Is Bingo Doomed ?
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| Bingo Cards ©mamulcahy |
Bingo hall closures are now running at the rate of one a month. But Bingo is not going to go down without a fight.
That other great british social institution. The Pub, went the way of the dodo some time ago. It just hasn't been buried yet.
In January 2014 the Uk Government reduced the tax on Bingo halls to give them a chance at competing with their online competitors, but it may be too little too late.
They are falling like ninepins and taking down other businesses in the process.
Loss to related businesses:-
- Bingo Card manufacturers
- Alcohol & Beverages
- Food & Consumables
- Reduced taxi and bus trade
E-cigarettes came too late.
Remember just a few years ago e-cigarettes or vaping, were not widely available.
These alternative nicotine delivery systems may have saved the traditional bingo halls.
The astronomical growth rates of social gaming sites indicate that people still like to gamble.
The online game is very different. There is precious little in terms of 'social interaction'.
Something important has been lost here and nobody bothered to ask the players how they feel about it. The game has become just another anodyne app of your smartphone.
Who Really Cares?
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| Bingo Hall ©mamulcahy |
These older players are the last vestiges of the once massive crowds that would attend on a regular basis.
These die-hard fans are keeping many Bingo halls operating. For how much longer is another question.
How has this simple game managed to survive for over 2000 years no matter what the world throws at it.
Social Gaming. The odd thing is that this most social of all games, is now attempting to recreate a virtual social experience. It hasn't succeeded...yet.
The game has moved online and these changes have happened very fast. Whether it will be enjoyed as much as the real world game is another issue.
A more interesting question is 'What effect has this online move had on the social lives of the players?
History of the game.
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| Bingo is Social ©mamulcahy |
It is generally accepted that the game has it's origins in the Italian game Lo Giuoco del Lotto d'Italia the literal translation of which is.
'The Game of Lotto in Italy' according to the Google translator. A more accurate translation is:-
The Game of Lots as played in Italy. As we know lots were cast by Roman soldiers for the clothes of Jesus Christ below the cross.
This tells us lotto history is well over 2000 years old.
The modern game developed after the unification of Italy. Circa 1530's AD.
For years the game was played in church halls and community centres, only later becoming big business with huge theaters built to host these popular games.
What is often overlooked by the non player, are the 'social aspects' of this game.
Many people would meet family members or friends in these smoke filled halls and spend the afternoon or evening playing this game.
What many non players may not fully understand, is that many people are just happy to be in each others company. The act of, or effort to make conversation was not necessary. Just to be together was enough.
Anita sings 'To Sir With Love'
Sisters Anita, Lesley and Linda had a great time after bingo at the club's karaoke session. The sisters rarely drink alcohol but do enjoy singing. Anita stated that the smoking ban should be applied to alcohol as well.
" why do they have bars in airports, where people can get drunk and then cause problems for everyone and yet smokers are treated like lepers and forced to stand outside? "
Changing Social Behavior
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| Smokers banished to the back yard ©mamulcahy |
The smokers are banished to a covered area outside of the hall. These covered areas are filled with gambling machines.
Which in effect has increased the footprint of the gambling establishment. It hasn't helped to keep the players who still smoke.
The Online Game
Mostly played from home and solitary. It seems like anyone with a little finance and a few basic web design skills can set up a profitable gambling website? There are 1000's of them already!
While online games allow people from all over the world to have a shared experience and meet new people. What impact has this had on the traditional experience?
It is becoming clear that most people do not in fact travel very far outside of their own sphere of country, friends and relatives. Many people create online versions of our own limited experience.
Online Bingo some facts.
The online industry is working very hard to be seen as a social gaming activity. If you ask people that play online, they will tell you that, in many cases they do not consider it, as a form of gambling. There is a disconnect between what they are doing, and what they think they are doing.
The opportunity to meet friends and family, was always the real driving force behind traditional halls. They formed an integral part of the community.
The online game is trying to replicate this aspect but not very successfully... yet.
Anecdotal evidence suggests that the game has lost a lot of it's attraction. Online you are playing with strangers.
So the social dimension and dynamic has changed. One of the key reasons for 'going' to play, was to see and be with family and friends.
The online game can offer this facility, but it has been slow to extend or exploit this feature of the experience. Many people still attend the local church game, where the 'prizes' can be anything from a tin of beans to a packet of biscuits.
These games are obviously purely for the social dimensions that the game brings to the group. All profits from these church games, usually go into a fund, for the benefit of the club members.
The Social Gaming Aspects will determine success or failure.
The true test will be time. People have adapted to this solitary version of the game. Many online gambling companies, are now offering to set you up as your own gambling website.
You get the site and all your friends and family sign up to your site and so you form a little network. Where you can use the chat functions and talk to your friends and family.
These small networks are aggregated to other little networks and suddenly you are playing with 1000's of other players regionally, nationally or even globally.
Some could see this as a cynical ploy to get people playing while another view could be that the website owners have realized, like every other big player on the net.
It's all about the 'social'.
The history of bingo tell's us one thing. It is a survivor, it adapts to survive. No social, no future.
Bingo's last call.
It can be argued that the social aspects of this group game will never be replicated on the web. Indeed, if you have ever been to a social club, and listened to the banter between the staff, the caller and the players you will know that this was a totally social game.
The cheeky chirps and double entendres, fly thick and fast. It is a totally social experience with the added thrill that you may win anything from a tin of beans, a day trip to the seaside or some cash.
Whether people win or not is missing the point. They had fun and they saw their family and friends, maybe for the only time that week, what with the busy lives everyone has these days.
Technological change is almost always inevitable, but with those changes sometimes we lose something precious. This simple game has it's last bastion, in the place where it started. The churches and community halls.
The history of bingo has seen many changes.
The smoking ban will not affect these places and they will never adopt the web based game, as it has nothing to do with the reason that the game is played and enjoyed.
The reason is simple. It is for people to get together, have some fun and maybe win a tin of beans.
In a recent poll. Real players were asked..
Do you think online bingo will succeed?
58% Yes 8% No 33% Only For Die Hard Gamblers.
That's a massive 92% of existing real players that see no future for the hall game.
Smoking bans will kill of the real game in time, but it has evolved an online variant.
There is a lesson here for us all.
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