How did you first get into bingo?
Perhaps a friend invited you to a local bingo hall, or maybe you’ve been going for decades ever since you fell in love with the game after your Mum first dragged you along as a reluctant 19 year old.
You could be a more recent bingo convert who discovered the game online and has since explored the world of real-life bingo.
Whatever the story behind your bingo bond, I bet it didn’t start with a live streamed game hosted by a presenter on a screen, did it?
Chances are you’ve not a clue what I’m taking about, but live streamed bingo is definitely a thing, and it seems to be growing too.
I’ll explain all about it in this article, and now you know it exists, you might even notice that it’s available in your local area.
What is Live Streamed Bingo?
You’ve probably noticed that bingo halls have been closing down left right and centre since covid, and the country wasn’t exactly awash with them in the first place.
You will be horrified to learn that there are some regions without a single bingo hall at all. I know! What do people do of an evening?
Well, although there might be a lot of bingo fans out there without a bingo hall within a commutable distance, there is probably an Adult Gaming Centre or something similar closer by.
You know the sort of place I mean, like an Admirals, a Merkur Slots, or a Nobles Amusements.
Well, many of these are now offering bingo as well, but not the sort of bingo you might be used to.
It’s not online bingo or automated bingo, nor is there a bingo caller as such, but it is certainly live bingo and there is a human being announcing the numbers as they come up.
This is live streamed bingo, bridging the gap between online and real-life bingo as a sort of hybrid of the two.
Players can take a seat (or standing position depending on the type of terminal) wherever the game is available, and start playing as soon as the next game begins – they can even take part in the National Game so there is the possibility of winning £50k every day.
Some venues have their own special areas for the bingo, while others have bingo terminals where players can join in and play (so these would be standing games or perching games where stools are available), so the social aspect can vary between venues.
You play for as little or as long as you want, solo or with a few friends, and you can interact with the presenters too, so it has elements of the real thing despite being a digital game. It’s much closer to real bingo than online bingo websites can manage, but like everything it has its pros and cons.
The main benefits include:
- Excellent size prizes
- Don’t have to commit to a full 3-hour bingo session
- Still get access to the National Game
- Games are available whenever you want to play
- Play a single game or stay for longer
- Increases bingo availability to people without a bingo hall nearby
- Much more relaxed than a bingo hall (you can talk, for example)
There are a few different companies doing this now, one of which I will cover below as an example, but bigger companies like Buzz are doing their own versions, although this would only be available either in their clubs or from their website.
I would expect to see this particular niche of the bingo industry continue to grow though; they have a good business model that allows people to settle in for a solid session or nip in for a few games on their way home, and the money that can be won rivals the bingo halls so there is no compromise for the players in that regard.
How Do You Play Live Streamed Bingo?
The thing to understand with live streamed bingo, is that you are playing against other people all around the country who have joined the same game you have.
Actually, playing bingo in this way is incredibly easy too, so even a person with very little experience in bingo or any other sort of casino game would be able to manage it.
There are two ways to play live streamed bingo, but only one really applies to this article:
- From a terminal in a venue that offers live streamed bingo
- From a website on your computer or mobile device
You will need to sign up and log in to your account in order to play online at home, but when it comes to using the terminals in venues, you can either use cash, or use the tickets that print out showing your balance with a sort of barcode.
In this way, the machine knows how much you have to spend, keeps track of any winnings, and when you want to stop, gives out a new ticket with the new total on it.
It’s just like in a casino, and it’s great because it means you can carry your balance around with you safely and transfer it to other games if you want a change, or save it for later if you have things to do.
The terminals themselves might be mounted on tables with chairs, or they might be at standing height, but either way, you just have to use the touchscreen to buy tickets and watch the balls being drawn and the numbers being marked off, and you can use the touchscreen keyboard to send messages to the presenters as well.
The most important button though, is the ‘Claim’ button, which you obviously only press if you get a winning line or a full house.
The games run automatically so if you’re not quite ready when a game starts don’t worry, any tickets you buy will register for the next game instead.
Bingo Plus: A Live Stream Digital Bingo Company
Bingo Plus is one of the bigger companies creating these digital live streamed bingo games.
A Hull based tech company with their own software and filming studio, they run bingo from 10am to 11pm, with one of several presenters hosting the games and chatting with players throughout.
The games they play are a combination of 50 ball, 75 ball, 80 ball, and 90 ball variations, and throughout the day jackpot games start every 15 minutes – that’s 4 per hour and 52 per day!
The tickets cost either 25p or £1 depending on the game being played, and they run continuously, so if you need to sit a few rounds out you won’t have to hang around for ages waiting for a new game to start.
Their bingo games are available at over 170 venues across the country, from caravan parks and seaside arcades to slot casinos in town centres and even bingo halls.
Like most bingo businesses, the presenters (or callers if you prefer to call them that) are the key to keeping people coming back to play again. It’s their energy and warmth that people enjoy just as much as the bingo, so regular players can really get to know them, and many have their favourites too – just like in a regular bingo hall.
The presenters work from a green screen studio, so when players look at the live streams, they see the presenters doing their thing, but the background is digital showing the bingo cards and bingo balls being drawn etc.
They often dress up for special occasions and enjoy fooling around for the entertainment of their players, and generally creating a fun atmosphere for everybody.
This is just one example of a bingo streaming company, but anyone else who provides a similar service will do things in a similar way, especially when it comes to their presenters – no one would want to play if they didn’t make it fun.