Former Atomic Kitten and Loose Woman, Kerry Katona fully launched her site Bingo with Kerry this year, after a more low key launch in 2015. Ms Katona is the face of the business, and offers her players a chance to win prizes, receive a cash bonus on sign up, and she even appears herself for two hours for cash giveaways, as well as monthly webchats. Kerry has said of the site and its players: “I’ve been so excited to create a personal bingo experience for everyone and to get the chance to have a good laugh and gossip with you all EVERY month.”
Criticism
However, not everybody is as happy about the decision Ms Katona, who has twice been declared bankrupt, has made as she seems to be. Gambling therapist and author of the book Women and Problem Gambling, Liz Carter, has come out in opposition of the decision.
In an interview with The Sun, Liz Carter explained: “I feel Kerry has been ill-advised on this occasion. I feel for Kerry as she is someone who has suffered a lot in her life. “But it’s very dangerous for women seeing her as the friendly face of a bingo site. For Kerry to be giving online bingo the celebrity seal of approval when she has a mental health issue is very disturbing.” This is quite an indictment, and one that those close to Ms Katona have refuted, with a source telling the same newspaper “[Kerry’s] bipolar disorder has nothing to do with her ability to front a bingo site.”