Mecca are one of the biggest chains

Bingo makes it big

The Gaming Act of 1960 meant that betting games could only be played in members-only establishments.

The following year Eric Morley, of Miss World fame, began to popularise bingo across the UK.

Also, the popularity of TV meant that many theatres, cinemas and dancehalls were sitting empty.

It was a master stroke to use these locations for bingo - instantly giving the game an air of glamour and fun.

The new bingo halls were luxurious and dramatic, rather than simply pull balls from a bag, they installed glass cabinets filled with numbered balls.

The calling itself became a key feature, with famous phrases such as 'two fat ladies' entering the vocabulary.

By the 1980's many purpose-built bingo halls had sprung up across the UK.

Ten things you didn't know about bingo...

1. More than 3 million people regularly play bingo in the UK.
2. There are 688 bingo clubs in Britain, pulling in over £1.1billion annually.
3. 8% of the population play bingo.
4. The total weekly pay-out on the National Bingo Game is now more than £1 million.
5. In the 1800's a Lotto game similar to Bingo was used as an educational tool to teach German children multiplication tables.
6. Physical exercise will tone up the body, but the game of bingo enhances the player's mental speed, observation skills and memory.
7. Bing Crosby's nickname as a child was "Bingo".
8. Screeno, a form of bingo, was played in movie theatres during the depression.
9. Ninety-six percent of bingo players have won at some point while playing.
10. There are 1,474,200 unique bingo cards possible.

Published 25th January 2007