Bingo: From offline to online

The general consensus is that bingo started with the Italians back in the 16th century, but the game began to find its feet in the UK in the 1940s, entertaining soldiers during the Second World War, who then brought the game home to their families and continued to play after the conflict.

Changes in laws in the 1960s made bingo legal and soon the UK saw a flurry of bingo halls open up. Bingo became all the rage. Soon halls were packed with dabber-holding punters getting their eyes down and looking in while at the tables of the halls.

The 60s, the golden era of bingo

Some would say bingo reached the height of its popularity in the 1960s.

TV had begun to materialise, which saw cinemas decline in popularity as people stayed at home to tune into what was on the box. Flagging cinemas were soon reassigned a new function: bingo halls.

Bingo was a roaring success and, for the next couple of decades, was one of the hottest games around. The working class especially enjoyed the game.

As well as being played in bingo halls, bingo found favour in holiday camps, working men’s clubs and church halls. At the very height of the game’s popularity, there were around 2 000 bingo halls in just the UK itself.

Although bingo continued to be an important part of many people’s social life, somewhere along the line it started to lose its way and, during the 1990s, the game’s appeal started to diminish. People felt bingo had grown stale. Very little had changed in the world of bingo and the halls were becoming emptier.

Bingo’s reputation has also suffered somewhat. The game had acquired a reputation as being one for the older generations, for the ‘blue rinse brigade’ as some referred to the demographic with which it was associated.

Some blame the large bingo chain venues opening their doors for the decline, too, saying that they put smaller bingo halls out of business. To their credit, the larger chains had offered bigger jackpots nationally and locally, however.

Along came cyberspace

Today, bingo enjoys much better health, but many players have moved into the online sphere and are visiting sites like 888Ladies for their fix.

The arrival of the internet is part of the reason why the game is experiencing much popularity again, with online bingo operators offering players a level of convenience with which traditional bingo halls find it hard to compete.

In fact, some might say online bingo was the logical next step. In the early noughties, savvy entrepreneurs had realised the opportunities the internet provided and had begun investing in online gaming.

They created online casinos, the purpose of which was to recreate the experience of playing in brick-and-mortar casinos and open up casino gaming to a wider audience.

The move was a success and online casino gaming exploded. Observing this success, shrewd entrepreneurs realised they might be able to emulate this by bringing bingo online.

They were right. Tech was advancing all the time, facilitating the operation of online gaming and the provision of other forms of entertainment more and more. It was only a matter of time before online bingo took off.

Why is online bingo so popular?

Convenience has been the big factor. Unlike bingo halls, which open and close at specific times, the doors of online bingo operators are open around the clock. Players can log in and play whenever they feel like it.

An even bigger factor has been the emergence of mobile gaming. Players no longer have to remained behind a desktop computer to access bingo. They can play from anywhere they have access to the internet.

In the background to all this has been a change in the bingo mentality. Online, the ‘eyes-down, look in’ mentality is gone. Games are relaxed, modern and friendly.

Online operators provide chat functions, which give players the opportunity to interact with each other and, if they wish to, make new friends.

Finally, the variety of bingo available has helped online bingo appeal more. Anyone who does not want to play traditional 90 ball bingo can play 30, 75 or 85 ball bingo to mix things up a bit. Patterns vary, depending on the version being played.

The new recruits

The birth of mobile gaming has paved the way for online bingo operators to target a younger, more tech-savvy audience and has encouraged young people to engage with the game. This move to the online sphere has had the curious effect of also reviving the offline game.

Traditional bingo will not quite cut it with the younger crowd, so now the nation has seen themed bingo nights, which may have a music theme and/or be hosted by drag queens and feature karaoke, dancing or singing between rounds.

Younger audiences will not respond as enthusiastically to the traditional calls, so some bingo venues have revamped the calls to sound more modern. Tinder date = number eight!

It has been a bit of a bumpy ride for bingo, but not one it originally looked like it was going to have.

The game that gained so much popularity appeared to be on its knees at one point, but the internet saved the day and earned it a whole new following. The future is bright again. Brighter than it has ever been.

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