Where to play bingo

Bingo is a game that we have all come to know well, and amazingly, the first game of bingo can be traced back as far as the 1500s in Italy! Centuries on, the game of bingo has grown to be one of the most popular and beloved games in the world, and as the game has developed over centuries, bingo fans now have an array of choices when it comes to where to play bingo, and where to indulge in their treasured game.

The oldest and still incredibly popular way of playing bingo is ‘land-based bingo’, or ‘club bingo’ – in short, a hall or establishment that runs games of bingo, and invites bingo players to purchase bingo cards and eliminate numbers along with a live bingo caller. Of course, this practice started decades ago, when churches, small working men’s clubs and social halls began running their own ‘bingo evenings’. As well as local establishments launching their own bingo evenings, bingo started to become incredibly popular with holiday parks and complexes, in which it was played for entertainment for guests and holidaymakers, and thousands of bingo players still play bingo like this every day.

Land based bingo has always been – and still is – an extremely popular choice when it comes to enjoying bingo, and land-based bingo started to become even more accessible when chains of bingo halls started to pop up all over the nation. The two main UK bingo hall chains are Mecca and Gala (though these have recently changed to Buzz Bingo) and collectively, these two companies own over 250 bingo halls, with most major towns and cities being home to one of their clubs. When these now-nationally-renowned companies began opening their clubs, they injected a whole new meaning to bingo. Not only are bingo halls somewhere to go to enjoy games of bingo, the halls are now a place to go to enjoy a night out, or an afternoon of fun, as most of these clubs now house bars, cafes and casino areas. When it comes to choosing where to play bingo, playing in a land-based bingo hall is a popular option, as bingo halls bring with them a social element; certainly a great advantage.

Bingo halls are a great place to visit with friends for a night of fun, but of course, when the weather is cold and staying at home in the warm is a more tempting idea, there is one bingo option that wins every time, and that’s online bingo. This modern reimagining of bingo is now said to be one of the most played games online with almost 400 bingo websites currently on the web. Where land-based bingo halls and games have the advantage of socializing, online bingo has the attractive advantage of ‘convenience’, and the last decade has seen the world embracing this new craze. When you fancy a game of online bingo, you can play at any time, on any day, whenever you feel like it, and all you’ll need is a computer, and an internet connection (or even just a mobile phone!).

Although online bingo is, in theory, very alike playing bingo in a hall, online bingo actually invites bingo fans to partake in a number of exciting extra features. When playing online bingo, players will usually deposit money into their account which they can then spend on a variety of bingo tickets within a list of virtual bingo rooms, and if a game is won, winnings can be simply withdrawn to a bank account. By playing online bingo, you are not just limited to 90 ball bingo (the type that is played in most bingo halls) either, as there are so many other bingo types to take advantage of – like traditional American 75 ball bingo and Speed Bingo (a game that is over in less than a minute with sped-up number calling). Although tickets can be marked manually with your mouse, the majority prefer to let the computer do the work for them, and many prefer to chat whilst their tickets are marking. The chat room feature has ensured that the social element of bingo hasn’t been lost – this way, you can chat to people from all over the world, not just in your town, when you play bingo.

Whether you choose to play bingo on your favourite bingo site, or you want to have a night of bingo out with your friends at your local bingo hall you can be sure it’ll be social, fun and full of great bingo prizes.