Nectar Or Nicotine?

Gala Bingo have teamed up with Nectar to provide players with Nectar points every time they visit a Gala Bingo club. The new initiative is an attempt to reduce the impact that this year's impending smoking ban on enclosed public places is expected to have on the traditional bingo industry. By offering players Nectar points it is hoped that players will continue to enjoy playing at Gala Bingo clubs around the country despite the fact that won't be able to smoke whilst doing so.

Nectar is the largest rewards programme in the United Kingdom. Membership to the scheme is free and allows individuals to collect points from any establishment that has signed up to offer them. Gala customers who join the Nectar scheme will not only be able to collect points whenever they visit a Gala club, but also when they buy petrol from any BP garage, shop at Sainsbury's and Debenhams, or spend money with any of the other Nectar partners.

Gala is one of the biggest bingo chains in the UK, with 170 clubs across the country, but it is not the only company concerned with the potential impact that the smoking ban will have on traditional bingo clubs. The Bingo Association, which is the trade association of the licensed bingo industry in Great Britain, has said that the ban could "cripple" the industry as a whole.

When Scotland received in the ban in 2006, the impact was immediate and hard. Mike Lowe, Operations Manager of K.E. Entertainments, describes his experience: "Within a four week period of the ban being introduced it was apparent that the business would in fact be devastated and extreme measures would need to be taken to lessen the impact. After six weeks I had identified two clubs that would need to close, Denny and Kirkcaldy. I have recorded as many as 47% of players leaving a session in order to smoke."

Gala's partnership with Nectar may help to reduce the impact of the smoking ban being introduced throughout the rest of the UK later this year, but it remains to be seen if the majority of players will choose Nectar over nicotine when the cigarette cravings pay them a visit.

6th February 2008