Interactive Discussion: Neil Goulden, Chief Executive, Gala Coral Group

Wednesday, 25 April 2007, Chandos House, London

On Wednesday, 25 April 2007 H Talk – the events division of En Passant – hosted an Interactive Discussion with Neil Goulden, Chief Executive, Gala Coral Group, where he offered some fascinating insight, particularly into the current picture within the gaming market. A high-light includes:

“Having already faced the implications of the smoking ban in Scotland, it has been interesting to observe the impact in bingo halls. We prepared and researched the potential implications of the ban very thoroughly and believed that we would see a real and immediate impact in the loss of sales during intervals. This was a key issue for us, as the intervals in bingo halls are only half an hour in length but generate 60% of our revenue, so we ensured we had plans in place to reverse this trend. These ensured that there was a fairly limited impact initially. However, the real change occurred once winter settled in when people could not face going outside in the rain and cold for a cigarette, so the admission numbers really dramatically reduced from this point.”