source: pixabay.com Premier Bingo, a small independent chain of three bingo halls in Scotland, has shut up shop on all three venues and gone into administration.
Announced via the Facebook pages of the three clubs in Alloa, Cowdenbeath, and Perth, Premier Bingo declared closures “with immediate effect”.
The post read:
“Customer Announcement.
Due to circumstances outwith our control we regret to announce that Premier Bingo will cease trading immediately.
All clubs are now closed and the company is in administration.
We will make a statement after this process has finished.”
Premier Bingo Ltd is a private limited company incorporated in Feb 2021. The small chain of independent clubs is owned by Peter Connor, who has three dissolved businesses in the pub/hospitality sector behind him.
The last published accounts on 31/12/2021 show a cash in the bank balance of £64606, but creditors owed £141,619, leaving a shareholder deficit of £65740.
Having opened during the pandemic, no doubt the cost of living crisis and soaring energy costs played a major factor in Premier Bingo's demise. Just recently, Majestic Bingo was plunged into administration with almost 150 jobs set to be axed.
The shock closures of the popular bingo halls now mean that the residents of Perth and Cowdenbeath look set to be left without any bingo halls at all in the area to get their bingo pleasure. The Premier Bingo Alloa venue is also one of the few locations in Alloa which hosts a public access defibrillator for community use.
No official comment has been made from Peter Connor as yet, and posts have been limited on the Facebook pages.
source: https://www.facebook.com/PremierBingoCowdenbeath
Sadness and Shock
However, as expected, the shock closures were greeted with surprise and sadness, with particular empathy towards the staff, who seemed to have been highly liked and appreciated.
One commentator said of the closures: “Shocking best bingo around with fantastic and friendly staff”
Another added: “Gutted for the staff, they made the place what it was”
Scottish Bingo Under Threat
The latest closures continue the sad demise of bingo across Scotland. Closed longer during the COVD-19 Pandemic than bingo halls in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, many Scottish bingo halls were saved because of a well-orchestrated funding campaign launched by the National Bingo Association, which Bingo Daily was proud to play a part in.
The Save Scottish Bingo campaign culminated in a lifeline being sent to Scottish Bingo Halls.
Miles Baron, CEO of The Bingo Association in Scotland, said in April 2021:
“As a result of thousands of bingo players responding to our call for support, the Bingo Association in Scotland has recently been informed that our Bingo is my Lifeline campaign has been successful, and all licensed bingo clubs in Scotland will receive a one-off grant in recognition of the challenges caused by their sustained closure over the last year.”
Now, however, after a succession of club closures from independents and the larger retail chains North of the border, does Scottish Bingo need saving again?
Ben has been an massive bingo enthusiast and fan since playing at the seaside as a kid. Dedicated to bringing you the latest and best bingo news from the UK
The news we recieved about Alloa Bingo closing was really sad,it may not have been a busy hall but they had many members who were happy to join and play,there would many pensioners who only went in afternoons as they would’t go out in the evenings,they enjoyed meeting with friends having bingo,and slso enjoying a chat having tea/coffee,so to me they would feel their life wasted as they wouldn’t travel distance to play Bingo,and for myself i am from Glasgow and was never 1 to go out clubbing at weekends or don’t drink either,my Mum was always my best friend and we had done everything together,our happy time was going out for lunch,a wee bingo evenin with her,so when i moved from Glasgow to Alloa and eventually became a member to the hall after a lot of encouragement regarding my illnesses especially my Epilepsy,as sometimes i didn’t get warning of my seizures,so didn’t like to be alone,but the staff were always so very friendly and kept a close eye on me,as the same of the friendly people who sat around me as we always sat on the same seats,so seeing the same people who went on the same nights as me and becoming friendly with them in the hall which made me so comfortable and relaxed incase of Seizures,the main reason myself and a couple of my friends are really angry/annoyed when we got the news of the bingo closing is because anytime we got a bingo win there was a few who inquired with staff if you needed to take all your winnings out of your account if you played on the bingo machine rather than bingo books,but we were told no you can leave your money in your membership account if you want it’s definitely safe,so that’s the way a few of us worked letting winnings build up and next time you were back at bingo just paid out of your account,between 4 of us having money in our accounts which is ours and me having the most in mine but none of us recieved our money back,i contacted the council to get the name and direct number/email of new owner to deal with the matter,at first i was told they couldn’t give me they details,but then was asked could they help by any chance,when i explained the situation to thd woman she said no thats not right and asked me to hold the line then came back with a name and email address of the license officer and was told to send an email to him explaining everything i had explained to her and someone would reply back to me,it wasn’t long after i recieved a call from the license officer telling me he had contacted the manager of the Alloa premier hall regarding the matter the manager told him the electrical fault repair is nearly complete and hall should be opened back up soon,also not to worry about your winnings as they are perfectly safe too,which has obviously being all lies as a spoke to another two other different people regarding the situation,one who knew exactly what was going on informed me of what was planned so what a was told about to me their was definitely no intention of opening back up,so a spoke to my friends and together we were even planning to deal with a lawyer to deal with matter and for us get the money belonging to us,my friend has contacted me a couple of times to invite me along with her and her daughter for a night in stirling bingo and they can collect me and drop me home afterwards too,i have went but not as comfortable as i was in Alloa as a don’t know the hall,the staff people around me so it makes me weary,also Alloa only five minutes along the road,so easy enough for me to go to and get back from where as any other hall i wouldn’t be keen to go to as i won’t travel alone especially at night regarding my Epilepsy,i feel it is absolutely a disgrace especially as alloa hall is in the toon no a wee small village where no one would attend,it’s also sad news with me too as am unfit for work due to my illnesses,so my time and happiness was meeting a couple of friends fir coffee morning or lunch,then certain nights of the week meet a couple different friends for bingo night,Alloa was easy enough to get to,it would be good news to hear if the matter/problems got sorted and if the hall was took over by a new manager/company to get it up and running again,but no doubt it will be like many other places in town that were closed and opened as a charity shop,barbers/hairdressers,many people will feel the same as me pointless to go shopping in Alloa lately!!