A widow has claimed that she was defrauded £9,000 while playing online bingo, and is now trying to claim her money back from the three sites that she had accounts with, in order to regain her losses. Rita Tapping, who is a 63 year old bingo player from Whitley Wood Road in Reading, claims that she began to enjoy bingo online when she was caring for her sick husband at home, taking comfort from the social nature of the game in the evenings as she could no longer get out and about. The widow claims that she was only spending £20 at a time and that that thieves must have somehow managed to get access to her account, spending a massive £9,000 without her knowledge. Thursday, 01 July 2010 10:31
A 78 year old bingo caller near Great Yarmouth has been dubbed a ‘Community Star’ for the tireless work she has done to raise funds through bingo. Blanche Gibbs has managed to raise over £30,000 for charity over the last eleven years, supporting various organisations such as the Air Ambulance and schools, charities and volunteer groups in her community. North Norfolk MP, Norman Lamb recently presented Blanche with an MP’s Heroes Award for her work, saying: "She is a remarkable woman and a real star. She is an absolute example to us all for putting others before herself - while entertaining a lot of people on the way."
A bingo player has recently celebrated her 100th birthday – proving yet again how many bingo fans live to a ripe old age. Lydia Clark from Haringey kicked off her birthday celebrations with a party for 50 of her friends, many of whom she had met at her local bingo hall. Haringey mayor Eddie Griffiths was also there and he presented her with a specially-embossed set of whisky tumblers, saying, "It is a great privilege to see somebody who is not only 100 but an active 100 as well." 
Online bingo site Tombola is apparently set to take over the sponsorship of Sunderland FC, which will go into effect from next season. The site has its headquarters in Sunderland, and has allegedly signed an initial two year contract that is said to be worth a massive seven figure sum to Sunderland FC each year. This sponsorship will be sure to secure prominent exposure within the club’s Stadium of Light venue. The team’s manager Lesley Callaghan said that the Premier League football sponsorship was a first for the bingo industry, although many online gambling sites such as sports betting and similar have been using football club sponsorships as a promotion and marketing channel. 
Players had to evacuate the Pavilion bingo hall in Galashiel, Scotland when part of the ceiling collapsed during a game. Luckily no one was injured; however games were suspended until the damaged ceiling could be repaired. An adjoining cinema also had to be evacuated as a safety precaution to ensure that no one was harmed during the collapse. Rescue services gave the following statement: “The information we have is that a large part of false ceiling has come down in the bingo club. No persons were injured and the matter will be investigated by building control.” 
An underground bingo hall in London is fast becoming a favourite with the city’s hip and trendy crowd, drawing in over a thousand people each night as they come to enjoy a few games of bingo, a cocktail or two and music from some of the top DJ’s in London. The club is called Rebel Bingo, and was founded by Freddie Sorensen and James Gordon, who came across a bingo set in an unused church hall one evening and thought it would be fun to host games for their friends. The bingo parties soon became highly popular, and have been instrumental in bringing bingo to the forefront once again.