Full house at bingo halls throughout Manchester following resurgence for the game

VIVA Team | 11th October 2018

 

Bingo is enjoying something of a revival in Manchester. The game never really went away, having been one of the nation’s most popular means of entertainment for decades. Yet there has been a definite resurgence for the game over the past few years, with the rebranding of old clubs and the introduction of new clubs ensuring that bingo is hitting new heights of popularity.

 

Buzz Bingo are arguably driving the revival of bingo in Manchester, with the company having undergone a period of transition of its own. A two-year £40 million investment plan seen its halls rebranded in an effort to appeal to all types of bingo player.

 

The archetypal bingo player is often perceived as someone of an older generation, but this image has been eroded in recent years. In 2016, one bingo executive told the BBC that students account for 20% of players. With 45 million visitors heading to bingo halls in the United Kingdom in 2016, that’s a substantial population of younger people taking up the game.

 

Greater Manchester has three locations situated across the city. Salford and Harpurhey both accommodate a Buzz Bingo club, while the Buzz Bingo venue in Belle Vue is one of the area’s leading sources of entertainment.

 

Inside Buzz Bingo Hall, Salford

 

Perhaps somewhat counter-intuitively, an important part of the development of bingo halls is the addition of activities other than bingo. The slot games available at Buzz Bingo clubs ensures that players have the option to diversify their experience.

 

The game has had to overcome some difficult obstacles in the past couple of decades. Reports in media reveals how the rise of the national lottery and scratch cards have provided tests for the popularity of bingo, but the game has emerged out of the other side of a tough period.

 

The adage ‘what doesn’t kill you only makes it stronger’ certainly applies to the health of the bingo industry in this country. By adapting to new challenges, British bingo is now able to cater for a 2018 audience while retaining the core qualities that made the game so popular upon its original development.

 

Not in Manchester? Then there are 124 Buzz Bingo sites across the country that cater for a clientele of around 1.1 million people, definitive proof that bingo is not dead.

The revival of bingo in Manchester extends beyond conventional bingo clubs though.

 

The club night known as Bongo’s Bingo shakes up Manchester’s Albert Hall on dates in October and November.

 

Bongo’s Bingo at Albert Hall, Manchester

 

This merging of dancing, music and bingo makes for a unique, albeit chaotic, gaming experience. This type of night is aiming for a younger audience, although the younger audience seems already happy with the traditional bingo experience as well.

 

This is reflected in the game’s popularity, with reports that bingo had usurped tennis to become the UK’s sixth most popular sport/game.

 

With the strong presence of bingo clubs in Manchester, bingo is very much alive and kicking!