August 20, 2026

Archive

Merlin invites visitors to celebrate National Rollercoaster Day

Guardian celebrates magic of UK’s piers with eclectic list of offerings

House of Lords returns to debate on gambling and young people

The Butt stops here: GBG despatches advisory letter to Brent Council correcting its gambling discourse

Retro gaming finds a new audience as arcade bars reinvent the night out

UK consumer card spending jumped in June as hospitality felt the benefits of World Cup

Staycation surge fails to translate into profits for UK hospitality

Pub gaming machine uptake ranges from 19 to 93 pc across London boroughs

We Do Play cuts its losses and eyes up further expansion

Bournemouth Pier unveils summer programme of promotions

Funstation heads to Newcastle

Bristol, Doncaster and Sheffield: three arrested as police raid suspected illegal gambling dens

UK attractions sector on course for 60 pc growth

Showmen’s Guild outlines the sector’s causes and concerns in welcome letter to new PM Andy Burnham

Derek Webb: ‘I’m not a dodgy donor – I have no commercial interest in my campaign to reform gambling’

Bingo Association calls on Burnham to include bingo in rates cut

Digital upgrades elevate exhibitor visibility across entire EAG360 ecosystem

Stanhope House Leisure reports decline in turnover for 2025 but machines help soften the hit

Blackpool Pleasure Beach opened late for solar eclipse

Playland Fun Park named UK’s most affordable theme park

Boomerang Digital expands team following high profile business wins and dynamic H1 growth

Thieves ram Wetherby service station and steal slots payout machine

LOL Bingo makes strategic move to close Sunderland venue

UDC hits the road with arcade visits from Ayr to Ramsgate

MERKUR UK supports Londonderry’s Waterside Women’s Centre in an effort to reduce isolation for new mums

‘Irresponsible’: Clacton Pier condemns the British Democrats for attempting to light pyrotechnics on decking

Silvertime granted licence for Earl’s Court venue despite planning rejection

Bacta President challenges Government’s “fundamental misunderstanding” and criticises rhetoric on regulated high street gaming

Burnham to scrap Aim to Permit in bid to “restore our high streets”

Gambling Commission in turmoil: has the government installed its senior official to help shore up the rudderless regulator?

Bacta prepares its Budget submission warning that a tax on turnover threatens operators, supply chains, investment and jobs

‘A holiday park must-have’: Jigsaw wins top endorsement from The Dyers’ Caravan Park TV personality

The pride of Clacton: the Ball brothers to open a new luxury holiday park

Arcade enthusiast’s collection on show at three Cheshire attractions

Club 3000 Bingo celebrates “50 years of dedicated service” from Carol Clarke

Gambling Business Group offers assistance to improve ML risks charter, but the Commission has no regrets

UKHospitality welcomes government’s proposed apprenticeship scheme but calls for action on VAT

It’s a family thing: GreenWood Family Park sold for £1.25m to Wood Family Group

GamCom upgrades money-laundering risk

BALPPA hopes VAT cut could become a permanent fixture after success of Great British Summer Savings scheme

Punch reports revenue growth as World Cup boosts pub sales

End of the Pier Show returns to Brighton Palace Pier

What now? Inquiry into Blackpool South Pier’s fight for seasonal rides goes to deliberation

Licensing inspections up, but gambling problems… are nowhere to be seen

New owners of North Pier start installation of selected new rides for Summer Land

Re-branded EAG360 gears up for 2027 expo with appointment of experienced sales lead

Bingo Association engages with Bank of England on Banknote Checking Scheme

Llandudno Pier celebrates 149th anniversary

Cleaning up the streets: Admiral staff clear 15 bags of rubbish during Nottingham BID litter pick-up drive

Crackdown on gambling dens continues with a joint unit raid on illegal casino in Bristol

Game Nation recruits former Paddy Power and William Hill executive to underpin SR and compliance commitments

Eastbourne Council refuses plans for 24-hour bingo hall

Reel Fruits closes Maidstone venue after 14 years

Planning inspector backs Ealing Council’s decision to refuse Pure Gaming AGC

MERKUR inter-company golf day tees-up donation for Newark-based Children’s Bereavement Centre

Betfred reportedly making moves to enter AGC market

The Reel Vegas opens its second venue on Blackpool Promenade

Apollo Bingo Rhyl thanks emergency services for their swift response to fire

MERKUR Slots takes ‘Best of the Best’ title in Manchester BID Mystery Shopping Awards

Bacta Pulse Survey findings show that an MGD rise would trigger business closures, job losses and a freeze on investment

Charities still waiting for levy funding months after rollout

“Unfair, unjustified and without evidence”: Bacta hits back at the PM’s attack on AGCs

Play Mablethorpe separates retro arcade from soft play

Richard Wilson celebrates 80th birthday

Deluxe Bingo Hastings sees first-hand impact of £10,000 hospice donation

Count Binface pledges to make claw machines “fairer” in Clacton by-election manifesto

Industry backs move to send gambling fines to Treasury

Derek Webb launches scattergun attack on industry to lobby the new Prime Minister

Divide and conquer: is Andy Burnham’s cuts to business rates splitting the UK’s high streets?

Brighton i360 owner seeks £9m to fund leisure acquisition

Plans submitted to turn the abandoned Pleasure Island theme park into a “Center Parcs by the sea”

World Cup and sunshine gives hospitality sector a timely boost

AGCs prepare for battle over rates hike to offset hospitality reductions

Clacton Pier thanks all visitors for attending “very special” 155th anniversary celebration

Investing in the Great British seaside: Charles Holland details his family’s 50-year commitment as custodians at the coast

“Think creatively about how you can get involved”: Sylvia Oates encourages the land-based sector to forge new links with their local communities

“We did it!”: Treasure Cove pays tribute to “incredible” response as its Blackpool Illuminations campaign results in a council U-turn

JD Wetherspoon issues rebuttal to FT’s claim the chain is “making more from gambling than food”

Ten Ent completes renovation of York Tenpin venue

New safety rules in force for arcade and VR machines

Negotiated discounts secured for EAG360 exhibitors

Two up: Admiral gets go ahead for venues in Putney and Wisbech

Product Town Hall meeting sets out Boomerang Digital’s Innovation Agenda ahead of ACOS and EAG360

Cash security under the spotlight as both crimes against businesses and bank closures accelerate

Club 3000 Bingo wins approval for £13m Bristol venue after intervention from MP

Game Nation Deptford raises the bar in company wide Vegas competition

Registration opens for ACOS 2026

Concern rising over the future direction of SuzoHapp as gaming giant releases key personnel

A wish come true: Arcade Time Machine opens in Stockton bringing to life a childhood dream

Future Leisure submits planning application for new Bedford AGC

Palace Amusements set to go after permission granted for Enfield AGC

Golden Slots submits AGC application for former Staines bank

Rays of Sunshine ‘wish’ children help open Funstation’s Volcano Falls adventure golf venue in Leeds

MPs request evidence behind GamCom’s FRA decision

Tottenham accuses GamCom of relying on its very own survey data that overstates the rates of gambling harm

AirHop expands Kent footprint with Tunbridge Wells opening

Hospitality continues to feel the pressure despite some World Cup relief

Sales down 1.6 percent for Marston’s as peaks offset by market conditions

Clacton Pier prepares for 155th anniversary and a weekend packed with celebratory events

Bamburgh once again claims top spot in Which? ranking of UK seaside towns

Economic winds still blowing: Wetherspoon issues its fourth profit warning despite a 4 pc increase in Q2 sales

TeamSport submits arcade and indoor kartingplans for Sunderland’s former Debenhams

Burnt eyeballs, blackened lips but an unbroken spirit – the brutal reality of Tim Batstone’s Everest climb

JNC Sales offers “pure theatre” with The Container prize machine

Bournemouth Pier opens Palm Beach Club as celebrations for 170th anniversary begin

Novomatic installs new Novoline feature wall at Club 2000 after strong player engagement

Cyclone continues to storm AGC and Bingo sectors

Eight arrested, cash and machines seized as joint forces raid two illegal gambling dens in Doncaster

“Once they’re sold, that’s it”: Electrocoin down to last table in several Stern limited editions

No stopping Britannia Pier as new plans submitted for beer garden

New machines compliance obligations for land-based operators begin next week as Commission turns up the over-regulation volume

MERKUR Community funding helps boost well-being and tackle social isolation

Terror tactics: Brent Council sets out plans to create a “hostile environment” for high street arcadians

Bonkers in Bristol: City council recommends rejecting plans for £13 million Club 3000 Bingo development

GSGB problem gambling rate falls to 2.4 percent – but methodology and inaccuracy debate refuses to go away

Steady as she goes: PM Burnham keen on DCMS stability as Nandy stays in post, but industry still awaiting news of Twycross

Jacob Woolls represents regional sector at Great British Summer Savings reception

Gambling Commission to roll out FRAs for all those spending over £1,000: but is it legal?

Bringing the industry together: Inside Boomerang Digital’s charity cricket tournament that continues to score for good causes

Hubbard family to celebrate twenty years of CJ’s Bowling

MGD is the tax that could cost Britain its ‘Great Seaside Holiday’

A tale of two councils: Sefton approves Southport AGC citing economic boost, while Brent joins campaign to block new venues

Gambling minister confirms GIAs will not be introduced before summer recess

Club 3000 Bingo unveils a £27 million investment programme across estate

MERKUR expands UK presence with acquisition of Leeds Casino

National Piers Society given “impeccable welcome” for ‘26 AGM at Bournemouth Pier

So, you want the World Cup cancelled? Haringey Council slams tournament’s structure and timings as betting magnet

“Co-operating with the big banks”: Payment Choice Alliance launches blistering attack on the Treasury over cash policy

Whitbread withholding investment until government creates “right environment”

“3 carpenters, 2 plumbers, 2 electricians, 2 floor layers, 2 painters and decorators, a roofing company, and a marketing company’: Jenningsbet highlights who else gets hit by MGD rise

Blackpool named among Europe’s most affordable summer breaks

1 in 6 hospitality venues at risk of closure as sector demands VAT cut

Jakey Davies visits Blackpool Central Pier

Permanent repairs to begin at Worthing Pier next month as project costs dropby £380,000

Adventure Island hosts annual visit of TaxPayers’ Alliance

Confidence across UK hospitality drops by one third as revenues slip too

JNC completes installation for Jersey FEC

Brown Leisure’s Southampton bingo hall closure finalised as lease rescinded

Cain’s sets course as Inspectorate backs quality, highly regulated operation over misplaced and misinformed opposition

Fun Park returns to Cardiff with UK’s tallest travelling drop tower in tow

Wrong way? Gambling Commission maps out its “direction of travel” for GMTS consultation

All guns blazing: Blackpool Pier Company fires first round with “explosive” testimony in planning inquiry into new rides on South Pier

Luxury Leisure submits plans for a new Admiral in Putney

NQ64 acquires two sites in Soho for new flagship venue

Butlin’s secures Guinness World Record for world’s largest claw machine

The authoritarian guard: OHID says levy recipients must not attend industry-backed events

Inside the Commission’s Lived Experience Advisory Panel’s head

Ocean Beach Pleasure Park partners with Nimbus Disability for access wristbands

Joseph Cullis: One year on, I am more determined than ever to defend this industry

Eight Mecca Bingo venues confirmed closed last month

GBG calls for stakes and prizes review in the wake of a 25 per cent Gambling Commission fee increase

Club 3000 Bingo plans a new venue in Bristol

Tamar hails Blueprint’s ‘hand in hand’ partnership strategy as BPO machine revenues continue to climb

Britannia makes public statement on “long-term outcomes” for former Pontins sites with new plans to redevelop lodged

Young’s revenue boosted by warm weather and a busy summer of sport

Burnham proposes warehouse tax plan to help cut business rates for pubs

Instance Automatics praises its first work experience employee as “100 percent a future team member”

Police shut Bootle bingo hall after break in

Continue Arcade’s new Derby venue receives rave reception

Rovers Return: Reflex head back to Coronation Street for the TV pub’s annual machine service

UDC joins forces with Elaut to launch World Claw Cup

Fantasy Island “passing on 100 percent” of VAT cut to customers

Clacton call: Nigel Farage resigns as MP for Clacton

NGUK expands Mecca partnership with the roll-out of new cabinets

Claremont Pier to reopen The Venue nightclub

Lammy joins campaign against north London AGC despite Planning Inspectorate ruling

With the end of local banking cash reliant businesses must adapt

Primetime Slots faces familiar language of opposition for Bournemouth AGC plan

Public inquiry into plans for rides at Blackpool’s South Pier commences

Noble looks to expand presence in north of England with Leeds AGC

Eastbourne MP steps up campaign to protect pier

The heat is on: Southend “thrives” during the June heatwave with tourism businesses reaping the staycation benefit

Astro City in Southend named UK’s top arcade by Daily Mirror

National Bingo Week 2026 celebrates bingo at its best with more than 20 MP visits

“Shoddy”, “sloppy and selective”: Regulus reveals the flaws of the SMF’s “disastrously counter-productive” report

Peter Hannibal: “Enacting the SMF proposals would be the worst example of economic self harm – and the high street will be the injured party…”

Think tank calls for hike in MGD for Cat B slots in AGCs, arcades and bingo halls

Volcano Falls Adventure Golf opens fourth venue in Leeds

Electrocoin stocks up on Football Champ as World Cup fever grips UK

Serena Silcock-Prince takes prominent role in Southport’s Armed Forces Day

Search for “Blackpool’s next great pirate” over: Coral Island appoints new Captain Jack

No Payne, no gain? Intern extends effusive thanks to Electrocoin for the “opportunity to prosper in this amazing industry”

Rise in gaming duty and employment costs hits A&S Leisure Group

Hollywood Bowl puts the environment first at UK sites

Llandudno Pier welcomes 1,300 visitors as PS Waverley returns for summer sailings

Wilkinson family invest £100,000 in resurrecting Hull pool hall

“A wonderful journey’: Amanda Fry steps down as company secretary at the Gambling Business Group after 14 years

Miller to step down in latest departure from Gambling Commission

Buzz Bingo Tooting unveils community-funded blue plaque

New machines in stock at JNC Sales

Game Nation is proud to support Pride in London

UDC packing a punch with E-Sports Boxer Combo

Deluxe Bingo Hastings raises £10,000 for local hospice

MERKUR Community backs Belfast charity using football to unite over 50 nationalities

Gambling Commission calls for suggestions on how to reduce the “burden” of regulation; but “this is not a consultation” barks the regulator

“Doubling Machine Games Duty would not protect those communities. It would force venue closures, cost jobs and weaken high streets…”

Nicole Garrett: “A visit to a bingo club is first and foremost a social activity in a safe and inclusive environment.”

Is a radical tax model for gaming machines a massive own goal?

Joseph Cullis: SMF’s tax proposal would shut venues, cost jobs and turn the lights out on seaside towns

Tommy Holland’s Amusements reopens as Neptune Sports Lounge

Bacta Pulse survey shows impact of the ‘Badenoch Bounce Back’ and an uptick in support for the Conservative Party

Plans for 24-hour Mega Slots Casino in Stourbridge rejected

Miles Baron officially steps down as CEO of Bingo Association

DCMS agrees a 25 percent fee uplift for GamCom whilst still suppressing any stakes and prizes review into a 14th year

Blackpool North Pier acquired by Okken Ltd with plans unveiled for £10m investment

Skegness donkeys receive five stars for welfare from local council

Southend’s Poppies on the Pier campaign wins national award

Chancellor visits Chessington to meet BALPPA members

CEGA calls for Gambling Commission investigation over black market inaction

Mr Waugh goes to Westminster: gambling analyst delivers stinging verdict on GamCom’s survey to the House of Lords

“They’ve removed our ability to trade”: fairs face losses after Gloucester council removes signage

UK jobs fall to a five year low

Night Time association backs Andy Burnham for UK Prime Minister

Grand Pier backs local employment with T Level Business placement

Stonegate reports record first half as major estate transition continues

Llandudno Pier renews sponsorship of resort’s Welsh National League side

Clacton Pier reopens bowling centre after “major transformation”

EAG rebrand champions ‘The Smile Economy’ as organisers lay the foundation stones for growth and development

Clarence Pier builds anticipation for summer value offer

Rudd Group enjoys “strong turnout” at Target Darts Zone Summer Showcase

Government commits funding to help pubs and retail… but how far can £61m go?

Brent Council refuses Willesden AGC plans after 200 sign petition

Britannia Pier warns over vandalism of newly renovated toilets

Lockwood launches new consultancy for gaming, leisure and hospitality

Deluxe Bingo Hastings celebrates first anniversary after reopening

Landlords call for VAT and rates reform after 161 pubs close in first three months of 2026

New bingo hall approved for Larne town centre

Unity Beach Holiday Park unveils new plans for major leisure and entertainment expansion

Game Nation appoints NexGen Protection as part of broader safety and security agenda

Deputy PM to meet with Eastbourne MP on the future of Eastbourne Pier

Boomerang Digital deliver new wave of entertainment following cruise ship agreement with Paf Group

#VAT’s The Problem campaign opens promotion materials shop as petition races towards 250,000

Bacta scenario-plans for new PM and new policy landscape

Luxury Leisure granted planning permission for Wisbech AGC

Regal machine intelligence confirms 18.67% jump in Gameplay as England kick- off World Cup Campaign

Peter Hannibal: “You cannot tax businesses on the high street into growth. You cannot over-regulate businesses into growth…

From Burnham would, to what Burnham could: how can the Prime Minister in waiting deliver change?

Tim Martin savages the government’s business policies and says it “is taking Britain back to the 1970s”

Bournemouth named top “quintessentially British” seaside town in latest ranking

Association of Indoor Play calls on government to abolish VAT for the sector

Charlotte Meller: “National Licensing Week presents a very different and more accurate picture of the positives of the well regulated gambling sector”

Fuller’s reports 28 percent rise in annual profits

Employment begins at Universal Resort with thousands more local jobs promised

Pub and bar spending falls as hospitality visits decline, Barclays data shows

IAAPA Expo Europe to return to London with largest event yet

Haven to expand JD Wetherspoon partnership to cover “most of our parks”

Galleon Barcade owner says “now is the perfect moment” for Blackpool to apply for city status

Payment Choice body doubles down on its opposition to National Payments vision that sees no future for cash

Bournemouth Pier operator launches a 25 percent discount on attractions

Eastbourne MP launches campaign to safeguard the future of Eastbourne Pier