History of Bingo in the UK

History of Bingo in the UK

90 ball Bingo has a rich, vibrant history that dates back hundreds of years in the UK.  Bingo has continually been at the forefront of changes in UK gambling legislation and its past stretches all the way back from Elizabethan times in the 17^th century to sea side resorts and World War 1 trenches.  It also has a deep and intimate relationship with the Catholic Church.

Rise of Bingo in the UK

The first recorded bingo game in Britain was amongst working women in 1716.  The majority of women at that time were prohibited from dicing because of an order raised by the Lord Mayor of London. Working women used bingo (a game based upon random numbers) as a form of gambling that avoided confrontation with the law.  Up until the 20^th century, Bingo, then commonly referred to as Housey-Housey, remained at the brink of legal/illegal/quasi-legal/black-market gambling. Even men played it within the storming trenches of World War I and between 1918 and 1960 it developed a reputation as a seaside and fairground game.  The government found it extremely difficult to monitor or legally regulate bingo at this time, as it wasn’t been played in permanent venues (which would have led to it being restricted under the Betting and Lotteries Act 1934).

In the early 1950s, the government conducted an investigation in the extent and impact of gambling, which was then largely assumed to be a reprobate and anti-social activity.  However, this was proved wrong by the 1951 Royal Commission, which found out that 80% of respondents had gambled and that 10-13% gambled weekly.  The results of the survey “Betting in Britain” helped dispel most of the common misconceptions help by Parliamentarians about gambling.  

In 1960, the Betting and Gaming Act legalized the development of commercial bingo (although churches were previously allowed to host small bingo games and lotteries for charity).  Indeed, the Catholic Church had no moral objections to gambling in moderation, and even promoted bingo games during the post-war period as a means of raising money.  The game was particular popular among ex-servicemen and women.

 Bingo Boom of the 1960s

Bingo enjoyed a heavy boom amongst holiday makers in the 1950s.  It was Butlins and Warners camping holidays, however, that were credited with popularizing the game and offering it on a behemoth commercial scale.  After the opening of bingo clubs in the 1960s, the game increased rapidly in popularity.  By 1963, there were over 14 million members of bingo clubs, the largest of which was Mecca Bingo, which was predicted to make over £2 million per annum with 150,000 players per day in 1961.

Since 2004, online gaming took bingo to a new and exciting level. The increasing success of stalwarts sites such as Gala Bingo and the massive progressive jackpots and bonuses led to more and more sites cropping up; and now there are hundreds of thousands of bingo players in the UK playing online.