Has weather encouraged people to take up online bingo?

Bingo company Rank reports a drop of 32 per cent in attendance numbers at its halls last week.

More people could have been playing online bingo recently, as the cold weather forced individuals out of traditional halls.

Rank – the company that owns Mecca Bingo – says numbers at its venues dropped by almost a third in the week to December 5th, as the freezing conditions across the UK took hold, the Press Association reports.

It also meant recent statistics showing the number of people playing the numbers game in its halls were ruined, as the steep decline meant overall figures for the preceding nine weeks fell by five per cent.

The news may be particularly disappointing to Rank, which has worked hard to tempt people away from online bingo sites and into halls.

Earlier this year, it rebranded six of its complexes and visits increased for the first time in more than a decade.

The Birmingham Mail reported recently that a former bingo hall in Dudley is to be redeveloped to improve access to other attractions.