The Club Scene and Bingo – A Match Made in Heaven?

On the surface of it, the combination of music and bingo may seem like a fairly strange one. Rightly or wrongly, music is generally seen as something that young people tend to enjoy more than their older counterparts. With the introduction of streaming services such as Spotify and the convenience of having a whole library of music at your fingertips, the younger generation is arguably benefiting the most with regards to technological advances in the music industry. In a similar vein, the mere mention of the word bingo to most people will often evoke the image of an army of old ladies descending on bingo halls, sucking on an uncle Joes’ mint ball while bellowing “bingo!” at the top of their voice. 

Bingo fun! Team buildin with my favorite folks. #houstontx #thursdaybingo #workfun

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While it may come as a shock to some, bingo has arguably never been more popular and in the UK, the number of people participating in the pastime has now overtaken the number of people playing tennis. Considering the global appeal of tennis along with the extensive television coverage that the sport receives, this is a quite astounding statistic and Sports England indicate that around 1.9 million people across the UK are now playing bingo as opposed to 1.7 million participating in tennis based activities. In spite of these figures and rising popularity of bingo is general, the number of people attending bingo halls has plummeted by around 75% in recent years and it appears that the younger demographic are opting for convenience, choosing to play online from their mobile devices on sites such as William Hill where you can play 90 ball bingo online from your own home or even on the go.

It is for this reason that bingo halls are putting their efforts in attracting a younger audience through the doors and Bongo’s Bingo are certainly leading the way in this regard. The Liverpool based event mixes the traditional elements of playing bingo with rave intervals, hands-in-the air anthems and dance-offs and has left an indelible mark on the country’s cultural landscape, selling out shows across the UK and as well as more recently looking at branching out into Dubai and Ibiza. Bongo’s Bingo also reportedly holds the record for the world’s biggest pub quiz and the club’s charismatic owner and host Jonny Bongo really involves the crowd in the experience, taking something traditionally reserved for punters on the older end of the scale and transforming it into a new phenomenon which can be enjoyed by a new generation.

bongo

Source: Bongo’s Bingo via Facebook

 

Bongo’s Bingo has certainly found a gap in the market and are exploiting it to it’s full potential. The rising popularity of bingo as a pastime coupled with the decline in attendance at bingo hall indicates that whilst the game is still of interest to many, the concept of sitting in silence while diligently circling a group of number just doesn’t excite people anymore. The marriage of music and bingo has so far proved to be extremely popular and with the technological advances making it more possible than ever to log onto your mobile device and play on the go, the future of bingo looks to be in very safe hands and other sports and activites experiencing similar rates of decline could do much worse than to look at Bongo’s as a means of attracting a new generation and securing the future of their respective hobbies for many years to come.