Resurgence in bingo offers boost for gambling firms
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When the government outlined plans to reignite the bingo industry in its gambling white paper it could have been easy to snigger at the prospect.
However, Google searches for the leisure activity have skyrocketed to all-time highs, according to research from BNBS.
Wrexham, which made headlines when its football club was purchased by Ryan Reynolds, sees its residents search online for bingo over 12,000 times a month.
This means around one in five people throughout the city are searching for bingo every month.
Other cities with a keenness for bingo include Blackpool, Liverpool, Newcastle, Norwich and Leeds.
“While bingo was once touted as a pastime reserved for the older generation, in recent years it seems to have garnered broader appeal, perhaps due to the ease in which it can be accessed through online sites,” said Sue Dawson at BNBS.
So how can investors bullish on bingo invest?
There are a whole host of companies that develop online bingo games for slots like FTSE 250 firm Playtech PLC (LSE:PTEC) or ‘Slingo’ creator Gaming Realms PLC (AIM:GMR, OTCQX:PSDMF).
A safer bet, although much more diversified, would be an industry giant like Entain PLC (LSE:ENT) or Flutter Entertainment PLC (LSE:FLTR), which, along with owning some of the biggest betting brands, have dipped into the bingo industry.
However, if the trend was to see a surge in real-life bingo, Rank Group PLC (LSE:RNK) may be positioned to benefit.
The gambling company owns Mecca Bingo, which has 76 bingo halls located across the UK and offers online games across Europe.
On top of this, Rank owns brands like Grosvenor Casino.
Shares in Rank are almost 90% lower than their peak in the mid-90s, but in 2020 its share price lifted to its highest in a decade before Covid struck.
The stock is currently trading at 87p, up 10% in the year-to-date.
