It is not the first time that a major player has pulled its membership out of an industry association. The same thing happened a couple of years ago, when Gala Bingo pulled out of the National Bingo Association. This time it is BACTA that will suffer as one of their major players has pulled out. This is Praesepe plc which is the fastest growing high volume/low stakes gaming group in the country. Their resignation comes amid rumours that there were major disagreements regarding policy decisions.

BACTA is supposedly representative of the British gambling/gaming and amusement industry and Praesepe plc currently operates six bingo clubs; which includes the biggest bingo club in the country - the Beacon at Cricklewood, 76 Adult Gaming centers and four family entertainment centers. The CEO of Praesepe plc has been a member of BACTA for 25 years as well as served as the National President of the association for two years.

Experts believe that the pull-out indicates creating a united front for the online and land based bingo/casino industry will prove to be more difficult than some might imagine. Current BACTA President - Neil Chinn, regretted the resignation of Praesepe plc and pointed out that fragmentation does not lead to effective lobbying in this or any other industry. However there must be something seriously wrong to have caused the split.

This writer has made note of the fact that since Gala Bingo pulled out of the National Bingo Association, there has been no more million prize winners in this game. Whereas prior to the pull out there were a number of £1 million and more prize winners. Gala Bingo operates their own High Five which has the potential to grow into the hundreds of thousand pounds. The Gala Bingo withdrawal also meant that the National Bingo Association no longer represents the industry with a majority membership.

As far as membership of an industry association for online bingo sites go, they are in no hurry for the UK Government to have any type of regulatory affect from the UK Gambling Commission, over their operations. The chief reason why online operators function from off-shore locations is because of high taxation on the UK mainland, in particular with respect to bingo! Casinos on the other hand enjoy a 5% lower taxation rate in the UK. Of course off-shore licensing for online casino means they are not affected by British Tax Laws even if they are situated in areas governed by British laws.

If online bingo and casinos are not regulated they don't need to lobby for lower taxation or for anything else, so they are also in no hurry to show any kind of united front. There is absolutely no need for something that has not happened!

In the case of BACTA and Praesepe plc if they cannot agree amongst themselves regarding policy decisions; it is also impossible for any benefits to be lobbied from the British Government. They might as well go it alone.