Thursday 7 July 2011

A bingo operator speaks: Impact of smoking ban on trade, Lanark 2008

Following on from the video posted earlier today, here is more: an interview with the same bingo operator Martin Carroll by The Big Yin following the first Annual General Meeting in Scotland, June 2008. In two parts:

Part One




Part Two



Martin offers a rare insight into trading conditions and shows why traditional bingo has been affected so much.

6 comments:

Unknown said...

Thanks for putting these vids on the blog Belinda. The video camera was not the best in the world but the sincerity of the man more than made up for that.

They were made after the Scotland f2c annual meeting, the only one I've managed to attend. Martin showed me around the hall and it was very, very impressive it would by a crying shame if it were to shut down.

I always think of him, such a gent.

JJ said...

Sadly though the big bingo operators could have got together and done something. These people like BT won't do anything unless they have to at the very last moment.

Belinda said...

What they did was to grouse about the impact of the smoking ban but do nothing to protest against it. That is the said to the Scottish Parliament that bingo has suffered at the hands of the smoking ban and being taxed unfairly. Yet it did not ask the Scottish Parliament to review the smoking ban (which was in their powers to do directly) but to put in a good word for them at Westminster. http://uk.mg1.mail.yahoo.com/neo/launch?.rand=06efddl28vi7j. I seem to recall that the bid for help with taxes didn't get very far, the last I heard was that it had failed.

Belinda said...

sorry wrong URL: http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/s3/committees/petitions/or-07/pu07-0202.htm#Col19

Belinda said...

TBY, it is good to see them made use of. They are very eloquent about the situation.

Anonymous said...

When Global Tobacco Control and their minions crumble as a result of their corruption and lies the compensation claims from those who suffered because of smoking bans will ensure their total destruction. I hope Martin Carroll will be at the head of the queue for compensation in Scotland.