Bingo has had a make-over. While the spread of fruit machines to pubs, bars and chippies in the early 2000s saw a big dip in attendance at bingo halls, and the 2007 smoking ban cut away at the bingo clientele by more than a quarter, in recent years it has enjoyed a massive surge in popularity.
That's partly because it's no longer thought of as existing solely in dusty, dilapidated halls, but in modern nightclubs and bars across the UK. The game has had a millennial makeover. Now you can head along to hip-hop bingo, drag bingo, bottomless-brunch bingo. Basically, if you're into something, there's probably a bingo version of it. Instead of going home with a cash prize, many of the modern bingo halls now offer funny gifts to the adoring masses.
Bongo’s Bingo has been leading the bingo revolution since it arrived on the scene in 2015 with its ravey take on the form. "We play using traditional rules, in the exact same way," founder, Jonny Bongo told Time Out. "But we’re also a bit… different.".
Players can win giant unicorns, boxes of Coco Pops that are thrown across the club, and Henry Hoovers. "We used to give away mobility scooters – there would be people driving them home at night with their mates in the basket," Jonny added. Bongo's Bingo has been joined by many other modern bingo halls, with the number across the UK doubling since 2016. One of the more prominent is Dabber's, which launched its first venue in London back in 2018. As well as celebrating the 'golden era' of the game, Dabber's is trying to bring it into the 21st century, while not taking the whole thing too seriously.
