Let’s face it; bingo is hardly going to arouse a thrill-seeker into taking it up in attraction to its high risk stakes. Over sixties, playing bingo in a community hall does not seem to register with the seedy possibilities of a stake-out associated with poker for example. But do not be fooled. There are hazards to the game of bingo and whilst they may be small and hardly worth deterring a player who enjoys the game socially and for fun, it may be interesting to know that there have been concerns over the game.

The UK’s National Bingo Game Association recently announced that according to their study, people who have stressful careers tend to be more stressed and worked up when playing bingo than they are when dealing with stressful situations at their work. The result suggests that even people who are capable of dealing in highly stressful situations cannot resist the stress that a highly charged game of bingo can cause. It is the anxiety of being so close to winning that can drive people’s excitement higher and higher and therefore their disappointment is greater and greater if they lose. You think that you have just one number left, you must be so close now and it is easy to lose sight of the fact that by this stage there are probably quite a few others in the exact same position as you are.

More worrying than the stress however is the violence that has been associated with bingo. Although rare, cases have occurred and because a high percentage of players tend to be single females, their vulnerability becomes very apparent. Many have pointed to online bingo as the solution but others say the risk is so small, it is hardly worth losing the social aspect of the game and open oneself to the risk of compulsive play on the internet.

A woman who won thousands playing bingo was recently shot in the stomach after refusing to hand money over to her assailants. The 39 year old won almost $6000 near to West Palm Beach. Upon refusing to hand over her money, she was shot through the window of her car. Luckily she survived and was later treated in hospital, but the incident has prompted many to raise their voices over the concerns of gamblers leaving casinos or gambling halls with large