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00:00It's the early 1960s and Britain is in the midst of a new obsession.
00:22Thousands are queuing on high streets up and down the country to take part in a growing craze.
00:26It was a game that anyone could play and it was sweeping the nation.
00:32It made pulses race.
00:38Some people couldn't get enough.
00:46Bingo allowed somebody to come home with £100, £200 in their pocket, which would be unbelievable,
00:52because in those days £200 was a lot of money.
00:54The prizes were not just cash, the prizes were designed to be glamorous.
00:58So we had cruises in the Mediterranean, to Monte Carlo, in Biarritz.
01:04Whether they won or not, Bingo had the power to keep them coming back for more.
01:10Did you win this afternoon?
01:11I did, yes, twice.
01:12Did you enjoy the session?
01:13Very much, thank you.
01:14Did you win?
01:14Yes, ten shillings.
01:15The boom seemed to arrive out of nowhere, but it packed out cinemas and theatres across the land,
01:22much to the delight of a new breed of entrepreneur.
01:25The Bingo Hall became the place.
01:28Cheap, easy, friendly, they felt there was somebody.
01:33But not everyone was amused.
01:35Well, we don't like these posters put all round our beautiful old theatre.
01:41The attraction of the game bewildered some.
01:43Wouldn't you rather be doing something else?
01:45Such as?
01:47And brought out class snobbery in others.
01:50Bingo.
01:51The most mindless ritual achieved in half a million years of human evolution.
01:55Few saw the explosion coming, not least the government, whose liberalising of the gaming laws had inadvertently created Bingo Mania.
02:06But it couldn't have come along at a better time.
02:09It brought communities together when they needed it most, and in its own small way, liberated the lives of many women.
02:17The 1960s had created the perfect storm for a Bingo Bonanza.
02:23Eyes down, full house.
02:25Time for fun.
02:2741.
02:29House!
02:41It's one of the most popular pastimes in the UK.
02:44More people play than watch professional football.
02:48And Bingo attendances are higher than those for any British church.
02:52It's fantastic.
02:54Adrenaline rush.
02:55You know, are you filming me?
02:57No, we're filming too.
02:58Well, when we get nearly aligned, my heart starts going and you think, oh, come on, pull it out, pull it out, you know, I'm really excited.
03:04Oh, it's nervous, you're shaking, the adrenaline's going.
03:09Yeah, we've had that quite a bit tonight, haven't we?
03:10Today the game is big business with billions at stake.
03:14But all this would have been unimaginable back at a time when gambling was illegal, and bingo was a simple number game more commonly known as housey-housey, lotto, or tombola.
03:26At the beginning, number one.
03:28It was a popular form of entertainment for the troops in the first and second world wars.
03:34And as it was illegal to play for money, the prizes were instead practical items like boot polish and hair cream.
03:42Jack Tower indulges in the one gambling game permitted in the Navy, tombola.
03:47It was a very easy form of entertainment.
03:52You didn't need to carry a lot of apparatus.
03:55You didn't need to carry a big, quickly and tell to operate it.
03:59The army could carry it in a briefcase or the cards.
04:04They called it housey-housey or lotto.
04:07And the army could take it all over the world.
04:10And they played it on the desert.
04:11They played it in the jungle.
04:13It was something they could do anywhere.
04:15It took the mind of the person away from what's happening in the world.
04:22Because once you start playing bingo, you concentrate.
04:27Eyes down for the full out.
04:29Two ducks.
04:3022.
04:31It was in the forces where an important aspect of the game that we're all familiar with,
04:35whether we've played bingo or not, has its roots.
04:39Private mine, bright mine.
04:41The calls initially came from the army and the navy.
04:44All the fours, droopy jaws.
04:47In those days, it was important to get some fun into it.
04:51So you didn't say number nine.
04:52You said, doctor's orders, number nine.
04:56Number nine was the nickname of a laxative pill issued by the Royal Navy.
05:0166, and it was two fat whacks.
05:04Well, a whack was a lady in the army.
05:07And there were often the jokes about them being very bonny in their uniforms.
05:10And so we'd say two fat whacks.
05:13And so, yeah, the calls do reflect the rather coarse humour of groups of men cooped up together.
05:19Lee, 11.
05:21I like seven and six.
05:23What's your worth it?
05:25Seven and six.
05:26I've heard several versions of this one from various elderly gentlemen in various Royal Naval Clubs and Royal British Legion Clubs.
05:36So, seven and six, what's your worth it?
05:38Some of them say it was a price of a marriage licence.
05:41And the call back, especially if your wife is next to you, is, of course she is, or look, she's still here, we're still together.
05:47So the people call back with that article.
05:49Another one, another explanation I've heard was, well, if there's two of you going out, if you've picked up a nice girl to take out,
05:55then you want two and six for two cinema tickets, because they're one and three each.
05:59You want two and six for two nice fish and chips suppers and two and six for bed and breakfast.
06:03I don't know how true that is, but I have had that one also told me several times.
06:07This ingenuity and injection of humour helped make bingo so popular with the troops that the game quickly spread.
06:16First of all, to the ex-servicemen's clubs, and then to the holiday camps that were springing up all over post-war Britain.
06:26Where it became a staple alongside the knobbly knees competition and beauty contests.
06:33One of the main entertainments at the holiday camps was Tombola.
06:37Now this is not a secondary or subsidiary activity.
06:41For example, marquees were put up that could hold 300 players, and then two sessions a day would run for three hours each.
06:47So we're not talking about something that was a minor part of a holiday camp holiday.
06:52Hello everyone, this is Beryl, your radio button announcer.
06:57I did go to Pontins near Morecambe, and honestly it was just like a prisoner of war camp, really.
07:05Nobody around, then somebody announced there'd be bingo in the hall in five minutes, and everybody depouches from their rooms to the hall.
07:16If your idea of a good holiday is bingo from 10.30 in the morning until 10.30 at night, then Crackton is a dream come true.
07:24Every day, including Sundays, the faithful are called to play.
07:27The holiday camp companies couldn't profit from bingo. That was illegal, they weren't allowed to do that.
07:34So most of the proceeds had to go to charity.
07:37And Butlins alone was donating £50,000 a year from its Tombola Games to charity in the 1950s.
07:44Bingo, bingo, I belong.
07:47So it was very popular there. It was also popular at seaside resorts and in fairgrounds.
07:51We have some lovely accounts of some Tombola Games, bingo games, at travelling fairgrounds,
07:58where the prizes would be bargy pots or boxes that appeared to be chocolates,
08:04but when you actually got into them, turned out to be nothing more than coconut and condensed milk and cocoa powder,
08:08and were quite revolting and tasted of sawdust.
08:11If you didn't gamble, you didn't do these things, you played bingo at the seaside.
08:21Fun game, a lot of pleasure, and it's still there today in the establishments around the coast of this country.
08:28Hundreds and hundreds of bingo units.
08:31For many people, fairground bingo is still very much part and parcel of the British seaside experience,
08:37and has remained virtually unchanged over the years.
08:41Oh, yeah, we've always come to Blackpool ever since we were born, you know.
08:45I'm only 21 now, like, you know.
08:48But, no, we've come to Blackpool for years, and we've always come here into this little bingo place.
08:54Wide six and seven, 67. Wide seven and nine, 79.
09:00Right, you pop your money in the slot, you get both your cards,
09:02and you're looking for a line down, across, diagonal, or one in each of your four corners.
09:07The caller calls the numbers, if you get a line, you either press your button or you shout house.
09:14You can then save your vouchers up for the bigger prizes,
09:18or you can just take a one-win prize off the front of the store.
09:20I've got a football money box, and a cupcake, cupcake money box.
09:32For my granddaughter, I've got these lollipops.
09:35I've got a fine plan, because I burnt the other one, so I've got them.
09:44For Katie, bingo is in the blood.
09:47The tradition has passed down through her family.
09:50My grandparents were in the fairground business, travelling.
09:54Came to Cleveland to settle down, and opened up Amusement Arcade and Bingo.
09:59And my parents have worked there all my life, though.
10:05That's all I can remember.
10:06And then we came up to Blackpool and opened up up here in 1984,
10:11and we've been here ever since.
10:14Jimmy Thomas, also descended from a fairground family,
10:18would go on to become one of the country's leading bingo operators.
10:21I started in the bingo business about 70 years ago.
10:26I was eight years old, and I had a lovely job.
10:29I carried a basket of balls around, a bingo,
10:33which the customer takes the ball,
10:36threw it into a box where there were numbers,
10:40and that selected the numbers.
10:42Bingo lingo had a particularly practical use
10:45when it came to fairground and seaside bingo.
10:47When you were on a fairground and you were playing bingo,
10:52sometimes it wasn't very busy.
10:54And the important thing was the skill of the man on the microphone
10:57to entertain.
10:59You were not just calling numbers.
11:01You were a performer.
11:03And so you wanted to slow it down,
11:06but still not bore them,
11:07but slow it down enough for more people to congregate round,
11:11ready for the next game.
11:13Who's seen this guy? Who's seen this?
11:16Although extremely popular,
11:18the fairground bingo games were skirting around
11:20what was acceptable under British law back in the 1950s.
11:24In a fairground, they're always played for prizes,
11:27never for money.
11:29That's why, if you like, it was tolerated.
11:31We called it prize bingo.
11:34Fairgrounds went to a town for two weeks.
11:37Local authorities took the decision
11:39on how to handle gambling,
11:41and they said,
11:43this is acceptable,
11:44it's fun,
11:45it's here for two weeks,
11:47it's a game of skill.
11:49And so they let it go.
11:52In any case,
11:53the powers that be
11:54were far more preoccupied
11:55with a different type of gambling.
11:57The big social scourge
11:59in that period
11:59was street betting.
12:01Everybody was worried about street betting.
12:03We don't like men loitering on street corners,
12:05placing bets.
12:05We don't like the people leaving work
12:08to go and place bets.
12:09Every single workplace
12:11had a bookie's runner.
12:12So street betting needed sorting out.
12:15Runaway rascals up against the law.
12:18Big changes were on the horizon.
12:21The Conservative government at the time
12:22proposed to legalise street betting
12:24after setting up a committee
12:26to investigate the state of gambling.
12:29When they were considering this new bill,
12:32they spent most of the time
12:34looking at street betting
12:36about 80-odd hours
12:37and they spent three hours
12:39looking at gaming
12:40because the Home Office assured
12:43the MPs that were considering it
12:45that gaming would not be profitable.
12:48So bingo definitely wasn't top
12:50of the Conservatives' agenda
12:51when they decided to go ahead
12:53with the 1960 Betting and Gaming Act.
12:55But by passing the bill,
12:57they legalised commercial bingo
12:59for the very first time.
13:01Key of the door, 21.
13:04It allowed gambling
13:06in licensed clubs
13:09with membership.
13:13Clubs were allowed
13:14to charge people an entrance fee
13:16and that's how they got their money.
13:18And then 90% of that
13:20went back in prizes
13:21and 10% went to the government.
13:24The Tories' intention
13:25was to bring bingo,
13:27something they regarded
13:27as a benign pastime,
13:29under control.
13:30But unwittingly,
13:31they had unleashed a whirlwind.
13:34By January the 3rd,
13:35you've got the first bingo club
13:36and by the end of January,
13:38you've got an explosion
13:39of bingo clubs.
13:40You shake my nerves
13:41and you rattle my brain.
13:44The doors flew open
13:45and bingo halls
13:46opened for business.
13:47Big business.
13:49In the early 60s,
13:54the bingo boom was huge.
13:55£100,000 a week
13:58is gambled
13:59in the big bingo clubs.
14:01Treasury did do
14:02a survey in 1963
14:03during which they established
14:05there were
14:0513,700,000 members
14:09of bingo clubs.
14:10So we're looking
14:10at a lot of bingo clubs.
14:13Definitely.
14:13Are you going to spend
14:14all your afternoons
14:15and evenings
14:15in here from now on?
14:16I wish we could do it
14:17every day.
14:18We'd love it.
14:18By 1966,
14:2024% of the population
14:21was playing bingo.
14:23So that's like
14:25almost a quarter
14:26of the population.
14:27Oh, I bet you're excited
14:28about this, aren't you?
14:29I'm so excited
14:30I could do
14:30with a drink of whiskey.
14:32What is it?
14:32£47?
14:33£47.
14:35Two shillies.
14:36If you want to.
14:36What are you going
14:37to sit through?
14:38Oh, to the last session.
14:39And again in the evening?
14:40Oh, definitely.
14:42Are you?
14:42You're a real addict now,
14:43are you?
14:43No.
14:44Straight balls of fire.
14:46Few could have foreseen
14:48just how quickly
14:49commercial bingo
14:50would take hold.
14:52But while the government
14:53may have misjudged
14:54its potential,
14:55others most definitely
14:57hadn't.
14:58Just behind the scenes,
14:59a host of entrepreneurs
15:00had been waiting
15:01to cash in
15:02once the new law
15:03was passed.
15:05They were quick
15:06off the blocks
15:06with one man in particular
15:08leading the pack.
15:09Eric Morley
15:10was really the central figure
15:11in the explosion
15:12of commercial bingo.
15:13Eric Morley
15:14was the driving force
15:15behind the mecca
15:16organisation.
15:18By the 1950s,
15:19the company
15:20was a big player
15:21in the booming
15:22post-war leisure market
15:23and their empire
15:24included dance halls,
15:26ice rinks,
15:26bowling alleys
15:27and picture houses.
15:29But by the 1960s,
15:31the cinema industry
15:33was in trouble.
15:35In the last ten years,
15:37box office takings
15:38have been halved
15:38while the number
15:39of admissions
15:40has fallen even more.
15:43The number of cinemas
15:44open has followed
15:45the same pattern.
15:47Cinema had once
15:48played a significant
15:49role in people's lives.
15:51Many went to the pictures
15:52several times a week,
15:53but the rise of television
15:55had enticed people
15:56back into their homes.
15:59Suddenly,
15:59people were staying
16:00at home
16:01to watch
16:01Julie Andrews
16:04on television
16:04or somebody.
16:05They didn't go
16:06to the cinema.
16:08And with that
16:08collective experience gone,
16:10a big void had opened up,
16:12not just in people's lives,
16:13but in town centres
16:14up and down the country.
16:16And cinema after cinema
16:18close.
16:19Cinema has very little use.
16:23It's a large shed
16:24in the middle of a town
16:25with nothing in it.
16:28This hit Mecca hard.
16:31Eric Morley,
16:32who'd run games in the army
16:34and who could see
16:35how big a draw
16:36it was in the holiday camps,
16:38knew that bingo
16:39was the answer.
16:42You know,
16:42he was very astute.
16:43He knew what the people wanted
16:44and he had his finger
16:45on the pulse
16:46of popular taste.
16:47He knew because of
16:48Butlins
16:48that bingo was popular.
16:51He knew he'd got
16:52these buildings
16:53and he put two and two together
16:54and he made a very,
16:56very successful
16:56four out of it.
16:58Morley was so convinced
16:59by the power of bingo
17:00that Mecca immediately started
17:02an aggressive expansion programme,
17:05buying up empty cinemas
17:06all over the country
17:08at rock-bottom prices.
17:11But he wasn't the only one.
17:13The fairground families
17:14also seized the opportunity.
17:16The showmen,
17:17with their knowledge of bingo,
17:18they'd been playing it
17:19on the fairgrounds
17:20for a long time
17:21and their bit of finesse,
17:23their bit of skill,
17:25entertaining,
17:26they were all,
17:27we as were,
17:28they were showmen.
17:28They enjoyed showing
17:30and they could then
17:31take the cinema,
17:33put the bingo into it.
17:35I remember actually building
17:36prized bingo units
17:38inside the cinema
17:39from the fairground
17:40and actually building them
17:42up inside
17:42and then building
17:43the bingo around it.
17:45So, you know,
17:46we moved in
17:47and with that knowledge
17:49of that,
17:50a bit of finesse
17:51of entertaining,
17:52they made a success
17:53of turning cinemas
17:55into bingo halls,
17:57thousands of them.
17:58In the monochrome world
17:59of early 60s Britain,
18:01the entrepreneurs
18:02managed to inject glamour
18:04back into the high street
18:05for ordinary people
18:06and they topped off
18:09the appeal
18:09by adding special
18:11celebrity appearances
18:12to the mix.
18:14Pat Phoenix,
18:15Elsie Tano,
18:16was on Coronation Street
18:17and used to come
18:18regularly to the bingo
18:19to present things for me.
18:21Something that had once
18:23been just a holiday
18:24pastime
18:25was now available
18:26every day of the week.
18:28But the game
18:29had changed.
18:31The days of cheap
18:32and cheerful prizes
18:33were gone.
18:34People were now playing
18:35for big money.
18:37With membership numbers
18:38rocketing,
18:39the clubs were able
18:39to offer ever more
18:41seductive prizes.
18:42They were glamorous places.
18:45The prizes were not
18:46just cash,
18:46the prizes were designed
18:47to be glamorous.
18:48So we had mink stoles,
18:50we had cruises
18:50in the Mediterranean
18:51to Monte Carlo,
18:53for example,
18:54or Biarritz.
18:54So these are holidays
18:55that you would see
18:57the jet set having
18:58at this time.
18:59The money prizes
19:00went up and up and up
19:01and the bigger the cash prize,
19:03the bigger attraction
19:04to your premises.
19:06No question about it.
19:08Money was gone
19:09and therefore
19:10it dominated.
19:12However,
19:13there was one casualty.
19:14In this new world
19:15of high stakes,
19:17bingo lingo
19:17no longer had a place.
19:19Five and nine,
19:2059.
19:23Seven and six,
19:2476.
19:25Now when you were playing
19:26for thousands of pounds,
19:28you can't make a mistake.
19:31So the numbers then
19:32had to be called
19:33precisely,
19:35clearly and correctly.
19:37So there was no argument
19:38that you had misled a number.
19:4149.
19:43On its own,
19:44number two.
19:46So if you like,
19:48money changed
19:48the way bingo was called.
19:51It's now
19:51a commercial game.
19:5344.
19:54All the fours,
19:5544.
19:56As soon as the game
19:57turned commercial,
19:58the comic halls disappeared,
20:00never to return
20:01to the big bingo halls.
20:02I think one of the misconceptions
20:04about bingo
20:05and the bingo caller
20:06is that
20:07people joke about,
20:10whereas what bingo players want
20:12is simply to hear the number
20:13very clearly
20:14because that is crucial.
20:16Bingo time.
20:18But something of the language
20:20survived
20:20and continued to evolve
20:22in social clubs
20:23and seaside bingo.
20:24One and six.
20:25Top of the shop,
20:349-0-90.
20:37We have bingo
20:37seven nights a week
20:38plus
20:39Sunday afternoon.
20:41One and six,
20:42sweet 16,
20:43holy card please.
20:44Bingo has always been
20:45part and partial
20:46a life,
20:48working man's life.
20:49On its own,
20:50number seven.
20:51I used to call
20:52bingo numbers out.
20:54Doctor's orders,
20:55number nine.
20:56Legs 11,
20:57that always gets a whistle
20:58or a tap on a glass.
21:00Those wonderful legs,
21:01hello.
21:02Thank you whistlers.
21:04Then anyway up,
21:05six and nine,
21:0669.
21:07Halfway there,
21:08four and five,
21:0945.
21:10Shut that door,
21:11number four.
21:13Dinky doo,
21:14number two.
21:16Check of cards,
21:1752.
21:19For the threes,
21:20dirty me.
21:22Kelly's eye,
21:23number one.
21:25Five and nine,
21:27the Breuten line.
21:30Today they remain
21:31so deeply embedded
21:33in popular culture
21:34that it would be
21:35impossible to grow up
21:36in Britain
21:36and not know
21:37a single bingo call.
21:39Getting plenty,
21:40number 20.
21:42The same modernising
21:44forces that ditched
21:45the traditional calls
21:46in the 60s
21:47were also at work
21:49taking the game
21:49in other new
21:50commercial directions
21:51as more and more people
21:53were getting on board.
21:56Four and one,
21:5741.
21:59Bingo trains
22:00are an absolutely
22:01awesome phenomena.
22:03Obviously excursions
22:04were popular
22:05in the 1960s,
22:06both by coach
22:07and by train,
22:08but bingo trains
22:10really caught
22:10the public imagination.
22:11The numbers were called
22:13and announced
22:14down the tannoy system
22:15and you had people
22:16wandering up and down
22:17to basically,
22:18if anybody shouted
22:18house,
22:19there was a person
22:19in each carriage
22:20who could check
22:22the numbers
22:22and make sure
22:23that,
22:23and they would go,
22:24for example,
22:24from London to Brighton,
22:26London to Margate,
22:28Manchester to Blackpool,
22:30anywhere where there's
22:30a seaside resort basically
22:31and a population
22:32to take them to it.
22:34Two and eight,
22:3528.
22:35The bingo explosion
22:39was not only
22:40a big money spinner
22:41for the main operators,
22:43it was also good news
22:44for a small
22:45Sunderland printing firm
22:46which produced
22:47the all-important
22:48bingo cards.
22:50The 60s
22:51were a massive period
22:53for us.
22:54We went from
22:55across staff,
22:5713 staff
22:58at the beginning
22:58of the 60s
22:59to the end
23:02of the 60s
23:03being the 70s
23:03around 500,
23:04so we really,
23:05really grew.
23:06We were starting
23:07to print bingo
23:08at exactly the time
23:09when commercial bingo
23:10became legal
23:11and we were
23:13one of,
23:14effectively,
23:15two major companies
23:16that were able
23:17to grow from that.
23:20All the collation
23:21was all done by hand
23:22and the speed
23:23of people's hands
23:24and the work
23:25they had to do
23:25and the volumes
23:26that we were delivering
23:27were massive.
23:30One of the reasons
23:31bingo took off
23:32as it did
23:32was because it was able
23:33to target
23:34the growing proportion
23:35of the population
23:36for whom the 60s
23:38were bringing
23:38new possibilities
23:39in the form
23:41of greater spending power.
23:42In 1962,
23:47the Guardian newspaper
23:49declared that a housewife's revolution
23:51had occurred
23:52after a government report
23:54had found that
23:54one in three married women
23:56were now working
23:57outside the home.
24:01Women had a discretionary income
24:03that they could spend.
24:04Now, they had already found
24:05they liked gambling
24:06on bingo
24:07when they went on holidays
24:08and look at this.
24:10We've got a bingo place
24:12opening up
24:12right in the centre of town.
24:14It's open in the afternoon.
24:15I've done my shift
24:15in the morning
24:16because a lot of women
24:17only work part-time.
24:18I can pop down the bingo
24:19for the afternoon
24:20before I go and collect
24:21the children from school
24:21at four o'clock.
24:23Often, they'd go
24:23from work to home,
24:25change,
24:25and then go to bingo.
24:27Two-thirds of the people
24:28playing in those days
24:29were women.
24:30Nobody knows
24:30how many bingo players
24:32there are,
24:32but it's not less
24:33than six million
24:34and probably nearer ten.
24:36Most of them are women.
24:38Most of them are regular.
24:39Many spend five pounds
24:40a week on the game.
24:42For them,
24:42the bingo session
24:43takes the place
24:43of both the music hall
24:45and the church.
24:46Women were also beginning
24:47to say,
24:49well, why can't I go out
24:50and have a bit of time
24:50on my own?
24:52You know,
24:52a lot of men,
24:54it was quite acceptable
24:55for them to go out
24:56to a football match,
24:57to go fishing,
24:58you know,
24:59do whatever,
25:00whereas women
25:00were perhaps beginning
25:02to be a bit assertive
25:03and saying,
25:03well, what about me?
25:05The thing you always forget,
25:06probably the only
25:07safe environment
25:08for a woman to go
25:09on her own.
25:11She could go there
25:12without accompanied
25:13by a man,
25:14accompanied by another woman,
25:16and she felt
25:16totally safe.
25:18The husband was happy
25:19to give her
25:20a couple of quid
25:21to go with
25:21because he knew
25:22she was in a total
25:24safe environment.
25:26She got nobody
25:26getting drunk
25:27and chatting her up,
25:28put it crudely.
25:30You know,
25:30there was nothing like that
25:31in a bingo hall.
25:32We sort of forget
25:33just how
25:34un-liberated women
25:35were.
25:36Yes, my husband's
25:37the boss
25:37and I have seven sons
25:39and I'd like them
25:40to take after the father.
25:42Because he's the boss,
25:43I mean,
25:44I have to ask his consent
25:45if I can go out
25:46to see friends.
25:47You know,
25:48women didn't go
25:48into pubs.
25:49They did have to get
25:50permission to go out
25:51without their husbands.
25:53They did have to
25:54prioritise the childcare.
25:56Opportunities were
25:57very limited.
25:58Even now,
25:59some women
26:00won't feel comfortable
26:01walking into a pub
26:02on their own.
26:03Whereas you can go
26:04to a bingo club
26:04on your own.
26:05And it's possibly,
26:07I can't think of many places
26:09where women would feel
26:10comfortable going
26:11on their own.
26:12I used to go
26:14every Sunday night.
26:16I used to leave
26:16the kids at home
26:17with my husband
26:18and, yeah,
26:19that was my escapism,
26:21really.
26:23I like coming
26:23because it's somewhere
26:24you can come
26:25on your own.
26:26Like, if you go
26:26in a pub
26:27and you're a woman
26:27and you're on your own
26:28and you just don't do it.
26:30Where you can come
26:31either with someone,
26:32with friends,
26:32or on your own box.
26:34Yeah, and no men
26:35want to come as well
26:35so it's really good.
26:37It's a great day out.
26:40It's a social day out.
26:41You know,
26:42you go there
26:43and you meet
26:43a lot of friends.
26:44I'm a single girl
26:45so I love to go
26:48because I've got
26:49a lot of friends there
26:50and they care for you.
26:53It's a caring place.
26:56But the sight
26:57of thousands of women
26:58queuing up
26:59for a flutter at bingo
27:00was more than many
27:01could bear
27:02back in the 60s.
27:06Almost as soon
27:07as the boom began,
27:08so too did the backlash.
27:11Some newspapers
27:13started denouncing bingo
27:14as a new
27:15and dangerous phenomenon.
27:19And columnists
27:21gleefully declared
27:22the birth of bingo orphans.
27:24We have in the Times
27:25an editorial
27:27that headlined
27:28this cretinous pastime.
27:30We have condemnation
27:32of the players
27:33as stupid,
27:34naive,
27:35ignorant.
27:36Have you ever gambled
27:37away all your
27:37housekeeping money?
27:38No, certainly not.
27:40There were stories
27:41about women
27:42supposedly frittering
27:44away their
27:44housekeeping money.
27:46There were stories
27:48about women
27:49neglecting their children.
27:51And some of that
27:52was the kind of thing
27:53that is often
27:54levelled at women
27:55anyway.
27:56The press reaction
27:57as you would expect
27:58them to,
27:59it was something
27:59they could sell
28:00papers on.
28:01If they find one child
28:02sitting outside a bingo
28:03hall,
28:03they could have
28:04him on the front page.
28:06The fact the child
28:07was just passing
28:07the bingo hall
28:08didn't really matter.
28:09The disdain
28:10wasn't just reserved
28:11for women.
28:12Bingo in general
28:14became a target
28:14of chattering
28:15class scorn.
28:17Bingo.
28:18The most mindless
28:19ritual achieved
28:20in half a million
28:21years of human
28:22evolution.
28:23There is a lot
28:23of snobbery around
28:24and quite a lot
28:25of hypocrisy
28:26and the usual
28:28elitism around
28:29anything that
28:30working class
28:30people enjoy.
28:32How often do you
28:33come in?
28:33Twice a week.
28:34That's every week?
28:35That's every week.
28:36How much money
28:37do you spend here?
28:38On the average
28:38about 30, Bob.
28:40Have you got any
28:40children at home?
28:41All married.
28:43So you've got no
28:43family problems?
28:44No family problems.
28:46Wouldn't you rather
28:46be doing something
28:47else?
28:48Such as?
28:49I'd say on an
28:50evening like this,
28:51walking, cycling,
28:52there are all sorts
28:53of...
28:53It suits me down
28:54to the ground.
28:55There's very wonderful
28:55entertainment here.
28:57Whether it's
28:58greyhound racing
28:59or going down
29:00to the pub
29:00or the working
29:01men's club,
29:01those sorts
29:02of activities
29:03are seen as
29:04less educational,
29:06they're less favoured.
29:08The Theatre Royal
29:09Margate,
29:10a fine 200-year-old
29:11house,
29:12the second oldest
29:12theatre in the
29:13country.
29:14But the queue I found
29:15outside wasn't waiting
29:16to see the play,
29:16they were waiting
29:17to play bingo.
29:18Mr. Brown,
29:19are the bingo sessions
29:20helping the theatre
29:21much?
29:22Well, they're not
29:22at the moment,
29:23but we're hoping
29:24during the winter
29:24period when audiences
29:26are low that they
29:27will.
29:28This is a very old
29:28theatre.
29:29Do you think this
29:29is a very dignified
29:30way of helping it?
29:33Well, it's not a
29:33dignified way,
29:34but it's a means
29:35to an end.
29:35Isn't there a danger
29:36that it might turn
29:37into a bingo parlour
29:38rather than the theatre?
29:39How does your
29:39regular company feel
29:40about it?
29:41Well, we have a
29:42member of the
29:43company here,
29:44Susan,
29:46that she would
29:46probably tell you
29:47more than I can
29:48to Miss Matthews.
29:50Susan, you work
29:51in the box office,
29:52don't you,
29:52this afternoon?
29:53Yes, on Sunday.
29:54How do the actors
29:55feel about this
29:56bingo business?
29:57Well, we don't like
29:58these posters put
29:59all round our
30:00beautiful old theatre.
30:01To begin with,
30:02we didn't like it
30:02at all.
30:03But taking the
30:04long view,
30:05if it means that
30:05we can have
30:0612 months' work
30:07instead of just
30:08a seasonal period,
30:10then we're for it.
30:11Susan wasn't alone.
30:13Many at the time
30:14felt that bingo
30:15was a threat
30:16to the world
30:16as they knew it.
30:19But for others,
30:20bingo was a
30:21welcome arrival
30:22to their world.
30:24Working-class life
30:24was changing,
30:26with old patterns
30:26of living
30:27coming under threat
30:28for whole generations.
30:31Rows of terraced
30:32houses were being
30:33demolished to make
30:33way for new estates.
30:35And whilst this
30:36often improved
30:37the material quality
30:38of people's lives,
30:39the sense of
30:40community was faltering.
30:43Whole streets
30:44were being restructured.
30:45The life of the street
30:45was very much changing.
30:47People were beginning
30:48to live in high-rise
30:49blocks of flats.
30:51Women would still
30:51go to the wash house
30:52in the 1950s and 60s
30:55to do their laundry.
30:56And a lot of those
30:57spaces were going.
30:59So the idea of having
31:00a communal life
31:02outside of the house,
31:04and remember that
31:05a lot of houses
31:07were not places
31:08that people actually
31:09socialised in.
31:10We've got this
31:10mythology really
31:12about working-class life
31:13that people were always
31:13popping in and out
31:14of each other's houses.
31:15That wasn't really
31:16the case.
31:18So to have a place
31:19that people could
31:19go out to
31:20and have a kind of
31:22non-intimate sociability,
31:25to be out with your mates,
31:27doing an activity together,
31:29Bingo really fulfilled that.
31:31So for the ordinary
31:33working people
31:34of this country,
31:35it was a godsend.
31:37The cinemas were closed.
31:39They needed
31:39a community action.
31:41It was no good
31:42sitting at home
31:43every night
31:43and talking
31:45to their neighbour.
31:46They wanted
31:46somewhere to go
31:47to meet their friends
31:48and have a night out.
31:50And the Bingo Hall
31:51became the place.
31:53Cheap,
31:55easy,
31:56friendly,
31:57great community
31:58atmosphere.
31:59We've met four people
32:01here in the last
32:02couple of sessions.
32:03Then we've met
32:03them in two and a half years
32:04we've looked down at.
32:06What satisfaction
32:06do you get out of this?
32:08It gives me
32:09a couple of hours out.
32:11How much do you spend?
32:12Twelve and six
32:13on the night.
32:14That all?
32:15Mm-hmm.
32:16You think that's worth it
32:17for what you get?
32:19Well, I've been a few times
32:20and I've got 23 pounds
32:21one shilling,
32:22so my expenses
32:23are paid, aren't they?
32:25For older women
32:26there was that need
32:29I guess
32:30for sociability,
32:31you know,
32:31to avoid loneliness.
32:35A lot of older women
32:36in particular
32:37live on their own
32:38and in many ways
32:41Bingo was simply
32:42a way to get
32:43out of the house
32:43and that's also why
32:45Bingo sessions
32:46during the day
32:47are very popular.
32:48A lot of elderly people
32:49don't want to come out
32:50in the evenings.
32:51Every Wednesday
32:56about quarter past
32:59half past twelve
33:00I come round
33:01open the hall
33:01and then
33:02fill the urns
33:03with water
33:04ready
33:05and have it hot
33:07for when
33:08the
33:09players come in
33:11about
33:12one o'clock-ish
33:14so they can all
33:15have a hot cup of tea
33:16if they wish
33:16and then I
33:17do another duty
33:18which is taking
33:19their entrance fees
33:20to 50p.
33:22Our basic average
33:23is about 30 to 32
33:25every week
33:26sometimes it goes up
33:28to about 38
33:29which is a good week
33:31but I get excited
33:33when it gets past 25
33:34because that covers
33:36all the expenses
33:37and gives us
33:37a little profit
33:38which is all going
33:40into the church fund
33:41seven and nine
33:42seventy-nine
33:43it's an escape
33:46from the boredom
33:47of life
33:47they come
33:48for the companionship
33:50somewhere to go
33:51somewhere to get
33:52out of their
33:52little blocks
33:54of flats
33:54or apartments
33:55sometimes
33:57a slight break
33:59away from the family
34:00and then
34:02they're all
34:03talking
34:04from table
34:06to table
34:07amongst themselves
34:08and probably
34:09sometimes they
34:10wouldn't say
34:11two or three
34:11words
34:12right throughout
34:13the week
34:14to anyone else
34:14but it's amazing
34:16how there's
34:17a jolly
34:19friendly atmosphere
34:21it's the company
34:23you meet people
34:26where you probably
34:27wouldn't have anybody
34:28to talk to
34:29but it's nice
34:29unfortunately
34:31a lot of elderly
34:32people on their own
34:34that don't have
34:35anybody to talk to
34:37and when they do
34:37get a chance
34:38well like me
34:39can't stop
34:40bingo is now
34:44a staple
34:45of many church halls
34:46but back in the 60s
34:48it was closely
34:49associated
34:50with other forms
34:50of gaming
34:51and help trigger
34:52a wider moral panic
34:54about the extent
34:55of gambling
34:55in the UK
34:56there must be times
34:59when it seems
34:59to moralists
35:00as if Britain
35:01is a nation
35:02given over
35:02almost completely
35:03to gambling
35:04the second
35:05oldest profession
35:06a nation
35:07fiddling
35:07while the treaty
35:08of Rome
35:08burns
35:09but the sabbath
35:10contrasts
35:11are too spectacular
35:12for comfort
35:12in this Christian nation
35:14only one person
35:15in ten
35:16goes to church
35:17God
35:17who made us mighty
35:18no longer
35:19makes us mightier
35:20yet
35:21since the 1960
35:25legislation
35:26liberalising
35:27betting and gaming
35:28many now believe
35:29that Britain
35:30had become
35:30a nation
35:31of gamblers
35:32Britain
35:32was actually
35:33the destination
35:34of choice
35:35for anybody
35:36who wanted to gamble
35:37because there was
35:37more opportunity
35:38to gamble
35:39within the UK
35:40than anywhere else
35:41in the world
35:41so the spa towns
35:43of Europe
35:43were put in a shade
35:44by London
35:45you know
35:47if you wanted
35:47to come and gamble
35:48from America
35:49then this was
35:50the place to be
35:51and there was
35:52an awful lot
35:52of gambling tourism
35:53actually in that period
35:54but mainly
35:55for the high class
35:56casinos
35:56some church groups
35:58were particularly
35:59unhappy about
36:00the rapid spread
36:01of gambling
36:01there's a lot
36:04of religious opposition
36:05there's bodies
36:05that are opposed
36:06to gambling
36:07the National Anti-Gambling
36:07League
36:08because there's
36:08this great outrage
36:09against basically
36:11two or three things
36:12one is that in fact
36:14it's a waste of money
36:15it causes poverty
36:16secondly
36:17it corrupts
36:19children and women
36:20women and children
36:21and thirdly
36:22the third real objection
36:24is it creates
36:25an attitude
36:25of getting
36:26someone for nothing
36:26something out
36:27and those are
36:29the three driving forces
36:30behind trying
36:31to stop people
36:32gambling
36:33but the Catholics
36:35didn't have a problem
36:36with bingo
36:37instead
36:37they saw it
36:38as an opportunity
36:39Made in Heaven
36:41in the post-war years
36:45there had been
36:46a huge influx
36:47of workers
36:47from Ireland
36:48to help rebuild
36:49the country
36:50the Catholic Church
36:52needed money
36:52to pay for the building
36:53of new schools
36:54and social clubs
36:55to cater for them
36:56bingo provided
36:57an important income
36:59it is said
37:00to have partly paid
37:01for the building
37:01that's become
37:02affectionately known
37:03as Paddy's Wigwam
37:04the Catholic Cathedral
37:06in Liverpool
37:06had been started
37:07before the war
37:08and to a very
37:08different plan
37:09but of course
37:11money was much
37:11tighter after the war
37:12building materials
37:13were rationed
37:14so they had to have
37:15a new scheme
37:16and they had to have
37:17a massive fundraising
37:18effort alongside
37:18the new scheme
37:19so the Metropolitan
37:22Cathedral decided
37:23well if we're going
37:24to raise that sort
37:24of money quickly
37:25you know bingo games
37:26is one very good
37:27way forward
37:27we will have
37:28bingo games
37:29and they did
37:30and very successfully
37:31too because they
37:31raised a lot of money
37:32and it's a very
37:33beautiful testament
37:34to the use of
37:35gambling money
37:36I think as well
37:37even though bingo
37:38was doing positive
37:39things for the
37:40Catholic Church
37:41political changes
37:42afoot in 1964
37:44suddenly spelt
37:45an uncertain future
37:46for the commercial
37:47operators of the game
37:48when Harold Wilson's
37:51Labour government
37:52came into power
37:53it could see that
37:54things had got out
37:55of hand
37:55control was not
37:59really in place
38:00I had five casinos
38:02small ones
38:03because I manufactured
38:05the equipment
38:05I could put them
38:06in a club
38:06became a casino
38:08and so you opened
38:10good casinos
38:11bad casinos
38:11too many of them
38:12uncontrolled
38:14you could open
38:15anywhere
38:16and you buy
38:17and you opened
38:18it was freedom
38:20when they're uncontrolled
38:22you sometimes get
38:23a bad element in them
38:24and bingo
38:26was virtually uncontrolled
38:28then
38:28up to tricks
38:3046
38:31a few unscrupulous
38:33bingo halls
38:34were operating
38:35some sharp practices
38:36I still think
38:37the vast majority
38:38of bingo
38:39that was played
38:39was safe
38:40and was done
38:42with the best
38:42intentions
38:43there might have been
38:43one or two
38:44bad plays
38:45but people were making
38:46so much money
38:47legitimately anyway
38:48there wasn't much
38:49need
38:50to
38:51cheat the system
38:53but there were
38:53one or two
38:54cheats
38:55you know
38:56you've got a caller
38:57reading out a different
38:58number from the ball
38:59number four
39:00they'd pull a ball
39:01and the ball might have
39:01number three on
39:02they'd read number 17
39:03because they wanted
39:05that ticket to win
39:06and they'd probably
39:06have a list of numbers
39:07but the attractiveness
39:09of bingo
39:09had caught the attention
39:10of a far more
39:11dangerous fraternity
39:12bingo
39:14as it was constituted
39:16during this period
39:16was a very very good
39:18way of laundering money
39:20because bingo players
39:21played cash
39:22there wasn't a record
39:23kept of how many people
39:24came in
39:24or of how many cards
39:26you sold
39:26if you won a large
39:28cash prize at bingo
39:29or even had a large
39:30amount of money
39:31that you wanted to put
39:32in the bank
39:32you could say
39:33well I won it at bingo
39:34there was no check
39:35to say you didn't win it
39:36at bingo
39:36so you know
39:38there was nothing
39:38to stop you putting
39:38the proceeds of a heist
39:40in the bank
39:41under the guise
39:41that it was a bingo win
39:42today's report shows
39:44today's report shows
39:44that bingo clubs
39:45have a membership
39:46of 14 and a half million
39:48members
39:48casino clubs
39:49close on a million
39:50and that every year
39:51one armed bandits
39:52make a profit
39:53of around 10 million pounds
39:54one of the most lucrative
39:57opportunities
39:57for the organised crime gangs
39:59were the slot machines
40:00that were situated
40:01inside the bingo halls
40:03there was always a risk
40:04with the gaming machines
40:05that although
40:07they were run
40:08by family businesses
40:09in this country
40:10of the foreign element
40:11creeping in
40:12because of the weakness
40:13of the gambling act
40:15so we have got
40:17a potential problem
40:19so where we were
40:22playing with machines
40:23that were pre-war
40:24most of them
40:25but the brand new machines
40:27were coming in
40:28and the companies
40:29behind them
40:30were not the best
40:31of the syndicates
40:33in America
40:33we won't get involved
40:34in what you call them
40:35but they then
40:37shipped them over
40:38under their own banner
40:39and brought in
40:41their own people
40:42and they saw England
40:43as an easy touch
40:45and they thought
40:46they could move in
40:47and take over
40:49the gambling business
40:50the gaming industry
40:52is a fast moving industry
40:54with a lot of loose money
40:56and perhaps hot money
40:58involved
40:58with a fringe
41:00of criminal element
41:01with certain dangers
41:04of a social nature
41:05fearing a mafia style
41:08takeover
41:09the Labour government
41:10was determined
41:11to tighten the rules
41:12and crack down
41:13on commercial gaming
41:15they actually meant
41:17it was going to end
41:18it was going to be
41:19nothing left
41:19bingo was seen
41:21as much a part
41:22of the gaming world
41:23as casinos
41:24so Eric Morley
41:25and the other operators
41:26knew they had to
41:27lobby government
41:28to save their
41:29profitable industry
41:30and it was up to us
41:33to go and explain
41:35to government
41:35that bingo
41:36was not
41:37hard gambling
41:38that took away
41:40the people's livelihood
41:42bingo was soft
41:44and fun
41:44and we had to
41:46explain this
41:47and persuade politicians
41:48there was a total
41:50barrier between the two
41:51they were successful
41:54because when Labour
41:54passed the Gaming Act
41:55in 1968
41:56the casino industry
41:58was decimated
41:59and went from
42:002,000 clubs
42:01to 121
42:02but bingo came out
42:04of it relatively
42:05unscathed
42:06the National Association
42:08of Bingo Clubs
42:09has come along
42:11with us
42:11in recognising
42:12that if bingo
42:13is to be
42:14this social game
42:16played as I say
42:17between neighbours
42:19for modest stakes
42:20then we must have
42:21rules which ensure
42:23that it doesn't
42:25become a source
42:27of regret
42:30and sorrow
42:31and hardship
42:31people want to go
42:32there and enjoy
42:33themselves
42:33and not feel
42:34that they've lost
42:35more money
42:35than they can afford
42:37so they softened
42:38for bingo
42:39because we persuaded
42:40them with evidence
42:43that bingo
42:44was a soft
42:45community game
42:46played by
42:47ordinary people
42:48some controls
42:50were tightened up
42:50and licences
42:51became harder
42:52to come by
42:53but the way
42:53was clear
42:54for the next decade
42:55over 8 million people
42:57mainly housewives
42:58and pensioners
42:59play bingo
43:00perhaps once
43:01or twice a week
43:01they wager
43:03on their clickety-clicks
43:04and their Kelly's eyes
43:06an incredible
43:07185 million pounds
43:09a year
43:10the promoters
43:11called this obsession
43:12an entertainment
43:13with a flutter
43:14certainly it fills
43:16lonely hours
43:17for the elderly
43:17but folk also
43:19want to win
43:19perhaps a few pounds
43:21only
43:21or maybe up to
43:22a thousand
43:23and soon
43:25such amounts
43:26would pale
43:26into insignificance
43:28the British tabloids
43:29that had once
43:30so derided bingo
43:31now wanted
43:32a slice
43:32of the action
43:33Fleet Street's
43:34first bingo millionaire
43:36phoned in
43:37his full house claim
43:38this morning
43:38they ran
43:39their own games
43:40and offered
43:41prize money
43:41that people
43:42previously
43:42could only
43:43have dreamt of
43:44this afternoon
43:45it began
43:45with the Daily Star
43:46was quickly
43:47followed by the Sun
43:48and soon after
43:49most of the rest
43:50of Fleet Street's
43:51mass circulation
43:51papers joined in
43:52millions of pounds
43:54are being offered
43:54in prizes
43:55in the biggest
43:56circulation war
43:57Fleet Street
43:57has seen for decades
43:58the bingo games
44:00now reach
44:0025 million
44:02newspaper buyers
44:03a day
44:03we used to
44:07print
44:07the Daily Express
44:09bingo
44:09and the Daily Star
44:10bingo
44:10in the mirror
44:11and
44:12massive numbers
44:15we were doing
44:155 million
44:186 million
44:18run
44:19and it's boom
44:20we were having
44:21many millions
44:22of players
44:22playing bingo
44:23in newspapers
44:24every day
44:25we were having
44:27play rates
44:28for the national
44:29papers
44:30of about 30%
44:31now what that means
44:32is we were
44:32dropping
44:33bingo tickets
44:34to every home
44:34in the country
44:35and 30%
44:37of those tickets
44:38were being played
44:39that's huge
44:40absolutely huge
44:42the Sun newspaper
44:43claims that bingo
44:44has added
44:44half a million
44:45to its sales
44:46proving a more
44:47potent circulation
44:48booster than
44:48its more familiar
44:49attraction
44:50yes it is
44:50cost effective
44:51and hopefully
44:52we will also
44:53kill off some
44:54of our rivals
44:55in the process
44:55do you really
44:56think it is going
44:57to end like that
44:58is this a battle
44:58to the death
44:59as you describe it
45:00it is a battle
45:00to the death
45:01and our rivals
45:02are really feeling
45:03the pain
45:03so what do you
45:04think this means
45:05for the future
45:06of some newspapers
45:07in Fleet Street
45:07well I hope it means
45:09that some of our rivals
45:09are put out of business
45:10even the broadsheets
45:12wanted in on the game
45:13it's a cross between
45:14the football pools
45:15and bingo
45:16as befits the Times image
45:18you get an upmarket
45:19plastic card
45:19the size of a credit card
45:21the game is based
45:22on the ups and downs
45:23of the stock market
45:24really games for people
45:25like the Times
45:26and the Telegraph
45:27and whatever
45:28at the time
45:29were variations
45:29on bingo
45:30yeah it wasn't bingo
45:31it was either
45:32how a stock market
45:34moved or
45:34years of wine
45:36but it was still bingo
45:37it does smack slightly
45:38of an upmarket bingo
45:40well if we're selling
45:42four million copies
45:43of the Times
45:44by this time
45:45next week
45:45I would agree
45:46with you
45:46yes
45:46the newspaper industry
45:49was delighted
45:49with the results
45:50but traditional
45:51bingo operators
45:52weren't quite so
45:53enamoured
45:53it isn't bingo
45:55it's a lottery
45:56they draw so many
45:58numbers a day
45:59you've got to buy
46:00the newspaper
46:01for a week
46:02it's a sales gimmick
46:03to sell newspapers
46:05they could play
46:06for big money
46:07because it's
46:08an advertising gimmick
46:09but it's not bingo
46:11there's no community
46:12atmosphere
46:12there's no pleasure
46:13it's purely a gamble
46:15the bingo clubs
46:18were worried
46:19momentum in the halls
46:20seemed to be
46:20slowing down
46:21overshadowed
46:23by the newspaper
46:24bingo millionaires
46:25they needed to bring
46:26the buzz back
46:27bingo was going to be
46:30left in the doldrums
46:31we had the idea
46:33of the national game
46:34the bingo association
46:35thought up this game
46:36they wanted to link up
46:38all the bingo clubs
46:39in the UK
46:40and consolidate ticket
46:41sales to create
46:42a massive prize fund
46:44we went across
46:46to parliament
46:47and we pleaded
46:48with government
46:49the gaming board
46:50threw up their
46:51objections
46:52it was at the
46:54home secretary
46:54of the time
46:55was Douglas Heard
46:56I can remember it
46:56well
46:57and he said
46:58no let the game
46:59let the bingo hall
47:00talk
47:00he liked it
47:02and he listened
47:03to the reasons
47:04the sense
47:05the logic of it
47:07and said
47:07this is great
47:08these people
47:09have to compete
47:10the people
47:11the people playing
47:12bingo
47:12have to have
47:13something to go for
47:15a big prize
47:16in 1986
47:18the national game
47:19was born
47:20I think people
47:21I think people
47:21thought that we
47:21weren't serious
47:22linking up
47:23800 bingo clubs
47:24national game
47:24by computer
47:25and really
47:26there wasn't
47:26a technology
47:26it was all new
47:27technology
47:28computer generated
47:30bingo tickets
47:31were sold in halls
47:32all over the country
47:33a random generator
47:36selected that night's
47:37numbers
47:38which were then
47:39transmitted across
47:39the network
47:40to all participating
47:41clubs
47:42this computer
47:45could take in
47:46and analyse
47:46all the tickets
47:47that were sold
47:48know what
47:50numbers were called
47:51and could check
47:52the winners
47:52and could control
47:54perfectly
47:56the running
47:57of this huge game
47:58with hundreds
47:59of thousands
47:59of tickets
48:00being sold
48:01from Scotland
48:02to Land's End
48:03put all the numbers
48:06are in now
48:06so eyes down
48:08national game
48:09full house only
48:10and now your prize money
48:12went huge
48:13250
48:19500,000 pounds
48:21big money
48:22in those days
48:23suddenly you had
48:24a legalised
48:26massive jackpot
48:27where you might get
48:2880 or 100 grand
48:29for a single
48:30game of bingo
48:31and it was just
48:32a wow
48:3259
48:34and up there
48:36that's a good one
48:45every night
48:46you got close
48:47and you had
48:48an equal chance
48:49of winning it
48:51as everybody else
48:52in the land
48:52playing that game
48:54so it was a very
48:56popular game
48:57and it brought
48:58the spark back
48:59one of the unique
49:00attractions of bingo
49:01is that it is not
49:03strictly a win-lose
49:04situation
49:05the enjoyment of
49:06playing can be
49:07almost as much
49:08fun as the winning
49:09they enjoy the thrill
49:10of nearly winning
49:11they enjoy the
49:12actual real thrill
49:13when they do win
49:14they do enjoy
49:15seeing their friends
49:16as well
49:16while they're down
49:17there
49:17they might go
49:17with a group
49:18but you know
49:18you're not sitting
49:18there to chatter
49:19you're sitting
49:19there to play bingo
49:20for everybody
49:21that won
49:21there was at least
49:2250 people
49:23nearly winning
49:23and the excitement
49:25was how close
49:26you got to winning
49:26so that was
49:28a thrill of bingo
49:29I feel like shouting
49:30when someone
49:30shouts here
49:31you're like
49:31no it's mine
49:32do you know
49:32what's worse
49:33the one thing
49:33worse than that
49:34is when your
49:34one number
49:34is the next
49:35number out
49:35yeah
49:36if it just
49:37wasn't the next
49:38yeah
49:38if it wasn't
49:39that next number
49:39that come out
49:40I can live with that
49:41but when it's
49:41the next number
49:42oh my god
49:43my heart goes
49:43in my stomach
49:44couldn't you
49:44just missed it
49:45and so got
49:46the adrenaline
49:46going
49:47got the excitement
49:47going
49:48got the pleasure
49:49of it
49:49you're shaking
49:50all over aren't
49:51you
49:51I keep willing
49:53it out
49:53and it won't come
49:54and I call it
49:56a bugger
49:57if you have a win
49:59you're delighted
50:00if you don't
50:02we'll say
50:02we'll try again
50:03next week
50:03you get terribly
50:05excited each game
50:06oh I get very excited
50:07yes
50:08before each one
50:09oh we do
50:10join the game
50:11join and be born
50:12before we come
50:13it's lovely
50:14and when they won
50:15ecstasy
50:17they'd made it
50:18four and six
50:19forty six
50:20seven and three
50:21seventy three
50:22okay
50:23oh we've got
50:25did you win this afternoon
50:26I did yes
50:27twice
50:27I won ten pounds
50:28it's my first time
50:30winning as well
50:30it's dead exciting
50:31I've won nothing yet
50:32I've won twenty
50:34before
50:34but that's about it
50:35we're still waiting
50:36for the big win
50:37did you enjoy the session
50:39very much
50:39did you win
50:40yes ten shillings
50:41they thought they won a pound
50:42or they won a thousand
50:43didn't really matter
50:44they'd yell just as loud
50:46they'd jump in their seats
50:48just as high
50:49bingo
50:50I've won
50:51it might only be four pound
50:53but you've won
50:54it's just
50:55I don't know
50:56it gives you a thrill
50:57well it gives me a thrill
50:58anyway
50:58when I win money here
51:05I come in next day
51:06and spend a certain part of it
51:08and go to me bar
51:10and get me two bottles
51:11of what is Guinness
51:12people will go
51:16and say to you
51:17I don't go to win
51:18I go for the pleasure
51:19I think that for me
51:21I think everybody
51:23wants to win
51:24whether it's bingo
51:25or whatever you do in life
51:27you want to win
51:28the national game
51:31the national game
51:31had brought bingo
51:32into the modern era
51:33but the converted cinemas
51:35that had once provided glamour
51:36now looked shabby
51:38and out of step
51:38with the way people were living
51:40as people became more used
51:44to travelling in cars
51:46you open bingo halls
51:48where you've got
51:48the biggest car park
51:49Cricklewood
51:50was a total success
51:52because it had
51:52car parking
51:53for 1800 cars
51:55we're now creating
51:57the large bingo halls
51:59the thousand seater
52:00two thousand seater
52:02people were more demanding
52:04now
52:05they were asking
52:05for better facilities
52:07you've moved to much more
52:10market buildings
52:11that are designed
52:12for bingo
52:13we could develop
52:14a bingo hall
52:15with entertainment
52:17round the outer core
52:18we could put a pub
52:20a restaurant
52:21theatre
52:22all these things
52:23around inside
52:24the huge shell
52:26that then
52:27put a couple of thousand
52:28seats in the middle of it
52:29so
52:30they became
52:32the next generation
52:34of bingo halls
52:36when I walked in
52:37I couldn't believe it
52:38this is great
52:40isn't it
52:41everything matches
52:42everything
52:43doesn't it
52:44everything matches
52:45everything
52:46out of this world
52:48big prize money
52:53and the new
52:53supersized
52:54specially designed
52:55halls
52:56seem to have created
52:57a bright
52:5721st century
52:58future for bingo
52:59but then something
53:06came along
53:06that had the potential
53:07to extinguish
53:08the favourite
53:09British pastime
53:10for good
53:11in 2006
53:13the Scottish Assembly
53:15introduced a smoking ban
53:17and the rest of Britain
53:18followed suit
53:19a year later
53:20smoking is a very important
53:22thing
53:23to bingo players
53:2465-70% of people
53:27in bingo halls
53:28smoked
53:29it's a nervous reaction
53:31when you're playing
53:32you enjoy to smoke
53:34it's part of the pleasure
53:35a higher proportion
53:36of working class people
53:38smoked
53:38bingo is a working class game
53:41bingo is also a game
53:43for people who take risks
53:45on occasions
53:46so when the smoking ban
53:47came in
53:48it hit bingo harder
53:49proportionately
53:49than other pastimes
53:51we'd reckon that that
53:53would take 15% away
53:55from the bottom line
53:56income of a bingo hall
53:58for a lot of bingo halls
54:01that meant closure
54:01unfortunately
54:03this is the club
54:04that we had to close
54:05we shut this in May
54:07of last year
54:09we used to have
54:10on a regular basis
54:11over a thousand people
54:13playing in any evening
54:15at the real bingo club
54:17nobody could deny
54:18it's a more pleasant
54:19place to be
54:20in a bingo hall
54:21now clean air
54:23tidy air
54:24there's not that
54:24stink of tobacco
54:26you're talking to a non-spoker
54:28so I'm probably biased
54:29but it did hurt
54:31my business
54:32and it hurt
54:33the bingo business
54:33and we haven't fully
54:35recovered from that
54:36but over time
54:38it's adapted
54:39by 2010
54:41there were nearly
54:4230 million less players
54:44a year
54:44compared to 2006
54:46but it still meant
54:47that around
54:4848 million people
54:49were playing annually
54:50bingo is once again
54:53having to reinvent itself
54:55this time for the smoke-free
54:5721st century
54:58designing new clubs
55:00with something for everyone
55:02bingo still has
55:04its fan base
55:06within the UK
55:07and it's quite an extensive one
55:08the game is trying to reinvent itself
55:11it's targeting
55:11student nights out
55:13and hen nights
55:14and it appears to be working
55:17today the biggest growth area
55:19in membership
55:19is women under 35
55:21it's more younger people
55:22now that come
55:23especially at the weekend
55:24we've got the lounge
55:25it's just
55:26it's good atmosphere
55:28it really is
55:29now
55:29it's a lot more
55:31for the younger people
55:31now
55:32it's really fun
55:33bingo's success
55:34in attracting
55:34a new clientele
55:36has been helped
55:37by the creation
55:37of separate spaces
55:39for those who want
55:39to socialise
55:40without disturbing
55:41the more hardcore player
55:43it's got a different vibe
55:46about it
55:46than everyone seems
55:47everyone seems to think
55:48it's all for like
55:49grandmas and stuff
55:51and it's really nice
55:51it's really good fun
55:52and you get to have a drink
55:54and a laugh
55:54and because you've got
55:55the loud room
55:56and the quiet room
55:57you can sit in the loud room
55:58with your girlfriends
55:59and have a bit of a chit chat
56:00and have fun
56:01and it's a good laugh really
56:03you know
56:04the business is always cyclical
56:06I think bingo's
56:07on a nocturne now
56:08there's still
56:09you know
56:10millions of people
56:11play the game now
56:11I remember people saying
56:14you know
56:1425, 30 years ago
56:16oh bingo won't last
56:18you know
56:19it's still
56:20very strong
56:21these days
56:22I don't think
56:23personally that
56:24there'll be
56:25a time when
56:26bingo isn't popular
56:27nearly there
56:2989th
56:30the bingo business
56:33has managed to survive
56:35because at the heart of it
56:36is a simple game
56:38that we fell in love with
56:39a long time ago
56:40and its appeal today
56:43is much the same
56:44as it has always been
56:45it's an egalitarian game
56:48beautifully without pretense
56:50that's kept us entertained
56:51through difficult times
56:53injected a touch of glamour
56:55to the high street
56:56and brought people together
56:59we've made a lot of friends
57:03haven't we
57:03I mean
57:04I didn't know
57:05until I came
57:07to bingo
57:07and then when this opened
57:09we just came on a Friday
57:11and we've been
57:12every Friday since
57:13it does play
57:15an important
57:15social function
57:17I think it is important
57:18that that does continue
57:201 in 7, 17
57:22I was sat with people
57:2490 years old
57:25sharp as needles
57:27one of their daughters
57:28said to me
57:29my mother was going
57:30into a home
57:31since she started
57:32playing bingo
57:32her mind is fresh again
57:34and that's what bingo does
57:36it makes you work your brain
57:37and there's always that chance
57:40that you might just
57:41get a full house
57:42bingo
57:42but whether you win or not
57:46bingo is more than just a game
57:47for many
57:48it's part of who they are
57:50I don't want
57:52people crying
57:53at my funeral
57:54I said
57:56what I want is
57:57as you walk in
57:58you're handed
57:59a strip of bingo tickets
58:01and I want the priest
58:03to call the bingo numbers
58:05so we can all have
58:06a game of bingo
58:07tomorrow night
58:17don't miss
58:18the toilet
58:19an unspoken history
58:20here on BBC4
58:22we spend three years
58:23of our lives on the loom
58:24so don't knock it
58:25so go downtown
58:27no final place
58:29for sure
58:30downtown
58:31everything's waiting for you
58:35downtown
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