Looking at some of this year’s statistics on the state of bingo in the UK, it’s clear that it’s a case of some good news and some not so good news.

The bad news is that there has been a decline in attendance at live, land-based Bingo events (those traditionally held in Bingo Halls). On average two Bingo Clubs a month are closing down, and hundreds of others are struggling to keep up their numbers of attendees so as to survive.

It’s interesting to note that he smoking ban (introduced in July 2007) has hit Bingo Halls a lot harder than pubs and other Clubs. I guess that might be because you won’t want to nip out for a cigarette in the middle of a Bingo game, or series of games, whereas in a pub, you can excuse yourself and pop out at any time. Where you do come to the end of a series of games, most people used to gravitate to the slot machines, but now they have to use that time to go outside and smoke, so revenue from those machines is down and had an impact on overall profitability.

At the same time many online bingo operators report a significant increase in their revenues as more and more people prefer to play their favourite game from the comfort of their own home, where they can do as they like. So, the whole bingo hall decline is not really a bingo crisis, but a shift from offline bingo to its online and mobile versions. I guess that’s cold comfort for traditional Bingo players (and Callers!) who like the live experience as well as the online one, but hey, the times they are a changing as Bob Dylan said!

Interestingly, a number of people I chat with in the online chat rooms are really interested in what live Bingo is like, never having been to one. I wonder whether there may come a time when onliners’ curiosity about live Bingo may lead to them putting on coats and venturing out to a Bingo Hall. It’s a different experience, but has many good facets, and allows you to have a different experience of playing your favourite game! Why not have two strings to your Bingo Bow. Yes, I do think you can have “two” much of a good thing playing Bingo (ouch! Sorry!)

Whether online or in a Bingo Hall... Good luck!