UK Bingo Association Angry at National Lottery Ad - 03-19-08

March 19 -

A government sponsored advertisement has caused ripples of outrage and anger in the United Kingdom bingo industry, with many organizations, including the UK Bingo Association, calling for this tasteless promotion to be removed from the media immediately.

There have been claims that the advert for the National Lottery's "Flamin' Hot Bingo" scratch card mocks the difficult situation that the private bingo industry finds itself in, due to excessive taxation and a recent smoking ban. As a result, hundreds of bingo halls across the country are under the threat of closure.

The advert shows an elderly woman riding down a derelict urban road on a mobility scooter, and sees her passing a run down bingo hall with a 'closed' sign on its door. A scratchcard sound, to indicate the new 'Flamin' Hot' Bingo' card, suddenly transforms the scene to the same woman, riding a top of the range scooter against the backdrop of a flashy beachfront.

The UK Bingo Association has said that the advertisement clearly makes fun at the desperate situation faced by many bingo halls as they are forced to close their doors to faithful customers who have used these places of entertainment for decades.

An enraged Paul Talboys, Chief Executive of the UK Bingo Association said in an interview: "The National Lottery is a government-backed organization. Its decision to poke fun at the bingo industry is not just disappointing. It trivializes the very distress caused to players and employees by the closure of their clubs."

A spokesperson for Rank, which operates Mecca bingo halls across the country, continued in the tirade of criticism against the advertisers: "It is particularly distasteful that a state-sponsored gambling monopoly should publicly rejoice in the closure of bingo clubs. We urge the National Lottery to withdraw this deeply offensive advertisement."