John O'Reilly has been dealt something of a tricky hand since becoming chief executive of Grosvenor Casino and Mecca Bingo-owner Rank Group in 2018.
As well as the company having had to shut its doors on and off for months on end when the pandemic hit, the gambling industry has been braced for widespread reforms that were delayed for more than two years.
This is partly a result of political and public opinion increasingly turning against the sector following a series of campaigns that have exposed the misery of gambling addiction.
O'Reilly, 63, is acutely aware he works in an industry that many people find immoral.
'I get the question a lot about whether I'm comfortable doing what I do,' he says. 'And I say look, gambling has always existed and always will.
'Society has a choice of whether you regulate and tax it, putting it in the hands of responsible operators. Or you put it in the hands of the Mob. I think we've made the right choice in this country.'
The gambling business is changing rapidly, but O'Reilly insists bingo halls – a feature of the British urban landscape for decades – are still a 'key part of local communities'.
Around 100,000 people walk through the doors of Mecca bingo halls every week – and about 4,000 of them are newbies, who have never played the game before.
The numbers show that around half of those newcomers are under 34 years of age – putting them in the 'millennial' generation and challenging the stereotype that bingo is the preserve of older women.
O'Reilly says the most serious players who want a quiet game come on Mondays and Tuesdays. Later in the week, it becomes more raucous. 'On Fridays and Saturdays we have bingo hosted by drag queens as well as karaoke nights when the prize is a blow-up crocodile,' he says.
Even the great British bingo night is not immune from the demands of political correctness.
A number of well-known traditional calls such as 'legs 11' and 'two fat ladies 88' have 'not been used for a while now' as they are deemed outdated, he says.
Bingo was hard-hit by the pandemic and it has also suffered during the cost of living crisis. Clubs have been hit by higher running costs at the same time as grannies and other devotees have been feeling the pinch and cutting back on outings.
'When I go to a bingo hall, the first question that people ask me is whether I'm going to close it,' he says.
Of the 72 halls Rank had this time last year, 39 were loss-making and 15 have had to shut their doors.
As well as the company having had to shut its doors on and off for months on end when the pandemic hit, the gambling industry has been braced for widespread reforms that were delayed for more than two years.
This is partly a result of political and public opinion increasingly turning against the sector following a series of campaigns that have exposed the misery of gambling addiction.
O'Reilly, 63, is acutely aware he works in an industry that many people find immoral.
'I get the question a lot about whether I'm comfortable doing what I do,' he says. 'And I say look, gambling has always existed and always will.
'Society has a choice of whether you regulate and tax it, putting it in the hands of responsible operators. Or you put it in the hands of the Mob. I think we've made the right choice in this country.'
The gambling business is changing rapidly, but O'Reilly insists bingo halls – a feature of the British urban landscape for decades – are still a 'key part of local communities'.
Around 100,000 people walk through the doors of Mecca bingo halls every week – and about 4,000 of them are newbies, who have never played the game before.
The numbers show that around half of those newcomers are under 34 years of age – putting them in the 'millennial' generation and challenging the stereotype that bingo is the preserve of older women.
O'Reilly says the most serious players who want a quiet game come on Mondays and Tuesdays. Later in the week, it becomes more raucous. 'On Fridays and Saturdays we have bingo hosted by drag queens as well as karaoke nights when the prize is a blow-up crocodile,' he says.
Even the great British bingo night is not immune from the demands of political correctness.
A number of well-known traditional calls such as 'legs 11' and 'two fat ladies 88' have 'not been used for a while now' as they are deemed outdated, he says.
Bingo was hard-hit by the pandemic and it has also suffered during the cost of living crisis. Clubs have been hit by higher running costs at the same time as grannies and other devotees have been feeling the pinch and cutting back on outings.
'When I go to a bingo hall, the first question that people ask me is whether I'm going to close it,' he says.
Of the 72 halls Rank had this time last year, 39 were loss-making and 15 have had to shut their doors.
