Londoners love a game of bingo. Who doesn’t? It has been enjoyed in London and across the United Kingdom since 1960. What’s interesting about the game now has been its ability to evolve. It has moved from something played in the local bingo hall to a game enjoyed in different environments, and also online. Let’s explore the constant evolution and why Londoners still love a knees-up at the bingo.

The rise of online bingo

There’s evidence that people have embraced online bingo in recent years. Research has indicated that there are around 3.5 million players in the United Kingdom alone. A factor in this success and popularity has been its ability to adopt elements of popular culture. If you play bingo at Paddy Power, for example, you will see a couple of games based on the classic Deal or No Deal game show. It was a programme adored by Brits during its run on channel 4, and the online bingo game has taken advantage of this. 

It would be interesting to see if online bingo developers start to utilise assets from other popular television programmes. You will already see slot machines based on Britain’s Got Talent and Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? Could this be the way to continue the rise of online bingo?

Bingo halls are still going strong

For all the developments in online bingo, people still love to be in a room with hundreds and sometimes thousands of people. Research indicates the many traditional and non-traditional bingo halls still keep our communities entertained. A video report from BBC news explored how bingo has bounced back in terms of popularity. Within the video, you can see that the key social element that made the game so popular in the past has remained. 

There are also events like Bongo’s Bingo. These are nightclub-style events that combine a game of bingo with a disco. It has become hugely popular in recent years, and, like the online game, it uses the original premise but adds new elements to make it more appealing to new audiences.

Could we see more changes to how bingo is played?

“VR Headset Facebook Oculus Gamescom 2019” (CC BY 2.0) by dronepicr

Technology is constantly evolving, so new ways of playing will always be thrown into the mix. Could VR bingo become the norm soon? Wider gaming trends can change rapidly as well. However, certain things should stay the same. The vast majority of those online bingo players mentioned previously aren’t going anywhere. If anything, it should continue to grow as new versions of the game are developed.

The popularity of playing the game in person should also remain. Events like Bongo’s Bingo will only help with this as well. The number of bingo variations means that those player numbers should remain high over the next few years.