Members of the bingo industry have called bingo fans to save Irish clubs, which have been severely affected by the smoking ban. The plea to save bingo halls was launched at Holyrood and it included the consequences of the new Gambling Act and the Vat and gambling taxes imposed on the activities of bingo operators.

Besides, the most important bingo operators in Ireland have addressed the petitions committee and urged MSPs to request the Executive a discussion of their case with Westminster. They want the tax on bingo clubs to be brought into line with the rest of the gaming industry.

Riva Gaming Group has introduced a new concept for London bingo fans to try out. This week, the bingo operator opened the first fully electronic bingo hall in the UK, which offers 582 personal hand-held bingo terminals. These new machines are intended to replace traditional paper bingo tickets.

“Riva is at the forefront of bingo technology and product development,” Simon Hannah, CEO of Riva, said. “We are operating in a challenging environment but we believe there is still plenty of room for growth for operators who provide unique and exciting facilities.”

A citizen of Bateman’s Bay was the lucky winner this week of a $468,000 keno jackpot, the biggest keno win in the city so far. The keno player is a regular of the Catalina Country Club, where he obtained his win from a $1 game in a nine-spot win.

Although the name of the winner was not revealed, Owen Quinn, Catalina Country Club operations manager, explained that the player is middle-aged, recently moved to the area and visits the club occasionally. He requested to remain anonymous so as to preserve his privacy and his family’s.

Local voters at Norfolk Nebraska will soon have the chance to decide whether or not keno, one of the most popular games of chance in the United States, will be allowed in the city. Currently, Norfolk is the only first class city in the state of Nebraska that doesn’t offer keno games.

Recently, the city council finance committee started the procedure of obtaining the public’s opinion about the introduction of the game in town. According to city officials, keno games could bring to the community potential profits of more than 400,000 dollars per year.

NZ Lotteries spokesman Todd McLeay has informed a Davenport Keno player has won two $500,000 prizes, which makes him Keno’s biggest-ever single prizewinner. The punter purchased a multi-draw ticket, which matched all 10 winning numbers in Draw 4850.

The top prize for matching ten numbers is $500,000. However, thanks to a lucky mistake, the player’s winnings were doubled. “The player bought a multi-draw ticket at my store, as he does every week,” Grant Hayward of Hayward Paper Plus explained. “But the next day, he forgot that he had already bought the ticket.”

Last week, the Independent Gambling Authority in Australia announced that new provisions preventing non-licensed non-gambling venues from selling keno tickets would come into force by Christmas. However, authorities of the South Australia province have said they will not adopt some of the measures.

The government of the Australian province is reassuring small businesses that it will not remove keno sales from such venues as supermarkets, newsagents and pharmacies. Also, the authorities have said they will not increase the minimum age to 18 for people selling lottery tickets.

The Independent Gambling Authority in Australia announced yesterday several reforms to be implemented by Christmas. Among those changes, a new restriction will be imposed on non-licensed non-gambling outlets, which will not be allowed keno sales. Supermarkets, newsagents and pharmacies are included.

Restrictions will eliminate loyalty programs –like memberships or clubs that give extra bonuses- and strictly control noise and signage both inside and outside the gambling venues. Trading hours will be reduced to a third and linking gambling with alcohol will be forbidden.

The Rank Group, which owns the Mecca Bingo brand, has put nine of its bingo halls for sale, after selling one of them only a few months ago. The company authorities have made the decision in preparation for the upcoming smoking ban.

Rank released an statement that read: “We have carried out a thorough review of our estate to identify those clubs most at risk from the smoking ban and where appropriate we will seek to exit vulnerable locations, either through license relocations or outright disposals.”

The Cannery Casino Resorts family will open a new casino and hotel in the southeastern area of Las Vegas. The casino will include a live keno lounge and, following the company’s style, will be decorated as a 1940’s post-war canning factory.

There is a Cannery hotel-casino currently located in the northern side of Las Vegas. The new complex will be built in the same place where the former Nevada Palace casino could be found: the corner of Boulder Highway and Harmon Ave. It will be known as the Eastside Cannery Casino and Hotel.

One lottery ticket sold at the Jackpot Lottery Center in Mirrabooka matched all lotto numbers to win the $1.33 jackpot. According to a spokesperson for Lotterywest, the lucky winner has not come forward yet to claim the prize.

Anthony Cotellessa, owner of Jackpot Lottery Center, said he expected the winner to be one of the store’s regular clients. “We've been here for 28 years selling Lotto to a really loyal following of customers,” Cotellesa explained. “I've grown up with a lot of my players and I've been promising them that one day someone will win.”