The Mecca Bingo Club building in Kilburn High Road, London has been sold for £9 million to a popular gospel church group. The building has been owned by the Rank Group for over sixty years, since the 1940’s and is a gorgeous building that was built in an Italian Renaissance design, it has a tower that reaches 130 feet high and is a Grade II listed building.
Before being converted into a bingo club the building hosted such big names as Marylin Monroe, The Beatles and The Rolling Stones. It was made into a bingo club in the 1960’s.
The Mecca Bingo building is the latest in a long line of historic buildings to fall prey to the New Gambling Act, smoking ban and unfair taxation, and it seems that it won’t be the last. With many independent bingo operators struggling to keep their heads above water, the fact that the big brand bingo names are having to offload properties does not seem to bode well for them. However the gospel church opening in the ex-bingo club, apparently has a huge following, perhaps they will play bingo to raise funds for charity, who knows?
