The end of Miles Barron’s 13-year tenure as CEO of the Bingo Association brought about some significant industry chatter. Who would take the helm of one of the most prestigious and recognised roles in the UK gambling industry? What direction will UK bingo take, and can the new CEO lead bingo through challenging times?
When Nicole Garrett took over as CEO of the Bingo Association (BA), she inherited an industry at an interesting crossroads. Coming from a more regulatory background, questions were raised about such a youthful appointment with no direct experience in the bingo industry. However, after a lengthy handover and some very positive messaging in the early days, Nicole appears to be making the right noises and showing strong, evidence-based support for the UK bingo industry during what could prove a crucial period.
The abolition of bingo duty, perhaps Miles Baron’s greatest legacy, has given operators fresh optimism and created investment opportunities, while a new life-changing £250,000 National Game jackpot has helped show that modern bingo can offer far more than traditional stereotypes suggest.
But with rising operating costs, uncertainty around taxation, and continued pressure on high streets, Garrett knows plenty of challenges remain.
Speaking to BingoDaily, Garrett opened up about her first months in the role, her own surprisingly limited experience of traditional bingo before joining the BA, the changing face of bingo clubs and what she wants to achieve over the next five years.
‘You can’t believe your luck’
Garrett has spent much of her career in the wider gaming industry, including roles with the Betting and Gaming Council and the National Lottery.
But taking the helm of the Bingo Association represented something new.
“This is the first chance I had to work in bingo directly,” she explained.
“And because it’s such a fun part of the industry, you really can’t believe your luck, essentially, that you’ve got that role.”
One of the biggest surprises has been discovering just how diverse the traditional bingo sector is.
Garrett has already visited around 25 clubs since taking the job, meeting operators and customers across the country.
“The people are so friendly, the customers, but also the operators themselves,” she said.
“We know the larger operators like Buzz and Mecca, but there’s a whole wider membership of owner operators who have had their own club for many, many years and the pride they have in their business.”
For Garrett, those visits have reinforced the argument that UK bingo clubs are much more than gambling venues.
“They know their customers so well. They’ve really looked after their venues over so many years, and they’re part of the community.
“And it might seem easy to say that, but I really see it in practice on every single one of the visits I’ve been on.”
A bingo newcomer discovers the modern club
Perhaps surprisingly for someone now representing the country’s bingo industry, Garrett admits her personal experience of traditional bingo was extremely limited before taking the job.
“I will admit, it was really, really limited before I was aware of this position,” she said.
“I have played in the social bingo venues, but hadn’t actually been in a traditional club until we started the process.”
Her first visits quickly challenged some of her assumptions about bingo.
“It totally defied my expectations,” she said.
“One of the clubs I went to in the first instance was very modern. They had an area where you could chat and play, or the main hall where it was much quieter.”
Garrett also highlighted the changing food and drink offering in clubs.
“I’d happily, and have happily, taken my friends to bingo since I started.”
Interestingly, when she takes friends along, they don’t necessarily reach for an electronic tablet.
“They don’t tend to play the tablets. They want to play paper.”
‘Bingo doesn’t need to be saved’
One of Garrett’s strongest messages is that bingo should not be presented as a product in decline that needs rescuing.
Instead, she believes the industry has a genuinely good product that needs better understanding.
“Bingo doesn’t need to be saved,” she said.
“It is a really great product in itself.”
She believes modernisation is already happening, with operators investing in refurbishments and new venues.
“I think there’s room to modernise and we see it across the refurbishments and remodelling and some of the venues as well.”
Garrett believes getting people through the doors may be the most effective way to change perceptions.
“If you get into a club and you see it yourself, that will happen on its own because people like me will be surprised at what they find.”
From working-class culture to a modern night out
Garrett has also spoken publicly about bingo’s place in Britain’s working-class culture.
She believes the industry should be much more confident in celebrating that heritage.
“We absolutely knew it to be the case,” she said.
“What we offer is a good value night out for people across the country that is mostly affordable.”
That combination of entertainment, food, social interaction and bingo is, in Garrett’s view, an important part of the product’s appeal.
“You can have a really good night out with your friends, play bingo for a couple of hours and eat for a good price.”
But she also believes that affordability and accessibility are things the industry needs to protect.
“Anything that would jeopardise that situation going forward, we should be really careful about, because people won’t just lose their clubs but they’ll lose a sense of community that they get from it as well.”
The case for business rates support for bingo
That community argument sits at the heart of the BA’s case ahead of the next Budget.
Garrett says the abolition of bingo duty demonstrated that the government recognises the contribution made by bingo – but believes more needs to be done.
“We have been fortunate, and testament to my predecessor’s really good work, that we had bingo duty abolished at the last Budget,” she said.
“So it’s clear the government recognises the contribution of bingo.”
Now, she wants that recognition to continue.
“In the next Budget, which will be in October, we need to make sure that that status as community assets and part of our cultural heritage is reflected.”
Ideally, she says, the BA wants business rates support for bingo clubs.
“We believe we have some of the similar challenges of pubs,” Garrett said.
However, she stressed that the industry is not simply asking for support without considering the wider consequences.
“We don’t want anything that would detrimentally harm the overall position of the industry.”
What happened after bingo duty was abolished?
The abolition of bingo duty has already changed the mood among operators, according to Garrett.
The Bingo Association recently surveyed its members about the impact of the change.
“For a significant proportion it’s meant that they can move forward with a sense of optimism and that their business will continue to operate,” she said.
“For others it’s allowed them to put more investment in their venues.”
Garrett pointed to Club 3000’s investment programme as an example of what can happen when operators have greater confidence.
“We want to see more of that,” she said.
“And I think it’s in the interest of the government to help us make that happen because it’s more jobs and also clubs in places that the government say they want to help.”
For Garrett, the impact goes beyond the balance sheet.
“For those areas this investment is more than just them having a bingo club. It’s having somewhere to go, a good affordable night out and being able to share a sense of community with people in their local area.”
£250,000 jackpots could change bingo’s image
Another major opportunity is the National Game’s new £250,000 jackpot, most recently won at the Bridlington Regal Bingo.
Garrett believes the prize could help challenge outdated perceptions about what bingo can offer.
“To have such a substantial prize in the bingo industry twice a day is a huge opportunity for players,” she said.
“I just felt that maybe we could do more going forward to promote that quarter of a million opportunity for people.”
The scale of the jackpot still surprises Garrett.
“It would surprise people to know that those sorts of prizes are available in bingo, again, because there’s this outdated perception.”
And she believes the industry should shout louder about it.
“I’d like to see us promoting not only the great community experience, but we have good prizes. £250,000 twice a day is huge.”
“It’s amazing. And the winnability as well.”
A five-year opportunity to grow bingo
Looking ahead, Garrett’s ambition is straightforward: get more people thinking about bingo when they consider what to do with their leisure time.
“The opportunity is to grow our audience and the people that are considering amongst their options for leisure on a Friday night that we are in that list,” she said.
The abolition of bingo duty has created what she sees as an important opportunity to move away from survival mode.
“We can start to invest rather than simply survive,” she said.
“It’s a matter of thriving now, provided things continue as they are.”
That investment is already visible in the industry’s newer clubs.
“We’re seeing investment in new clubs and these new clubs are really modern, fantastic.”
Could boutique bingo have a bigger future?
The growth of smaller, high-street bingo venues is another development Garrett believes could help broaden the industry’s reach.
Asked about the boutique bingo model being pioneered by operators such as Buzz Bingo, she was positive about its potential.
“I definitely think it’s a great option,” she said.
Traditional bingo clubs are often large venues, Garrett pointed out, meaning smaller formats can provide another way of bringing bingo into communities.
“Having these other options are great to promote bingo.”
She is cautious about predicting exactly how quickly the model will grow, but believes bingo being played in different types of venues can only be positive for the industry.
The challenge of rising costs
While bingo duty has disappeared, operators are still facing substantial costs elsewhere.
Energy, staffing and other operational expenses continue to put pressure on clubs, while changes to National Insurance have added another challenge.
Garrett accepts the industry cannot solve these issues on its own.
“It’s not dissimilar to the challenges other hospitality businesses are experiencing,” she said.
That is another reason why she believes business rates deserve attention.
“Like pubs, we have a very similar situation in terms of our costs.”
For Garrett, however, one of the biggest issues is certainty.
“These are large venues with long leases often that need refurbishment and investment because some are even listed buildings.”
“So we need certainty for the future to be able to invest and grow.”
She added: “I think that’s the thing that worries me. It’s sort of this hope that we will get the certainty and the stability to do what we need to do and grow.”
A new approach from the Bingo Association
Garrett also acknowledges that the BA itself needs to become more visible.
Historically, the organisation has tended to take a relatively low-key approach to media relations, with more proactive activity focused around major announcements and campaigns.
Garrett indicated that this is changing.
“We will be more active with our press releases,” she said.
She believes the reason is that bingo and the wider gambling industry can no longer afford to operate completely under the radar.
“We probably can’t stay quite as quiet, otherwise we just get captured in debates that aren’t intended for us.”
That suggests BingoDaily and other industry media could be hearing considerably more from the BA as Garrett settles into the role.
What will Nicole Garrett’s legacy be?
Garrett jokes that her first objective for 2030 is simply to still be in the job.
But beyond that, her ambitions are clear.
“I would hope that I have managed to steward the industry through any uncertainty politically and from a tax perspective,” she said.
Her aim is to create an environment where clubs can thrive, while continuing to build the National Game.
“That we have a great operating environment for clubs to thrive and also that the National Game continues to have great jackpots and that we’re promoting it widely and in a modern way.”
“That’s what I would like to see. And that is my hope and my plan.”
It is an ambitious agenda, particularly given the uncertainty surrounding taxation and the wider political environment.
But Garrett’s enthusiasm for bingo is obvious.
And perhaps the most revealing thing about the new BA chief executive is that she arrived as something of an outsider – someone who admits that traditional bingo was not previously a major part of her life – and quickly discovered a product that she believes is considerably better than its public image suggests.
Her challenge now is to convince everyone else.
It may simply need more people to see what she has seen, and from her early impressions, the energy and enthusiasm she brings to the role suggest it may happen.
The post Nicole Garrett: ‘Bingo Doesn’t Need to Be Saved’ – Bingo Association CEO on the Future of the Industry appeared first on BingoDaily.