Bingo was introduced to the UK by Eric Morley, the man who also presided over the Miss World Pageant. He was helped by the Gambling Act of 1968 which allowed bingo to be played in members cubs previously used as dance halls.
Many of these halls, together with cinemas and theatres, were closing down due to a fall in attendance. This fall was due to the increased popularity of television. Morley recognized that bingo could be introduced as an alternative pastime that would make use of these buildings and generate profit.
Morley’s company, Mecca, opened some of the first bingo halls in the UK which were very well furnished establishments. Players would dress up to visit the bingo halls as it was considered to be a social evening out. To make it more entertaining, the numbers were also given nicknames such as ‘unlucky for some’ 13 and ‘legs’ 11.
The introduction of Random Number Generating (RNG) machines replaced the original machines that drew the numbers. This made the games look more professional and hard to fix.
In 1986, Bingo was given a boost when national games were first introduced. This meant that players in clubs across the UK could participate in nationwide games with much large payouts.
Online bingo was first introduced in 2003 and soon after was modified so that players could communicate via chat rooms. The UK has the fastest growing online bingo market, and is no longer the preserve of the elderly, with 90% of online players under the age of 50.