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Photos: Glaswegians’ love for the game endures in Britain’s bingo capital

Historically beloved by British grandmothers, Bingo sees players win payouts if they match sets of numbers between one and 90 announced by a caller -- traditionally shouting "bingo!" when they mark off all their numbers. Unlike other gambling games, bingo tends to attract more women than men. In British cities -- Glasgow in particular -- bingo has also been strongly associated with the working class, often handed down from one generation to the next.

Updated on: Sep 20, 2019 11:13 AM IST

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Most nights of the week, Margaret Fisher can be found sitting in the same seat in the same Glasgow bingo club she has been frequenting for nearly 25 years. “All my friends have been playing forever -- I’ve not really spoken to anybody who’s never been in a bingo hall,” the 70-year-old Glasgow resident told AFP, easing into a game in the bingo-loving city. (Andy Buchanan / AFP)

Updated on Sep 20, 2019 11:13 AM

Most nights of the week, Margaret Fisher can be found sitting in the same seat in the same Glasgow bingo club she has been frequenting for nearly 25 years. “All my friends have been playing forever -- I’ve not really spoken to anybody who’s never been in a bingo hall,” the 70-year-old Glasgow resident told AFP, easing into a game in the bingo-loving city. (Andy Buchanan / AFP)

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“I’m not a gambler but I do like bingo... the atmosphere and the adrenalin rush when you’re playing.”You meet friends, have a good time and it gets you out and about,” Fisher said, shortly after paying £5 ($6) entry to take her regular spot next to the lucky charm-laden table of her friend Tina. Fisher said that she once scooped £2,000 in prize money. But normally players here can hope to win up to £1,000 at Sunday night games. (Andy Buchanan / AFP)

Updated on Sep 20, 2019 11:13 AM

“I’m not a gambler but I do like bingo... the atmosphere and the adrenalin rush when you’re playing.”You meet friends, have a good time and it gets you out and about,” Fisher said, shortly after paying £5 ($6) entry to take her regular spot next to the lucky charm-laden table of her friend Tina. Fisher said that she once scooped £2,000 in prize money. But normally players here can hope to win up to £1,000 at Sunday night games. (Andy Buchanan / AFP)

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Updated on Sep 20, 2019 11:13 AM

Customers play bingo at the MECCA Bingo Hall. “My mum went with her gran, and then as soon as I was old enough she was like ‘you’re coming to bingo!’” said 22-year-old Nicole Croly, also at the gargantuan club, run by gaming brand Mecca, in the city’s gritty East End. “I’ve just been hooked on it ever since.” (Andy Buchanan / AFP)

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Customers face off during a run. Bingo is believed to have originated in Italy in the 16th century, spreading to other countries and beyond over the centuries. It had its heyday in Britain in the 1960s but its popularity continues in places, none more so than in Glasgow. At least 14 clubs remain across Scotland’s biggest city and its suburbs, more than anywhere else in Britain, according to The Bingo Association. (Andy Buchanan / AFP)

Updated on Sep 20, 2019 11:13 AM

Customers face off during a run. Bingo is believed to have originated in Italy in the 16th century, spreading to other countries and beyond over the centuries. It had its heyday in Britain in the 1960s but its popularity continues in places, none more so than in Glasgow. At least 14 clubs remain across Scotland’s biggest city and its suburbs, more than anywhere else in Britain, according to The Bingo Association. (Andy Buchanan / AFP)

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The number was at least twice that however in the 1980s, albeit smaller venues. “We’re quite happy to say they invented it but we own it,” said Paul McGlinchey, who manages the 1,500-seat club -- the country’s biggest by capacity. “There’s no doubt about it: Glasgow loves its bingo,” he added, as around 500 players, predominantly older women, filled row after row of brightly coloured seats and tables. (Andy Buchanan / AFP)

Updated on Sep 20, 2019 11:13 AM

The number was at least twice that however in the 1980s, albeit smaller venues. “We’re quite happy to say they invented it but we own it,” said Paul McGlinchey, who manages the 1,500-seat club -- the country’s biggest by capacity. “There’s no doubt about it: Glasgow loves its bingo,” he added, as around 500 players, predominantly older women, filled row after row of brightly coloured seats and tables. (Andy Buchanan / AFP)

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McGlinchey said the enduring communities around the bingo clubs, despite an increasingly mobile population elsewhere in Britain, had kept bingo “in the DNA” of the city. Locals put its popularity down to the fun-loving and sociable nature of Glaswegians. (Andy Buchanan / AFP)

Updated on Sep 20, 2019 11:13 AM

McGlinchey said the enduring communities around the bingo clubs, despite an increasingly mobile population elsewhere in Britain, had kept bingo “in the DNA” of the city. Locals put its popularity down to the fun-loving and sociable nature of Glaswegians. (Andy Buchanan / AFP)

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The infectiously jovial manager keeps up with everything from customers’ hip operations to wedding anniversaries. “I know everything like that. That’s my job to know that,” he added. “It’s like a soap opera every day in here -- the things you hear!” (Andy Buchanan / AFP)

Updated on Sep 20, 2019 11:13 AM

The infectiously jovial manager keeps up with everything from customers’ hip operations to wedding anniversaries. “I know everything like that. That’s my job to know that,” he added. “It’s like a soap opera every day in here -- the things you hear!” (Andy Buchanan / AFP)

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Mecca has shed some of the traditional strictures of the game, such as maintaining absolute silence when numbers are being called out by offering sections in which people can chat whilst playing. It has also embraced technology, offering digital pads to play on instead of traditional paper number books, and staging pop music-fuelled nights aimed at a younger clientele. (Andy Buchanan / AFP)

Updated on Sep 20, 2019 11:13 AM

Mecca has shed some of the traditional strictures of the game, such as maintaining absolute silence when numbers are being called out by offering sections in which people can chat whilst playing. It has also embraced technology, offering digital pads to play on instead of traditional paper number books, and staging pop music-fuelled nights aimed at a younger clientele. (Andy Buchanan / AFP)

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Across town at a trendy converted industrial space on the banks of the River Clyde -- once famous for its mighty shipbuilding -- a new iteration of the game has abandoned almost all its usual etiquettes. “Bongo’s Bingo”, played in a nightclub-style setting enlivened by music, alcohol and plenty of sexual innuendos from the hosts, is attracting the Friday night party crowd. (Andy Buchanan / AFP)

Updated on Sep 20, 2019 11:13 AM

Across town at a trendy converted industrial space on the banks of the River Clyde -- once famous for its mighty shipbuilding -- a new iteration of the game has abandoned almost all its usual etiquettes. “Bongo’s Bingo”, played in a nightclub-style setting enlivened by music, alcohol and plenty of sexual innuendos from the hosts, is attracting the Friday night party crowd. (Andy Buchanan / AFP)

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Launched in Liverpool in 2015 and since introduced in other British cities as well as internationally, Bongo’s has proved particularly popular in Glasgow -- where it now sells out weekly to 700 customers. Rich Kelly, 33, a former drama teacher from Birmingham, was calling the numbers and Dj’ing. (Andy Buchanan / AFP)

Updated on Sep 20, 2019 11:13 AM

Launched in Liverpool in 2015 and since introduced in other British cities as well as internationally, Bongo’s has proved particularly popular in Glasgow -- where it now sells out weekly to 700 customers. Rich Kelly, 33, a former drama teacher from Birmingham, was calling the numbers and Dj’ing. (Andy Buchanan / AFP)

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Customers play bingo at the 'Bongo's Bingo' event in Glasgow, Scotland. Flanked by two male colleagues dressed in drag, Kelly handed out prizes including cash, liquor and a cardboard cutout of a daytime TV personality, as the crowd danced to occasional blasts of cheesy pop hits. (Andy Buchanan / AFP)

Updated on Sep 20, 2019 11:13 AM

Customers play bingo at the 'Bongo's Bingo' event in Glasgow, Scotland. Flanked by two male colleagues dressed in drag, Kelly handed out prizes including cash, liquor and a cardboard cutout of a daytime TV personality, as the crowd danced to occasional blasts of cheesy pop hits. (Andy Buchanan / AFP)

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Customers celebrate at the 'Bongo's Bingo' event in Glasgow. Lyn Lappin, at 51 one of the oldest in attendance and usually a player at a more traditional venue, had ventured down with work colleagues. “I love it... It’s absolutely magic!” she said, drink in hand, joining in a raucous rendition of Neil Diamond’s “Sweet Caroline” during a break from the numbers. (Andy Buchanan / AFP)

Updated on Sep 20, 2019 11:13 AM

Customers celebrate at the 'Bongo's Bingo' event in Glasgow. Lyn Lappin, at 51 one of the oldest in attendance and usually a player at a more traditional venue, had ventured down with work colleagues. “I love it... It’s absolutely magic!” she said, drink in hand, joining in a raucous rendition of Neil Diamond’s “Sweet Caroline” during a break from the numbers. (Andy Buchanan / AFP)

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