For decades bingo has been one of the UK’s favourite pastimes. From April 2019 to March 2020, the bingo industry generated approximately 910 million pounds in revenue, which shows that it’s still as popular today as ever.
Instead of people flocking to bingo halls up and down the UK, most players much prefer online bingo these days.
In this article, we will discuss Britain’s love for online bingo and take a look at bingo through the years.
How Britain came to love bingo
Bingo really took off in the 1960s, and the love continued for the game for over four decades. At one point, there was an astonishing 14 million UK bingo club members, cementing it firmly into the British way of life.
It was a chance to meet up with family and friends of an evening or weekend for many people and just enjoy the game while socialising. It was so popular that there were bingo halls in every town and city across the UK.
This popularity soon started to decline around 2000 as the bingo industry excluded the younger generations, favouring those who had been going to the bingo halls for decades. By not modernising the game and appealing to a new audience, the bingo industry began to take a hit.
By 2007, Britain had introduced a new law that made it illegal to smoke inside any public building. This smoking ban had a massive effect on bingo halls, as many of the players would enjoy a smoke and a drink while enjoying the game.
Bingo halls saw a huge drop in popularity because of this, and it looked as though there was no way to recover from it.
On top of this, the National Lottery had become hugely popular throughout the 1990s. People began to make the switch to playing the lottery instead of going to bingo halls.
Up and down the country, bingo halls began to close their doors for the last time.
The rise in popularity through online bingo
The 1990s and early 2000s saw a considerable rise in the number of people using the internet. This was good news for bingo lovers, as the bingo industry turned its attention to online bingo, causing a new wave of popularity.
The bingo industry realised its mistake in failing to target a new, younger audience and modernising the game to make it more appealing. The focus was to get more people playing bingo online, which seemed to work.
Online bingo numbers soared, and now there was a whole new appeal to the game that the bingo halls couldn’t compete with; the comfort of playing and winning without stepping foot outside the home.
Not only that, though, but players also save money by playing online rather than going to a bingo hall. People would often treat the bingo like a night out and buy food and drinks at the venue.
Many bingo players enjoy the fact that they can simply switch on their computer and play bingo without having to pay a taxi or bus fare. With sites like 888 ladies bingo, it is much easier for people to enjoy the game, and players still win amazing prizes.
Bingo websites even tried to incorporate the traditional bingo elements of the game that those who regularly visited the bingo halls were familiar with. This included features such as bingo cards and quick and easy prizes that could be won.
This played a massive part in winning over the more traditional bingo players, as they soon found themselves adapting to a new life online and enjoying plenty of bingo games.
Will the bingo love continue for the people of Britain?
Bingo was traditionally popular in the last few decades of the 1900s and even to an extent in the 2000s. Although we will never likely see this kind of interest in the bingo halls again, bingo’s popularity online continues to grow.
One of the essential aspects of bingo was being able to socialise with others while playing. Online bingo has factored this in and made it so players can talk to one another through chat rooms within the bingo site.
Another reason why people love bingo is that it’s an easy game to play, and it doesn’t require much skill, unlike some other online casino games like blackjack or poker. Due to its inclusivity and simplicity, bingo is a much-loved game that people grow to love every day as they can have so much fun playing it.
What’s next in store for bingo in the UK?
Bingo’s online popularity only seems to be growing each year, so it’s safe to say that bingo lovers across Britain can rejoice.
With millions of active bingo accounts online, and the industry generating hundreds of millions of pounds, it seems as though bingo is here to stay for quite some time.
Bingo has safely reclaimed itself as one of Britain’s favourite pastimes once again.
