We are still yet to meet a person who doesn’t know what bingo is. The hugely popular game finds a way to stay relevant even today, 70+ years after it’s boom in the UK. How does bingo do it?
In this article, we will discuss bingo’s popularity in the past, as opposed to today – visit www.umbingo.com/all-games.
The game back in the day
For most people in the 20th century, bingo was a familiar game that saw people of all ages playing. A day out in the bingo hall was a common activity for families and groups of friends. Even total strangers could find themselves bonding over the common interest in bingo. The social aspect of the game saw people chatting away, competing, laughing and joking around in bingo halls.
The classic 90 Ball game is the UK’s favourite variant. The players would purchase from 1 to 6 bingo tickets and wait for the game to start. Once the go ahead was given, the charismatic bingo caller would shout the numbers drawn at random, thus commencing the game.
It is estimated that bingo became the most popular in the 1960s UK (in the frame of the 20th century). The revenue soared into heights unseen before when over 1000 bingo halls welcomed an approximate of 1 million players per month. Eventually bingo became a major employer in the UK, with over 20000 people working in bingo halls through the 70s and 80s. The popularity eventually dropped, and remained on a downward angle until the introduction of online bingo.
Bingo today
Many people still flock to bingo halls to play the legendary game. It’s appeal with all the traditions is undeniable, although the more popular version today is considered to be online bingo.
With it’s humble beginnings in 1996, online bingo didn’t quite catch on just there. It took quite a few years for the online gambling industry to take speed and improve. “Cyberbingo.com” was the first online bingo platform to launch in the UK, an example of which other providers followed. The rest, as they say, was history. Another major development for online bingo was the offering of bingo games by facebook.com in 2011. This saw many players from across the globe engaging in bingo, which eventually showed an increase in real-money players.
Today, the online bingo industry is worth a staggering £80 million per annum in the UK. This is a truly huge number, compared to $90 million in the giant that is the US!
Many people today prefer online bingo over the land-based version because of the simplicity that comes with virtual playing.
Conclusion
If you ask us, bingo is still as popular as ever with it’s obvious relevance in numbers! The once-nation’s-favourite tends to be substituted today with online bingo, but nevertheless, bingo is bingo. Online bingo has seen a massive improvement since it’s beginnings 20 years ago and is set to keep on growing. Here’s to many more years of bingo fun!
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