The Different Types of Bingo Games
Last millennium bingo was mainly only played in purpose-built halls up and down the country. In fact, in the United Kingdom there were around 600 bingo halls, with the number increasing year on year from 1961 up until 2005.
The start date six decades ago followed the Betting and Gaming Act 1960, allowing premises to be opened from 1 January 1961. With the legalisation of large cash prizes came the launch of Mecca Bingo in the United Kingdom.
Eric Morley led the way, introducing bingo into 60 of his large chain of dancehalls, which included the Lyceum Ballroom, which today is a 2,100-seat West End theatre located in the City of Westminster. The original theatre dated back to 1765.
During the 1960s, Mecca was a centre of entertainment in the United Kingdom. Not just for its bingo, but with numerous nightclubs throughout major towns and cities across the country.
Over the past 15 years the number of bingo halls in the UK has been on a steady decline. This is mainly due to high taxes, the smoking ban, and the rise in online bingo games available.
During its height, bingo was mostly played as a 90-ball game, which is the traditional version in the Unite Kingdom. The internet has changed all that now, with online casinos and bingo apps alike giving players multiple variants of the classic game.
First, here is a general bingo guide:
Prior to the game started, players will have purchased a ticket, or multiple tickets, with numbers in squared boxes. The aim is to mark these off when a caller reads out the numbers drawn from a bag or electronic random number generator.
Depending on the version of bingo you are playing will decide how you can win, but usually you’re looking to mark off a line of numbers, either horizontal or vertical, or every single one of your numbers, to win a prize. Generally, the different winning combinations are:
Four corners: The leftmost and rightmost numbers on the top and bottom lines
Line: A horizontal line of numbers on the ticket
Two Lines: Any two lines on a single ticket
Full House: All numbers on the ticket
It is common for a four corners game or a line game to be followed by a two-line game and a full house game. In all cases, the last number called must be in the winning sequence.
There will often be an interval halfway through the game in a traditional bingo hall, but not online. The majority of online casinos offer more than one bingo hall to their players.
As for the most popular bingo games, here is a quick guide:
90-ball Bingo
The most popular version of the game in the United Kingdom, France and the world. 90-ball bingo is played, as its name suggests, with 90 numbered balls. In fact, the UK has really been the main driving force over the game’s success over the past 60 years.
Tickets for this game each have 27 spaces, in a nine by three grid, with numbers from 1-90.
75-ball Bingo
Also known as American bingo and is played with 15 less balls than its British counterpart. Each of the players’ tickets compromise of 25 boxes, 24 of which contain a number between 1-75 and with the middle box containing an X. This a free space that can be used to complete a winning line.
Single games often have multiple winners; usually the players are first playing for a single line; all the way up to a full card.
This version was invented in 1929 but rules to vary from one US jurisdiction to another as a result of the gambling laws regulating how the game is played.
Speed Bingo
The fastest version of bingo is aptly named Speed Bingo. This game is played with only 30 balls and with smaller cards. These are 9-square cards which allows for quick games and therefore more games in one sitting. More games equal more opportunities for players to win.
This type of bingo is very fast, and a game is usually over in less than five minutes. The gains are often lower than in the traditional variants.
Speed bingo is enjoying a boom period currently at online casinos like 888 Ladies, with its speed and simplicity being popular among many of today’s players.
80-ball Bingo
The difference with the 80-ball game, players’ tickets are an individual grid of 16 squares, consisting of a four-by-four grid. Each square contains a number, giving each player 16 numbers to mark off for the duration of the game.
Strips of tickets are purchased five at a time, with numbers from 1-80 on each strip.
There are usually three prizes to be won, by:
Line: The first player to mark off any single line. This can be in either a vertical, horizontal or diagonal line, or mark all four corners or four middle squares.
Two Lines: The second prize is awarded to the first player to mark off all numbers on any two lines vertically.
Full House: Where the player must cover all 16 numbers on their ticket
At the end of the day, bingo is bingo, and most players who enjoy one game will enjoy the other. When there is an exception though it usually revolves around Speed Bingo, where the traditional players prefer the slow games, whereas the Speed Bingo enthusiasts aren’t so keen on slowing the game down!
The modern-day advancements in technology have certainly helped the game grow in the past 10 years or so. From laptops and tablets, to mobile phone apps to play games on the go, cheaper internet and more reliable WiFi connections, all allow players to enjoy bingo on the go.
Combined, these make the game available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, compared to the land-based bingo halls that only open and run games during certain days and hours, which are in decline due to a lack of footfall these days.