anti-Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act).

The acceptance of Parlay software for operation within Alderney, a UK ‘white listed’ jurisdiction, comes in addition to Parlay’s existing gaming licenses and certifications in Malta, the UK and Isle of Man.  This recognition by a white listed jurisdiction allows Parlay to advertise its online bingo products in the UK.

Sportium, a joint venture between Cirsa Slot and Ladbrokes has won the final bid for the license to operate online bingo in Spain’s Madrid region.

According to Ladbrokes, online bingo is considered to be one of its many online gaming interests. The Spanish online bingo market has been tipped by many in the industry to be watched for its potential growth.

To begin activity will be centered on sporting bets covering a range of sports such as golf, tennis, flat racing, basketball and many others, however, it is still not clear if Ladbrokes will capitalize its online bingo operations to get a grip of the growing Spanish bingo market.

The venture does state that with this license, the company expects a turnover of about 80 million Euros in its first year of operation.