Bingo and the UK

In the UK the game did not become widely known until 1960, when the Gaming Act passed by Parliament permitted bingo games in member-only establishments. Bingo in the UK was a commercial proposition, and so the British bingo was quite different to that found across the Atlantic.

Differences of Bingo Across the Pond

Spread across Britain were many large buildings that had been rendered obsolete by the rise of the television; theatres, cinemas and dancehalls. A lot of these required little modification to turn them over to bingo games. British Bingo Halls were by far more plush than the American counterparts.

American bingo halls simply drew numbers from a bag. But in the UK, glass cabinets were built with fans, and filled with numbered ping-pong balls. They were easy to rig and unsophisticated, which led to the adoption of electronic Random Number Generators (or the RNG). In fact, the game proved to be so successful that in the 1980s there were several clubs opened in brand new purpose built halls.

The Future of British Bingo

Over the last 10 years of development in British Bingo is the appearance of online bingo games on the internet. Mecca Bingo lead the way with British 90-ball games, called at British speeds! Mecca Bingo is already a very popular website, offering online bingo games that are even better than those played in traditional bingo halls. And now Mecca Bingo has started running bingo games with huge jackpots, like the new 1,000,000 pound game, where you really have the chance to win an incredible 1 million pound prize.

The current proposed legislation, a smoking ban, will shortly be put into place banning smoking in all public places, making smoking in Scottish bingo halls illegal. And in England, this won't exempt private members clubs, of which UK bingo halls are counted in with. As with any other public enclosed space, smoking will be banned throughout.