Little old ladies in slippers, playing for pennies and cents in a converted community hall is no longer the reality of bingo. The game has in recent years and now more than ever undergone a rebirth in its popularity and status and now looks set to boom in the coming years.

In the UK alone, bingo comprises a total annual stake of around £1.1 billion. It’s now big business and not just for the bingo halls. Customs and Excise collect around £115 million in duty incurred by bingo each year.

However, the sun has not always shone on the bingo industry. In 1974, the game seemed to hit its peak in popularity. It was widely seen as a cheap and cheerful way to provide mass entertainment. However, the advent of television seemed to cripple the game and its popularity fell dramatically until the end of the 90s. Yet for all the doom and gloom, the trend seems to be rising again. Numbers are holding and profits are increasing.

This new surge of popularity has been partly due to the vigorous marketing campaigns as executed by the bingo companies. Television and literature campaigns for bingo are now being promoted in Europe and companies are attempting to reinvigorate the game buy adapting and modernising some of the antiquated lingo that seemed to keep it stuck to its past - 21, the Key to the door, lucky legs 11, etc.

Bill Clinton, Elle MacPherson, Damon Hill and Jade Jagger are all regular players of the game and no doubt have contributed to its popularity and rebirth. Many however disagree. To avid players, it is not the glitz and glamour of the game that is so appealing; it is rather the warm, social aspect that seems to fire the hearts of bingo players around the world. For regular players, it is a safe opportunity to socialise, have fun and experience the thrill of gambling whilst being surrounded and protected by a friendly atmosphere and a hopefully humorous bingo caller prevailing over all.

The UK’s Chancellor Gordon Brown’s recent proposition to cut the duty on bingo and replace it with a tax on the operator’s income has proved popular with players and investors alike. The investment bank Lehman Brothers claim that this duty removal would increase bingo profits by 30%.

However, for all the celebrity icons and national edicts proclaimed on the game, what is undeniable is that worldwide the appeal of bingo does seem to be most prevalent amongst working class, single females. What is also interesting to note is that the bingo promoters themselves are not too interested in marketing the game to those who fall out of this category. Quality and not quantity seems to be the name of the game as far as