The operator of a popular Coatbridge bingo club is supporting a national campaign which is seeking financial support to assist the closed industry.

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Buzz Bingo is among the organisations backing the new “save Scottish bingo” initiative, being run by the Bingo Association in Scotland to highlight its losses – and their message that “without support, the local bingo club could become a thing of the past”.

Their facility at Faraday retail park, in common with other bingo clubs in Monklands and the central belt, has been shut for all but six weeks since the original coronavirus lockdown was announced 10 months ago.

Regional director Clive Newton said: “Our clubs are at the heart of communities and for many, visiting Buzz Bingo is a way to stay in touch and socialise with friends and family – it’s a real lifeline for people and something many miss terribly at the moment.

“We’re calling on the Scottish Government to help support the bingo industry in the same way they’ve supported other hospitality and entertainment businesses; we want to ensure that when the world returns to normal, bingo clubs are able to reopen and welcome the community back once more.”

Local Bingo Halls Clubs

The Bingo Association in Scotland’s campaign highlights that the industry has not received sector-specific financial support, and that it has not been eligible for hospitality, culture or entertainment funding despite having the same operating restrictions as pubs and restaurants in relation to closure, table service and alcohol.

Operators have been able to apply for small closure grants of up to £3000 per month; but the industry body estimates that the sector has lost more than £80 million in revenue since last March and that more than 1000 jobs could be at risk.

Its chief executive, Miles Baron, said: “All we are asking is that the Scottish Government levels the playing field and grants us the same support that our friends and colleagues in hospitality, cinemas and nightclubs have received.

Local Bingo Clubs

“Bingo clubs contribute significantly not only to our local economy, but also to communities where they provide schemes intended to address social isolation.

“It’s extremely difficult to explain to our valued customers and employees why their pastime and job is seemingly of less importance than other entertainment and hospitality businesses, many of whom have received significant funding.”

Bingo halls across Scotland welcomed back their first post-lockdown customers in late August, but the clubs in Monklands then closed again in early October in the first of the central belt hospitality closures, and have not reopened since as restrictions have further tightened amid rising coronavirus cases.

The new campaign website states: “The future of bingo in Scotland is at risk and we need your help to save it”, asking customers to write to ministers asking for the industry to receive hospitality-sector support.

A statement adds: “Bingo has been a mainstay of Scottish cultural life since the 1960s; many of our predominantly female customers see [it] as their main opportunity for a good night out, and a place they feel safe to visit.

“It is devasting to say that the future of this great cultural institution is at risk of collapse – some bingo clubs, particularly small independent operators, simply cannot survive this pandemic without additional financial support and may have no choice but to close their doors for good.”