Majestic Bingo enters administration
The company has eight bingo halls in England and Wales.
UK.- The bingo hall operator Majestic Bingo has entered into administration. There have been concerns about the financial performance of the company, which has 143 employees and eight bingo venues in England and Wales.
Tim Bateson and Chris Pole from Interpath Advisory have been appointed as joint administrators. They have retained all staff so the operator can continue to trade while they explore options for a sale of the business and assets.
The company had been profitable in the past but has been facing difficulties since the advent of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 due to the long periods with no business. With the subsequent cost-of-living crisis affecting disposable income, custom appears not to have fully recovered since.
Meanwhile, a profitable bingo hall in Spalding, Lincolnshire, has not reopened since it closed in 2021 due to a fire caused by an electrical fault
Bateson said. “However, in recent years, it has seen trading adversely affected by the impact of lockdowns during the pandemic, as well as the cost-of-living crisis. Majestic is one of the UK’s most recognisable independent bingo operators.
“We will continue to trade the business in the immediate term while we seek a buyer for the business. We would encourage any interested parties to make contact with us as soon as possible.”
Majestic Bingo Online Limited operates separately and has not been put into administration. It continues to operate as normal.
Yesterday (July 11), Bacta chief executive John White set out the association’s take on the impact of the UK Gambling White Paper on land-based gambling entertainment, providing evidence to the Culture, Media and Sport Committee in the Palace of Westminster.
Meanwhile, the British Gambling Commission has announced that this month it will open four consultations resulting from the review of the 2005 Gambling Act. It will publish consultations on online game design, financial risk and vulnerability checks for online gambling, direct marketing and cross-selling and age verification at land-based gambling venues.
The regulator will also open two consultations not mandated by the gambling white paper, on the rules for personal management licences and the procedures for regulatory panels. It said it had chosen to run these consultations at the same time in accordance with its plan to gather consultations into windows instead of running them sporadically at random times through the year.
