90-ball bingo is one of the most popular games in the UK. It has long roots reaching back thousands of years and was played all over the world in different variations.
In most UK seaside town halls, you could find a game of 90-ball bingo long before it got its own designated venues.
A whopping 14 million people in the UK held accounts at their local bingo hall of choice – and while there were many located on land, something about the seaside and bingo makes sense.
What is 90 ball bingo?
For those who have never played bingo, you might not know that there are several different versions. Here are some of the bingo games you can find online now:
- 90 ball bingo game
- 80 ball bingo game
- 75 ball bingo game
- 30 ball speed bingo game
And there are twists on the classic like Slingo, which combines slots and bingo. And still the reigning most popular option in 90 ball bingo.
Players will get bingo cards on a 3×9 chart, which has a random selection of numbers between 1 and 90. A caller will randomly select a ball and call out the number. The player then marks off that number on their card if they have it. For a whole line marked off, you have one line; for two lines marked off in the same card, you have two lines; and for all the numbers marked off, you have house.
In almost all cases, a single strip will have six tickets that are used in each round. For the land-based game, you will dab off the numbers called manual. While playing online, you can have the dabber do it automatically for you.
How did bingo become popular in Brighton?
While there has been a huge switch from land-based bingo halls to online bingo, seaside towns and cities like Brighton have managed to hold on to their bingo roots. Brighton has a long history of being one of the places to go for tourists. After all, what is not to like? Sun, sea, sand (or rocks), a diverse range of people on the pier and more entertainment than you can shake a stick at.
Brighton was often a summer retreat for the wealthy who lived in London, and for many years it was only the wealthy who were allowed to gamble in any form. Thankfully, anyone can head to one of the many bingo halls in Brighton and enjoy a warm welcome.
While there has been a big decline in the amount of UK bingo venues, Brighton still has some of the best in the country. Tourists and locals alike can enjoy a sunny day, listen to the waves, and then head to the highly rated bingo clubs to dab some numbers and enjoy food and drinks.
More than 30 years after the big bingo buzz in the UK, online bingo made a big splash. 1996 saw the beginnings of an online bingo revolution.
The fall and rise of bingo.
The bingo halls that have managed to hold on through the fall of land-based bingo and the rise of online bingo are something that should be cherished. And Brighton is home to several that managed to make it through.
The UK saw a steady decline in people playing in bingo halls; even though online bingo was available in 1996, many people didn’t make the switch until 2005 and beyond. In the earlier days, not everyone had a computer, internet, or smartphone.
With the rise of better consumer technology and the internet, more people made a switch. The switch saw bingo halls go from over 1000 to the roughly 600 that are still thriving.
Online bingo didn’t kill bingo in the UK. It just gave players more options, and the bingo industry had to adjust. Almost all land-based bingo halls in the UK have an online counterpart, so members can choose how they want to play.
So, while the land-based bingo halls were in decline, online bingo was on a rapid rise.
How popular is online bingo in the UK?
Although land-based bingo offers great face-to-face player engagement (aka meeting up with mates), online bingo is more convenient. From the first version of online bingo to what is possible now, while still holding on to what makes bingo great, online bingo has flourished.
There are an estimated 3.5 million players in the UK, making it one of the most important bingo markets in the industry (Gitnux), meaning bingo is the most popular online activity in the country.
90 ball bingo has a long history in Brighton and the rest of the UK, and that doesn’t look like it is going to change any time soon. With the option of playing from the comfort of your own home or trying out one of Brighton’s great venues – players are spoilt for choice.
