Popularity Of Bingo
The popularity of bingo on both the high street and the Internet today would make you think that this much loved game has been a hit in the UK forever.
Although the origins of the game itself stretch all the way back to 16th century Italy, where the world's first state lottery - Lo Giuoco del Lotto D'Italia - quite literally got he balls rolling, bingo in the UK is a relatively modern phenomenon.
The bingo hall, as we know them today, only really started appearing in the 1960s. It was an entertainment evolution that had started a decade earlier with the advent of television. Bingo has since made the leap to online bingo along with the recent introduction of free bingo, where players can win money without paying a penny.
When ITV first appeared on British television screens between 1955 and 1956, it gave viewers lucky enough to have a television set the choice of two channels: the BBC and ITV.
This new medium had a disastrous effect on cinemas and theatres nationwide which were already struggling under The Entertainment Tax which was first levied to provide war funds in the First World War.
The tax was finally repealed in 1960 but - for many entertainment venues - it was too little, too late. The other significant event of this year was the passing of the Gaming Act which opened up many new possibilities for business.
Cinemas had been struggling for years. There were just too many. Some were demolished and others switched roles and became dance halls, snooker clubs, bowling alleys, and - probably most successful of all - bingo halls.
Rank was one of the first cinema chains to make the switch converting its Odeon Hackney Road and the Gaumont Peckham over to Bingo in May 1961. Initially, many of the clubs offered punters a mix of both cinema on certain nights and bingo on others. It didnt take long for the bingo to take over completely.
Although, its worth pointing out that the Odeon, in Hemel Hempstead, had a split week of films and bingo as late as 1995.
Conversion was a fairly simple process. The screen was replaced with the bingo caller's apparatus, stalls seating was replaced with tables and chairs, and the lighting was upgraded so players could se what they were doing.
Today, the ebb and flow continues with bingo halls reverting back to cinemas and vice versa. Perhaps, the most important thing is that these environments are preserved for entertainment in whatever current format it takes. The current popularity of online bingo suggests that the game is here to stay.