Archive for the Bingo News category.
January 11, 2010
When playing the game of bingo in the UK, it is traditional that when announcing the numbers bingo callers will use a variety of nicknames to refer to the numbers as they are drawn.
The nicknames are given to a particular set of rhyming numbers and this is known as “bingo lingo”. Rhymes exist for the numbers one to 90 and some of the nicknames have been around for many decades.
Within some of the bingo clubs the caller will say the number and the bingo players will then intone the rhyme in a manner of call and response. In some of the other bingo clubs, the caller will shout the rhyme and the players will chant the number in response. In more modern times, a Professor of Popular Culture came up with more modern calls to be used in an attempt to revitalise interest in bingo.
Popular Bingo Calls:
1 – Kelly’s Eye. The explanation for this rhyme is due to military slang, which possibly refers to Ned Kelly.
2 – One Little Duck. This originates from the shape of a number 2 resembling a duck. Also used is the term me and you – this is a romantic rhyme.
3 – Cup of Tea, and You and Me. The reason for using you and me is again because it is a romantic rhyme.
4 – Knock at the Door.
5 – Man Alive.
6 – Tom Mix. This is named after Tom Mix who is a star of silent western films.
January 04, 2010
Although the National Bingo Game is very popular with bingo players, there have been several controversial incidents over the years.
There have been reports of syndicate winners failing to keep to their agreements and share their winnings of the bingo game with other members of the syndicate. Also, there have been occasions where some bingo game players have shared their prizes with other bingo players, despite those bingo players not having been present in the bingo club at the time that the prizes were won.
There are strict rules on gambling and there have been some bingo games that have been played and won by people that are under the age of eighteen and therefore they are unable to claim the prize.
One of the more infamous of these cases was when Kimberley Davis took Mecca Bingo to court in Rochdale for not giving her the prize that she won, due to her being underage. Regardless of her winning the money in the bingo game she was not allowed to claim the prize money due to her not adhering to the rules – she did not win her case.
There is one famous case repeated throughout the bingo halls, however, it is unclear if it is true; a young girl was given her cheque for winning a bingo game and while she was onstage receiving her prize she said that she was going to spend the money “on my eighteenth birthday next week”. This meant that her win in the bingo game broke the rules.
December 16, 2009
Bingo was formerly named “Housey Housey” within the United Kingdom, and is a game of gambling from unknown origins.
The game is played by participants crossing off numbers that are called out at random – the players then mark the numbers from their cards. Players will win the game if they achieve a certain winning combination of the numbers. This version of the game is unlike the American version, where the tickets and calling are slightly different.
A bingo ticket is made up of 27 separate spaces which are set out into nine columns with three rows. Each of the rows has five numbers with four of the spaces left blank. The columns will each contain one, two, or uncommonly three numbers.
The first column contained within the ticket is made up of the numbers one to nine. The second column is numbered ten to 19, and the third from 20 to 29. The columns continue in a similar numeric pattern and the final column includes the numbers 80 to 90. The final column is diverse to those preceding it by including ten numbers.
Each game of bingo is overseen by a caller. Their position is required to call out the numbers that players need to cross off of their tickets. Bingo callers will also authenticate any winning tickets that may appear during the session of bingo.
The bingo caller will also announce the prize prior to the game beginning. Just before they are about to begin calling the numbers they will say “eyes down” to show that they are about to begin the game.
November 29, 2009
Mecca bingo launched a promotion to find out the nations favourite recipes. Winners would see their recipe published in a cook book as well as winning a prize. In particular, Mecca Bingo was looking for recipes with a special meaning, recipes that have been handed down by older relatives or recipes that act as a reminder of a special occasion.
Throughout August 2009, Mecca asked players in their high street clubs and online to send in their favourite recipes. According to the rules, the recipe could take no longer than 90 minutes to prepare, cost under £5 and should be enough for a family of four.
Club recipe winners were selected, and each won a VIP night for two at their local club and a food steamer. Each club winner also had the opportunity to become one of the eight regional winners.
The eight regional winners won the opportunity to cook their recipe at a grand final in London on 19th October 2009. As part of their prize, all the competitors got to stay overnight on the 18th October, and received tickets to a London show and £250 of supermarket vouchers.
The recipe of the national winner will be cooked at a celebratory VIP evening at their local Mecca bingo club and they will also win £500 of supermarket vouchers.
The best recipes will be published in a special cook book, the proceeds of which will be donated to Whizz Kids, a charity that Mecca has a long standing relationship with. Whizz Kids provides mobility equipment for disabled children.
November 27, 2009
The National Bingo Game in collaboration with Breakthrough Breast Cancer launched a new scratch card game called ‘Breakthrough Bingo’. The scratch cards, launched on 5th October 2009, are can be purchased over the following three months. The cards are available at all high street bingo halls that participate in the National Bingo Game.
Each scratch card has five numbers on it. If you match any of the first five numbers called in the corresponding National Bingo game then you win a prize. Each card costs £1 and 11.5p of the cost goes to Breakthrough Breast Cancer.
The cash prizes vary depending on the numbers matched. Match one and win £2, match two and win £5, match three and win a mystery cash prize and match four or five and win £1,000. The organizers are hoping to have a special draw for Christmas whereby Breakthrough Bingo players have the opportunity to win a car.
The new game was launched as part of the ‘Bingo for Breakthrough’ campaign, an annual fundraising event supported by the Bingo Association. In 2009, the campaign took place from 18th – 25th October, as part of the National Breast Cancer Awareness month. Through the Bingo Association, bingo clubs are encouraged to hold events in order to raise awareness and funds.
The majority of bingo game players and staff are women and breast cancer affects 1 in 9 women in the UK. Since its beginning in 2003, Bingo for Breakthrough has raised over £3 million.
November 25, 2009
A team of 24 Gala Bingo employees broke the world record for the World’s Highest Bingo Game earlier this month. On 16th October 2009, they started the climb up Mount Everest, the world’s highest mountain. The climb included trekking 75 miles and on reaching around 17,500 ft the team played a game of bingo.
The event follows weeks of training for this event, including playing games at various landmarks including the 504 ft Blackpool Tower, 590 ft Gherkin in London and the 520 ft Beetham Tower in Birmingham. However, a bingo game on Mount Everest is the ultimate challenge, where the team faced hazards such as dehydration, deep vein thrombosis, frost bite and altitude sickness.
The expedition is one of a series of charity bingo fundraising events, the proceeds of which will go to Sue Ryder Care. The team raised £100,000 from the mountain climb, which will be added to the total fund.
Gala is aiming to raise a grand total of £1 million by the end of 2009 for charity, and by 2nd October had raised £750,000. Other events include a series of special charity games from 16th – 23rd October. Tickets will cost 15p each and 5p from each ticket will go to Sue Ryder Care.
Sue Ryder Care offers care to patients suffering from multiple sclerosis, Huntington’s disease and cancer. They also offer support to families of patients and care givers as well.
November 13, 2009
Derek Jameson first introduced newspaper bingo in the early 1980’s when he was editor of the Daily Star. As part of the circulation war, he launched a game whereby bingo cards were posted through most letterboxes and players had to cross off numbers published in the daily newspapers. The games worked exactly like regular 90 ball bingo whereby a cash prize was won if you got a full house.
The game took off and other newspapers soon followed with bingo games of their own, including the Daily Mirror and the Sun. Even breakfast television programme TV-am joined in when it decided to announce the numbers from the morning newspapers every day.
In 1984 newspaper bingo was given a further boost when a million pound jackpot prize was launched. The Daily Express announced their ‘Who Wants to be a Millionaire?’ game with a glamorous TV commercial which reflected the days of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers.
The Times even launched their own game which was modified to fit in with its image and readership. It was called ‘Portfolio’ and was based on the performance of stocks and shares.
Three decades on and many national newspapers are experiencing a fall in their circulation numbers. As a result, they are looking around for alternative revenue streams to boost their falling sales.
Online bingo games are one such revenue stream which has proved to be very successful. Different online games are available from national newspapers such as the Sun, the Mirror, the Daily Star and the Daily Mail.
November 11, 2009
In June 2009 Paddy Power launched its second European Bingo Championship. Players got an opportunity to win a place in the final every week in June 2009 by playing bingo on the Paddy Power Bingo website.
Winners of bingo games during this time were allocated points per bingo game. By the end of each week all points were totalled up and the top ten scoring players were entered into the grand final which took place at 8pm on 4th July 2009.
The final took place in a Ruby Room on the website where ten games of 90 ball bingo were played. Points were awarded for games won and by the end of the games the players with the twenty best scores were given prizes.
The players in 11th – 20th place were given free bingo for a year and players in 6th – 10th place were given UK and Ireland weekend breaks courtesy of Marriott. Players in 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th place were given European trips of their choice with various levels of luxury. The winner was given a 5 star European trip of their choice worth £2,500.
To encourage new members to participate in the tournament, Paddy Power offered a £30 no deposit bonus on registration to use for bingo cards during the event.
Paddy Power online bingo, launched by the Irish bookmaker, was first launched in 2008. The company re-launched its website on the Virtue Fusion network with more rooms, jackpots, cash and prizes.