0:00:16 > 0:00:21It's the early 1960s and Britain is in the midst of a new obsession.
0:00:21 > 0:00:25Thousands are queuing on high streets up and down the country
0:00:25 > 0:00:28- to take part in a growing craze. - Bingo!
0:00:28 > 0:00:32It was a game that anyone could play and it was sweeping the nation.
0:00:32 > 0:00:34It made pulses race.
0:00:34 > 0:00:37- You get terribly excited each game, do you?- Ooh, I'm very excited, yes.
0:00:37 > 0:00:39Some people couldn't get enough.
0:00:39 > 0:00:42I'm so excited, I could do with a drink of whisky.
0:00:42 > 0:00:45- What is it? £47...? - £47, two shilling.
0:00:45 > 0:00:51Bingo allowed somebody to come home with 100, £200 in their pocket,
0:00:51 > 0:00:55which is beyond believable cos in those days, £200 was a lot of money.
0:00:55 > 0:00:58The prizes were not just cash. The prizes were designed to be glamorous.
0:00:58 > 0:01:00So we had cruises in the Mediterranean,
0:01:00 > 0:01:02to Monte Carlo and Biarritz.
0:01:04 > 0:01:05Whether they won or not,
0:01:05 > 0:01:09bingo had the power to keep them coming back for more.
0:01:09 > 0:01:12- Did you win this afternoon? - I did, yes, twice.
0:01:12 > 0:01:13Did you enjoy the session?
0:01:13 > 0:01:16- Very much, thank you.- Did you win? - Yes, ten shillings.
0:01:16 > 0:01:18The boom seemed to arrive out of nowhere,
0:01:18 > 0:01:21but it packed out cinemas and theatres across the land,
0:01:21 > 0:01:24much to the delight of a new breed of entrepreneur.
0:01:24 > 0:01:27A bingo hall became THE place.
0:01:27 > 0:01:31Cheap, easy, friendly.
0:01:31 > 0:01:33They felt they were somebody.
0:01:33 > 0:01:36But not everyone was amused.
0:01:36 > 0:01:40Well, we don't like these posters put all around our beautiful old theatre.
0:01:40 > 0:01:43The attraction of the game bewildered some...
0:01:43 > 0:01:47- Wouldn't you rather be doing something else?- Such as?
0:01:47 > 0:01:50..and brought out class snobbery in others.
0:01:50 > 0:01:54Bingo. The most mindless ritual achieved in half a million years
0:01:54 > 0:01:55of human evolution!
0:01:57 > 0:02:00Few saw the explosion coming, not least the government,
0:02:00 > 0:02:02whose liberalising of the gaming laws
0:02:02 > 0:02:05had inadvertently created bingo-mania.
0:02:06 > 0:02:09But it couldn't have come along at a better time.
0:02:09 > 0:02:13It brought communities together when they needed it most.
0:02:13 > 0:02:17And, in its own small way, liberated the lives of many women.
0:02:17 > 0:02:20The 1960s had created the perfect storm
0:02:20 > 0:02:22for a bingo bonanza.
0:02:22 > 0:02:25BINGO CALLER: Eyes down, full house.
0:02:25 > 0:02:28Time for fun! 41!
0:02:28 > 0:02:30House!
0:02:41 > 0:02:44It's one of the most popular pastimes in the UK.
0:02:44 > 0:02:47More people play than watch professional football,
0:02:47 > 0:02:52and bingo attendances are higher than those for any British church.
0:02:52 > 0:02:55It's fantastic. Adrenaline rush.
0:02:55 > 0:02:57You know? Are you filming me?
0:02:57 > 0:03:00Well, when we get nearly a line, your heart... My heart starts going,
0:03:00 > 0:03:02and you think, "Oh, come on!
0:03:02 > 0:03:04"Pull it out, pull it out!" You know, really excited.
0:03:04 > 0:03:08Oh, it's nervous, you're shaking, the adrenaline's going.
0:03:08 > 0:03:10Yeah, we've had that quite a bit tonight, haven't we?
0:03:10 > 0:03:14Today the game is big business, with billions at stake.
0:03:14 > 0:03:17But all this would have been unimaginable
0:03:17 > 0:03:19back at a time when gambling was illegal
0:03:19 > 0:03:21and bingo was a simple number game
0:03:21 > 0:03:24more commonly known as Housey-housey,
0:03:24 > 0:03:26Lotto or Tombola.
0:03:26 > 0:03:29BINGO CALLER: At the beginning, number one.
0:03:29 > 0:03:32It was a popular form of entertainment for the troops
0:03:32 > 0:03:34in the first and second world wars.
0:03:35 > 0:03:37And as it was illegal to play for money,
0:03:37 > 0:03:39the prizes were, instead,
0:03:39 > 0:03:42practical items like boot polish and hair cream.
0:03:42 > 0:03:46ARCHIVE: Jack indulges in the one gambling game permitted in the Navy -
0:03:46 > 0:03:48Tombola.
0:03:48 > 0:03:52It was a very easy form of entertainment.
0:03:52 > 0:03:55You didn't need to carry a lot of apparatus,
0:03:55 > 0:03:59you didn't need to carry a big peak clientele to operate it.
0:03:59 > 0:04:04The Army could carry it in a briefcase, all with cards.
0:04:04 > 0:04:06They called it Housey-housey or Lotto,
0:04:06 > 0:04:09and the Army could take it all over the world.
0:04:09 > 0:04:13And they played it on the desert, they played it in the jungle.
0:04:13 > 0:04:16It was something they could do anywhere.
0:04:17 > 0:04:22It took the mind of the person away from what was happening in the world
0:04:22 > 0:04:26because once you start playing bingo, you concentrate.
0:04:26 > 0:04:31BINGO CALLER: Eyes down for the full house. Two ducks, 22.
0:04:31 > 0:04:33It was in the Forces where an important aspect
0:04:33 > 0:04:35of the game that we're all familiar with,
0:04:35 > 0:04:38whether we've played bingo or not, has its roots.
0:04:38 > 0:04:40BINGO CALLER: Number nine, straight line!
0:04:40 > 0:04:44The calls initially came from the Army and the Navy.
0:04:44 > 0:04:46All the fours, droopy drawers.
0:04:46 > 0:04:50But in those days it was important to get some fun into it,
0:04:50 > 0:04:52so you didn't say "number nine",
0:04:52 > 0:04:55you said "doctor's orders, number nine."
0:04:55 > 0:04:58Number nine was the nickname of a laxative pill
0:04:58 > 0:05:00issued by the Royal Navy.
0:05:00 > 0:05:0366, and it was "two fat WACs".
0:05:03 > 0:05:06Well, a WAC was a lady...in the Army,
0:05:06 > 0:05:08and there were often the jokes
0:05:08 > 0:05:10about them being very bonny in the uniforms,
0:05:10 > 0:05:13and so we'd say "two fat WACs".
0:05:13 > 0:05:16And so, yeah, the calls do reflect
0:05:16 > 0:05:19the rather coarse humour of groups of men cooped up together.
0:05:19 > 0:05:20BINGO CALLER: Legs, 11!
0:05:20 > 0:05:22I like seven and six!
0:05:23 > 0:05:26BINGO CALLER: Was she worth it? Seven and six.
0:05:26 > 0:05:29I've heard several versions of this one
0:05:29 > 0:05:33from various elderly gentlemen in various Royal Naval clubs
0:05:33 > 0:05:37and Royal British Legion clubs, so seven and six, was she worth it?
0:05:37 > 0:05:41Some of them say it was the price of a marriage licence
0:05:41 > 0:05:43and the call-back, especially if your wife is next to you,
0:05:43 > 0:05:47is "of course she is!" or "she's still here! We're still together."
0:05:47 > 0:05:49So the people call back with that.
0:05:49 > 0:05:52Another one, another explanation that I've heard as well,
0:05:52 > 0:05:53if two of you are going out,
0:05:53 > 0:05:55if you've picked up a nice girl to take out,
0:05:55 > 0:05:57then you want two and six for two cinema tickets,
0:05:57 > 0:05:59cos they're one and three each,
0:05:59 > 0:06:01you want two and six for two nice fish-and-chip suppers
0:06:01 > 0:06:03and two and six for bed and breakfast.
0:06:03 > 0:06:05And I don't know how true that is,
0:06:05 > 0:06:07but I've had that one also told me several times.
0:06:09 > 0:06:12This ingenuity and injection of humour helped make bingo
0:06:12 > 0:06:16so popular with the troops that the game quickly spread.
0:06:16 > 0:06:20First of all to the ex-servicemen's clubs and then to the holiday camps
0:06:20 > 0:06:23that were springing up all over post-war Britain.
0:06:26 > 0:06:29Where it became a staple, alongside the knobbly-knees competition
0:06:29 > 0:06:31and beauty contests.
0:06:33 > 0:06:37One of the main entertainments at the holiday camps was Tombola.
0:06:37 > 0:06:41Now, this is not a secondary or subsidiary activity.
0:06:41 > 0:06:44For example, marquees were put up that could hold 300 players,
0:06:44 > 0:06:47and then two sessions a day would run for three hours each.
0:06:47 > 0:06:49So we're not talking about something
0:06:49 > 0:06:52that was a minor part of a holiday camp holiday.
0:06:52 > 0:06:56Hello, everyone! This is Beryl, your Radio Butlin announcer.
0:06:56 > 0:07:00I did go to Pontins near Morecambe,
0:07:00 > 0:07:02and honestly, it was just like...
0:07:03 > 0:07:05..a prisoner-of-war camp, really.
0:07:05 > 0:07:07Nobody around,
0:07:07 > 0:07:09then somebody announced,
0:07:09 > 0:07:11"There'll be bingo in the hall in five minutes!"
0:07:11 > 0:07:15And everybody de-pouches from their rooms to the hall!
0:07:15 > 0:07:19If your idea of a good holiday is bingo from 10.30 in the morning
0:07:19 > 0:07:24until 10.30 at night, then Clacton is a dream come true.
0:07:24 > 0:07:28Every day, including Sundays, the faithful are called to play.
0:07:29 > 0:07:31The holiday companies couldn't profit from bingo.
0:07:31 > 0:07:34That was illegal, they weren't allowed to do that.
0:07:34 > 0:07:37So most of the proceeds had to go to charity.
0:07:37 > 0:07:40And Butlins alone was donating £50,000 a year
0:07:40 > 0:07:44from its Tombola games to charity in the 1950s.
0:07:44 > 0:07:47# Bingo! Bingo! I'm in love! #
0:07:47 > 0:07:49It was very popular there.
0:07:49 > 0:07:51It was also popular at seaside resorts and fairgrounds.
0:07:51 > 0:07:53We have some lovely accounts
0:07:53 > 0:07:57of some Tombola games being good games at travelling fairgrounds,
0:07:57 > 0:08:00where the prizes would be Bargee pots
0:08:00 > 0:08:03or boxes that appear to be chocolates,
0:08:03 > 0:08:06but when you actually got into them turned out to be nothing more than
0:08:06 > 0:08:08coconut and condensed milk and cocoa powder,
0:08:08 > 0:08:11and were quite revolting and tasted of sawdust.
0:08:11 > 0:08:13# Till she was sweet, my key of the door
0:08:13 > 0:08:16# And now we're hand in glove Bingo... #
0:08:16 > 0:08:19Even if you didn't gamble, you didn't do these things,
0:08:19 > 0:08:21you played bingo at the seaside.
0:08:21 > 0:08:25The fun game, a lot of pleasure, and it's still there today
0:08:25 > 0:08:27in the establishments around the coasts of this country.
0:08:27 > 0:08:30Hundreds and hundreds of bingo units.
0:08:30 > 0:08:35For many people, fairground bingo is still very much part and parcel
0:08:35 > 0:08:37of the British seaside experience
0:08:37 > 0:08:41and has remained virtually unchanged over the years.
0:08:41 > 0:08:44Ah, yeah, we've all's come to Blackpool ever since we were born.
0:08:44 > 0:08:47I'm only 21 now, like, you know (!)
0:08:47 > 0:08:50But, no, we've come to Blackpool for years
0:08:50 > 0:08:53and we've always come here into this little bingo place.
0:08:54 > 0:08:57BINGO CALLER: White six and seven, 67.
0:08:57 > 0:08:59White seven and nine, 79.
0:08:59 > 0:09:02Right, you pop your money in the slot, you get both your cards.
0:09:02 > 0:09:05Are you looking for a line down, across, diagonal
0:09:05 > 0:09:07or one in each of your four corners?
0:09:09 > 0:09:11The caller calls the numbers.
0:09:11 > 0:09:14If you get a line, you either press your button or you shout "house".
0:09:14 > 0:09:17You can then save your vouchers up for the bigger prizes
0:09:17 > 0:09:21or you can just take a one-win prize off the front of the stall.
0:09:21 > 0:09:24I've got a football money-box.
0:09:24 > 0:09:25And a cupcake...
0:09:25 > 0:09:28Cupcake money-box.
0:09:32 > 0:09:35For my granddaughter I've got these lollipops.
0:09:38 > 0:09:42And a frying-pan because I burnt the other one! So I've got this...
0:09:44 > 0:09:46For Katie, bingo is in the blood.
0:09:46 > 0:09:49The tradition has passed down through her family.
0:09:49 > 0:09:54My grandparents were in the fairground business travelling,
0:09:54 > 0:09:56came to Cleveleys to settle down,
0:09:56 > 0:09:59and opened up amusement arcade and bingo.
0:09:59 > 0:10:04And my parents have worked there all my life, though.
0:10:04 > 0:10:06That's all I can remember.
0:10:06 > 0:10:11And then we came up to Blackpool and opened up here in 1984
0:10:11 > 0:10:13and we've been here ever since.
0:10:13 > 0:10:17Jimmy Thomas, also descended from a fairground family,
0:10:17 > 0:10:21would go on to become one of the country's leading bingo operators.
0:10:21 > 0:10:26I started in the bingo business about 70 years ago.
0:10:26 > 0:10:28I was eight years old.
0:10:28 > 0:10:32And I had a lovely job. I carried a basket of balls round a bingo...
0:10:33 > 0:10:36..which the customer takes the ball,
0:10:36 > 0:10:39threw it into a box where there were numbers,
0:10:39 > 0:10:41and that selected the numbers.
0:10:41 > 0:10:45Bingo Lingo had a particularly practical use
0:10:45 > 0:10:47when it came to fairground and seaside bingo.
0:10:49 > 0:10:52When you were on a fairground and you were playing bingo,
0:10:52 > 0:10:54sometimes it wasn't very busy.
0:10:54 > 0:10:57And the important thing was the skill of the man on the microphone
0:10:57 > 0:10:59to entertain.
0:10:59 > 0:11:02You were not just calling numbers, you were a performer.
0:11:02 > 0:11:07And so you wanted to slow it down, but still not bore them,
0:11:07 > 0:11:11but slow it down enough for more people to congregate round,
0:11:11 > 0:11:13ready for the next game.
0:11:13 > 0:11:16Two seats this side. Two seats, then...
0:11:16 > 0:11:17Although extremely popular,
0:11:17 > 0:11:20the fairground bingo games were skirting around
0:11:20 > 0:11:23what was acceptable under British law back in the 1950s.
0:11:25 > 0:11:28In the fairground, they always play for prizes, never for money.
0:11:28 > 0:11:33That's why, if you like, it was tolerated. We called it Prize Bingo.
0:11:33 > 0:11:36Fairgrounds went to a town for two weeks.
0:11:36 > 0:11:39Local authorities took the decision
0:11:39 > 0:11:41on how to handle gambling,
0:11:41 > 0:11:46and they said, "This is acceptable, it's fun, it's here for two weeks,
0:11:46 > 0:11:49"it's a game of skill." Ha-ha!
0:11:49 > 0:11:50And so they let it go.
0:11:52 > 0:11:54In any case, the powers that be
0:11:54 > 0:11:57were far more pre-occupied with a different type of gambling.
0:11:57 > 0:12:00The big social scourge in that period was street betting.
0:12:00 > 0:12:03Everybody was worried about street betting.
0:12:03 > 0:12:06"We don't like men loitering on street corners, placing bets,
0:12:06 > 0:12:09"we don't like the people leaving work to go and place bets."
0:12:09 > 0:12:12Every single workplace had a bookies runner,
0:12:12 > 0:12:14so street betting needed sorting out.
0:12:14 > 0:12:17ARCHIVE: Runaway rascals up against the law!
0:12:18 > 0:12:20Big changes were on the horizon.
0:12:20 > 0:12:22The Conservative Government at the time
0:12:22 > 0:12:24proposed to legalise street betting
0:12:24 > 0:12:28after setting up a committee to investigate the state of gambling.
0:12:29 > 0:12:32When they were considering this new bill,
0:12:32 > 0:12:36they spent most of the time looking at street betting,
0:12:36 > 0:12:38about 80-odd hours,
0:12:38 > 0:12:41and they spent three hours looking at gaming.
0:12:41 > 0:12:45Because the Home Office assured the MPs that were considering it
0:12:45 > 0:12:47that gaming would not be profitable.
0:12:47 > 0:12:51So bingo definitely wasn't top of the Conservative's agenda
0:12:51 > 0:12:55when they decided to go ahead with the 1960 Betting and Gaming Act.
0:12:55 > 0:12:57But by passing the bill,
0:12:57 > 0:13:00they legalised commercial bingo for the very first time.
0:13:01 > 0:13:04BINGO CALLER: Key of the door, 21.
0:13:04 > 0:13:07It allowed gambling
0:13:07 > 0:13:10in licensed clubs with membership.
0:13:13 > 0:13:16Clubs were allowed to charge people an entrance fee
0:13:16 > 0:13:18and that's how they got their money,
0:13:18 > 0:13:21and then 90% of that went back in prizes
0:13:21 > 0:13:23and 10% went to the government.
0:13:24 > 0:13:26The Tories' intention was to bring bingo,
0:13:26 > 0:13:30something they regarded as a benign pastime, under control.
0:13:30 > 0:13:34But, unwittingly, they had unleashed a whirlwind.
0:13:34 > 0:13:36By January 3rd you've got the first bingo club
0:13:36 > 0:13:40and by the end of January you've got an explosion of bingo clubs!
0:13:40 > 0:13:43# You shake my nerves and you rattle my brain... #
0:13:43 > 0:13:47The doors flew open and bingo halls opened for business -
0:13:47 > 0:13:49big business.
0:13:49 > 0:13:52# Goodness gracious, Great balls of fire! #
0:13:52 > 0:13:55In the early '60s, the bingo boom was huge.
0:13:55 > 0:13:58ARCHIVE: £100,000 a week
0:13:58 > 0:14:00is gambled in the big bingo clubs.
0:14:00 > 0:14:05The Treasury did do a survey in 1963 during which they established
0:14:05 > 0:14:08there were 13 million 700-and-something thousand
0:14:08 > 0:14:12members of bingo clubs, so we're looking at a lot of bingo clubs.
0:14:12 > 0:14:14- Definitely.- Are you going to spend all your afternoons
0:14:14 > 0:14:16- and evenings in here from now on? - Definitely!
0:14:16 > 0:14:18Wish we could do it every day. We'd love it.
0:14:18 > 0:14:23By 1966, 24% of the population was playing bingo,
0:14:23 > 0:14:27so that's almost a quarter of the population.
0:14:27 > 0:14:29Oh! I bet you're excited about this, aren't you?
0:14:29 > 0:14:31I'm so excited, I could do with a drink of whisky.
0:14:31 > 0:14:35- What is it? £47...? - £47, two shilling.
0:14:35 > 0:14:39- What are you going to sit through? - Oh, to the last session.
0:14:39 > 0:14:41- And again in the evening? - Oh, definitely.
0:14:41 > 0:14:44- Are you? You're a real addict now, are you?- Not half!
0:14:44 > 0:14:47# Great balls of fire! #
0:14:47 > 0:14:48Few could have foreseen
0:14:48 > 0:14:51just how quickly commercial bingo would take hold.
0:14:51 > 0:14:55But while the government may have misjudged its potential,
0:14:55 > 0:14:57others most definitely hadn't.
0:14:57 > 0:15:01Just behind the scenes, a host of entrepreneurs had been waiting
0:15:01 > 0:15:04to cash in once the new law was passed.
0:15:04 > 0:15:06They were quick off the blocks,
0:15:06 > 0:15:09with one man in particular leading the pack.
0:15:09 > 0:15:11Eric Morley was really the central figure
0:15:11 > 0:15:12in the explosion of commercial bingo.
0:15:12 > 0:15:17Eric Morley was the driving force behind the Mecca organisation.
0:15:17 > 0:15:20By the 1950s, the company was a big player
0:15:20 > 0:15:23in the booming post-war leisure market,
0:15:23 > 0:15:26and their empire included dance halls, ice rinks,
0:15:26 > 0:15:28bowling alleys and picture houses.
0:15:29 > 0:15:33But by the 1960s, the cinema industry was in trouble.
0:15:35 > 0:15:38ARCHIVE: In the last ten years, box-office takings have been halved,
0:15:38 > 0:15:41while the number of admissions has fallen even more.
0:15:43 > 0:15:47The number of cinemas open has followed the same pattern.
0:15:47 > 0:15:51Cinema had once played a significant role in people's lives.
0:15:51 > 0:15:53Many went to the pictures several times a week.
0:15:53 > 0:15:56But the rise of television had enticed people
0:15:56 > 0:15:57back into their homes.
0:15:58 > 0:16:02Suddenly people were staying at home to watch, erm,
0:16:02 > 0:16:05Julie Andrews on television or somebody.
0:16:05 > 0:16:07They didn't go to the cinema.
0:16:07 > 0:16:11And with that collective experience gone, a big void had opened up,
0:16:11 > 0:16:13not just in people's lives,
0:16:13 > 0:16:16but in town centres up and down the country.
0:16:16 > 0:16:19And cinema after cinema closed.
0:16:19 > 0:16:22Cinema has very little use.
0:16:22 > 0:16:25It's a large shed in the middle of a town...
0:16:25 > 0:16:27with nothing in it.
0:16:28 > 0:16:30This hit Mecca hard.
0:16:31 > 0:16:34Eric Morley, who'd run games in the Army
0:16:34 > 0:16:37and who could see how big a draw it was in the holiday camps,
0:16:37 > 0:16:40knew that bingo was the answer.
0:16:40 > 0:16:44You know, he was very astute. He knew what people wanted
0:16:44 > 0:16:47and he had his finger on the pulse of popular taste.
0:16:47 > 0:16:51He knew because of Butlins that bingo was popular.
0:16:51 > 0:16:54He knew he'd got these buildings, and he put two and two together
0:16:54 > 0:16:57and he made a very, very successful four out of it.
0:16:57 > 0:17:00Morley was so convinced by the power of bingo,
0:17:00 > 0:17:04that Mecca immediately started an aggressive expansion programme,
0:17:04 > 0:17:09buying up empty cinemas all over the country at rock-bottom prices.
0:17:10 > 0:17:12But he wasn't the only one.
0:17:12 > 0:17:16The fairground families also seized the opportunity.
0:17:16 > 0:17:18The showmen, with their knowledge of bingo,
0:17:18 > 0:17:21and they'd been playing it on the fairgrounds for a long time,
0:17:21 > 0:17:25and their bit of finesse, their bit of skill, at entertaining,
0:17:25 > 0:17:28they were all... We use the word - they were showmen.
0:17:28 > 0:17:30They enjoyed showing.
0:17:30 > 0:17:35And they could then take the cinema, put the bingo into it.
0:17:35 > 0:17:39I remember actually building prize bingo units inside the cinema
0:17:39 > 0:17:42from the fairground, and actually, building them up inside
0:17:42 > 0:17:45and then building the bingo round it.
0:17:45 > 0:17:47So, you know, we moved in.
0:17:47 > 0:17:52And with that knowledge, that bit of finesse of entertaining,
0:17:52 > 0:17:56they made a success of turning cinemas into bingo halls.
0:17:56 > 0:17:58Thousands of them.
0:17:58 > 0:18:01In the monochrome world of early '60s Britain,
0:18:01 > 0:18:04the entrepreneurs managed to inject glamour back into the high street
0:18:04 > 0:18:06for ordinary people.
0:18:08 > 0:18:09And they topped off the appeal
0:18:09 > 0:18:12by adding special celebrity appearances to the mix.
0:18:14 > 0:18:17Pat Phoenix, Elsie Tanner, who was on Coronation Street
0:18:17 > 0:18:21and used to come regularly to the bingo hall to present things for me.
0:18:21 > 0:18:24Something that had once been just a holiday past-time
0:18:24 > 0:18:28was now available every day of the week.
0:18:28 > 0:18:30But the game had changed.
0:18:30 > 0:18:33The days of cheap and cheerful prizes were gone.
0:18:33 > 0:18:36People were now playing for big money.
0:18:36 > 0:18:40With membership numbers rocketing, the clubs were able to offer
0:18:40 > 0:18:42ever more seductive prices.
0:18:42 > 0:18:44They were glamorous places.
0:18:44 > 0:18:46The prizes were not just cash,
0:18:46 > 0:18:48the prizes were designed to be glamorous.
0:18:48 > 0:18:51So we had mink stoles, we had cruises in the Mediterranean,
0:18:51 > 0:18:54to Monte Carlo, for example, or Biarritz.
0:18:54 > 0:18:58So these are holidays that you would see the jet-set having at this time.
0:18:58 > 0:19:03The money prizes went up and up and up, and the bigger the cash prize,
0:19:03 > 0:19:06the bigger attraction to your premises.
0:19:06 > 0:19:09No question about it. Money was God.
0:19:09 > 0:19:11And therefore it dominated.
0:19:11 > 0:19:14However, there was one casualty.
0:19:14 > 0:19:19In this new world of high stakes, Bingo Lingo no longer had a place.
0:19:19 > 0:19:21BINGO CALLER: Five and nine, 59.
0:19:23 > 0:19:25Seven and six, 76.
0:19:25 > 0:19:28Now, when you are playing for thousands of pounds,
0:19:28 > 0:19:30you can't make a mistake,
0:19:30 > 0:19:34so the numbers then had to be called precisely,
0:19:34 > 0:19:36clearly and correctly.
0:19:36 > 0:19:40So there was no argument that you had misled a number.
0:19:41 > 0:19:44BINGO CALLER: 49. On its own, number two.
0:19:46 > 0:19:50So if you like, money changed the way bingo was called.
0:19:50 > 0:19:53It's now a commercial game.
0:19:53 > 0:19:5644. all the fours, 44.
0:19:56 > 0:19:58As soon as the game turned commercial,
0:19:58 > 0:20:02the comic calls disappeared, never to return to the big bingo halls.
0:20:02 > 0:20:06I think one of the misconceptions about bingo and the bingo caller
0:20:06 > 0:20:10is that people joke about,
0:20:10 > 0:20:12whereas what bingo players want
0:20:12 > 0:20:16is simply to hear the number very clearly, cos that is crucial.
0:20:16 > 0:20:18Bingo time.
0:20:18 > 0:20:20But something of the language survived
0:20:20 > 0:20:24and continued to evolve in social clubs and seaside bingo.
0:20:24 > 0:20:25One and six.
0:20:33 > 0:20:36Top of the shop, nine-oh, 90.
0:20:36 > 0:20:40We have bingo seven nights a week, plus Sunday afternoon.
0:20:40 > 0:20:44- One and six, sweet 16.- Yeah! - Hold your card up please.
0:20:44 > 0:20:49Bingo has always been part and parcel of life, a working man's life.
0:20:49 > 0:20:51On its own, number seven.
0:20:51 > 0:20:53I used to call bingo numbers out.
0:20:53 > 0:20:56Doctor's orders, number nine.
0:20:56 > 0:21:00Legs, 11, that always gets a whistle or a tap on a glass.
0:21:00 > 0:21:02Those wonderful legs, 11.
0:21:02 > 0:21:04- WOLF WHISTLES - Thank you, whistlers.
0:21:04 > 0:21:07And any way up, six and nine, 69.
0:21:07 > 0:21:09Halfway there, four and five, 45.
0:21:09 > 0:21:12Shut that door, number four.
0:21:12 > 0:21:15Dinky doo, number two.
0:21:15 > 0:21:18Deck of cards, 52.
0:21:18 > 0:21:21All the threes, 33.
0:21:21 > 0:21:25Kelly's eye, number one.
0:21:25 > 0:21:29- Five and nine, the Brighton line. - ALL: Oooh!
0:21:29 > 0:21:30Thank you.
0:21:30 > 0:21:34Today they remain so deeply embedded in popular culture,
0:21:34 > 0:21:36it would be impossible to grow up in Britain
0:21:36 > 0:21:39and not know a single bingo call.
0:21:39 > 0:21:41Getting plenty, number 20.
0:21:43 > 0:21:45The same modernising forces
0:21:45 > 0:21:48that ditched the traditional calls in the '60s
0:21:48 > 0:21:51were also at work taking the game in other new, commercial directions
0:21:51 > 0:21:54as more and more people were getting on board.
0:21:56 > 0:21:58Four and one, 41.
0:21:59 > 0:22:03Bingo trains are an absolutely awesome phenomena.
0:22:03 > 0:22:05Obviously excursions were popular in the 1960s,
0:22:05 > 0:22:08both by coach and by train,
0:22:08 > 0:22:12but bingo trains really caught the public imagination.
0:22:12 > 0:22:15The numbers were called and announced on a tannoy system
0:22:15 > 0:22:18and you had people wandering up and down, if anybody shouted house,
0:22:18 > 0:22:20there was a person in each carriage
0:22:20 > 0:22:22who could check the numbers and make sure.
0:22:22 > 0:22:26And they would go, for example, from London to Brighton,
0:22:26 > 0:22:28London to Margate, Manchester to Blackpool -
0:22:28 > 0:22:31anywhere where there was a seaside resort, basically,
0:22:31 > 0:22:33and a population to take them to it.
0:22:33 > 0:22:35Two and eight, 28.
0:22:35 > 0:22:38- House! - CHEERING
0:22:38 > 0:22:39The bingo explosion
0:22:39 > 0:22:42was not only a big money-spinner for the main operators,
0:22:42 > 0:22:46it was also good news for a small Sunderland printing firm
0:22:46 > 0:22:50which produced the all-important bingo cards.
0:22:50 > 0:22:53The '60s were a massive period for us.
0:22:53 > 0:22:59We went from 12 staff, 13 staff at the beginning of the '60s
0:22:59 > 0:23:02to, at the end of the '60s,
0:23:02 > 0:23:04the beginning of the '70s, around 500,
0:23:04 > 0:23:06so we really, really grew.
0:23:06 > 0:23:08We were starting to print bingo
0:23:08 > 0:23:11at exactly the time when commercial bingo became legal
0:23:11 > 0:23:16and we were one of effectively two major companies
0:23:16 > 0:23:19that were able to grow from that.
0:23:19 > 0:23:22All the collation was done by hand.
0:23:22 > 0:23:25The speed of people's hands and the work they had to do
0:23:25 > 0:23:29and the volumes that we were delivering were massive.
0:23:29 > 0:23:32One of the reasons bingo took off as it did
0:23:32 > 0:23:34was because it was able to target
0:23:34 > 0:23:36the growing proportion of the population
0:23:36 > 0:23:39for whom the '60s were bringing new possibilities
0:23:39 > 0:23:42in the form of greater spending power.
0:23:45 > 0:23:48In 1962, the Guardian newspaper
0:23:48 > 0:23:51declared that a housewife's revolution had occurred,
0:23:51 > 0:23:56after a government report had found that one in three married women
0:23:56 > 0:23:59were now working outside the home.
0:24:01 > 0:24:04Women had a discretionary income that they could spend.
0:24:04 > 0:24:06They had already found they liked gambling on bingo
0:24:06 > 0:24:10when they went on holidays, and, "Look at this,
0:24:10 > 0:24:13"we've got a bingo place opening up right in the centre of town.
0:24:13 > 0:24:16"It's open in the afternoons, I've done my shift in the morning,"
0:24:16 > 0:24:18a lot of women only worked part-time,
0:24:18 > 0:24:20"I can pop down the bingo for the afternoon
0:24:20 > 0:24:22"before I collect the children from school at four o'clock."
0:24:22 > 0:24:26Often they'd go from work to home, change and then go to bingo.
0:24:26 > 0:24:29Two-thirds of the people playing in those days were women.
0:24:29 > 0:24:32- NEWSREEL:- Nobody knows how many bingo players there are,
0:24:32 > 0:24:35but it's not less than six million and probably nearer ten.
0:24:35 > 0:24:38Most of them are women. Most of them are regular.
0:24:38 > 0:24:41Many spend £5 a week on the game.
0:24:41 > 0:24:43For them, the bingo session
0:24:43 > 0:24:46takes the place of both the music hall and the church.
0:24:46 > 0:24:48Women were also beginning to say,
0:24:48 > 0:24:51"Well, why can't I go out and have a bit of time on my own?"
0:24:51 > 0:24:55A lot of men, it's quite acceptable for them
0:24:55 > 0:24:57to go out to a football match,
0:24:57 > 0:24:59to go fishing, do whatever,
0:24:59 > 0:25:03whereas women were perhaps beginning to be a bit assertive
0:25:03 > 0:25:04and say, "Well, what about me?"
0:25:04 > 0:25:06The thing you always forget -
0:25:06 > 0:25:10probably the only safe environment for a woman to go on her own.
0:25:10 > 0:25:13She could go there without being accompanied by a man,
0:25:13 > 0:25:18accompanied by another woman, and she felt totally safe.
0:25:18 > 0:25:22The husband was happy to give her a couple of quid to go with
0:25:22 > 0:25:25because he knew she was in a totally safe environment.
0:25:25 > 0:25:29She got nobody getting drunk and chatting her up, to put it crudely.
0:25:29 > 0:25:32You know, there was nothing like that in a bingo hall.
0:25:32 > 0:25:36We sort of forget just how unliberated women were.
0:25:36 > 0:25:39Yes, my husband is the boss and I have seven sons.
0:25:39 > 0:25:42I'd like them to take after their father.
0:25:42 > 0:25:45Because he's the boss, I have to ask his consent
0:25:45 > 0:25:47if I can go out to see friends.
0:25:47 > 0:25:49You know, women didn't go into pubs,
0:25:49 > 0:25:53they did have to get permission to go out without their husbands,
0:25:53 > 0:25:55they did have to prioritise the childcare.
0:25:55 > 0:25:58Opportunities were very limited.
0:25:58 > 0:26:01Even now, some women won't feel comfortable
0:26:01 > 0:26:03walking into a pub on their own,
0:26:03 > 0:26:05whereas you can go to a bingo club on your own.
0:26:05 > 0:26:08It's possibly... I can't think of many places
0:26:08 > 0:26:12where women would feel comfortable going on their own.
0:26:12 > 0:26:16I used to go every Sunday night.
0:26:16 > 0:26:19I used to leave the kids at home with my husband and, yeah,
0:26:19 > 0:26:21that was my escapism, really.
0:26:21 > 0:26:25I like coming because it's somewhere you can come on your own.
0:26:25 > 0:26:28Like, if you go in a pub and you're a woman and you're on your own and...
0:26:28 > 0:26:31You just don't do it. You can come here, either with someone,
0:26:31 > 0:26:33with friends, with your partner or on your own.
0:26:33 > 0:26:37Yeah. And no men want to come as well so it's really good!
0:26:37 > 0:26:41It's a great day out. It's a social day out.
0:26:41 > 0:26:45You go there and you meet a lot of friends. I'm a single girl.
0:26:45 > 0:26:50So I love to go because I've got a lot of friends there
0:26:50 > 0:26:52and they care for you.
0:26:52 > 0:26:54It's a caring place.
0:26:56 > 0:27:00But the sight of thousands of women queueing up for a flutter at bingo
0:27:00 > 0:27:03was more than many could bear back in the '60s.
0:27:06 > 0:27:10Almost as soon as the boom began so too did the backlash.
0:27:11 > 0:27:14Some newspapers started denouncing bingo
0:27:14 > 0:27:17as a new and dangerous phenomenon.
0:27:19 > 0:27:23And columnists gleefully declared the birth of bingo orphans.
0:27:23 > 0:27:28We have, in The Times, an editorial that headlined...
0:27:31 > 0:27:36We have condemnation of the players as stupid, naive, ignorant.
0:27:36 > 0:27:39Are you going to gamble away all your housekeeping money?
0:27:39 > 0:27:40No, certainly not.
0:27:40 > 0:27:42There were stories about women
0:27:42 > 0:27:46supposedly frittering away their housekeeping money,
0:27:46 > 0:27:50there were stories about women neglecting their children,
0:27:50 > 0:27:53and some of that was the kind of thing
0:27:53 > 0:27:56that is often levelled at women anyway.
0:27:56 > 0:27:59The press reaction was as you would expect them to.
0:27:59 > 0:28:01It was something they could sell papers on.
0:28:01 > 0:28:03If they found one child stood outside a bingo hall,
0:28:03 > 0:28:06they could have him on the front page.
0:28:06 > 0:28:09The fact the child was just passing the bingo hall didn't really matter.
0:28:09 > 0:28:12The disdain wasn't just reserved for women.
0:28:12 > 0:28:15Bingo in general became a target of chattering class scorn.
0:28:15 > 0:28:19- NEWSREEL:- Bingo, the most mindless ritual achieved
0:28:19 > 0:28:22in half a million years of human evolution.
0:28:22 > 0:28:24There is a lot of snobbery around
0:28:24 > 0:28:28and quite a lot of hypocrisy and the usual elitism
0:28:28 > 0:28:31around anything that working-class people enjoy.
0:28:31 > 0:28:33How often do you come here?
0:28:33 > 0:28:36- Twice a week?- That's every week. - That's every week.
0:28:36 > 0:28:39- How much money do you spend here? - On the average, about 30 bob.
0:28:39 > 0:28:43- Have you got any children at all? - Unmarried.
0:28:43 > 0:28:46- So you've got no family problems? - No family problems.
0:28:46 > 0:28:49- Wouldn't you rather be doing something else?- Such as?
0:28:49 > 0:28:52I'd say on an evening like this, walking, cycling or all sorts of...
0:28:52 > 0:28:56No, this suits me down to the ground. I get wonderful entertainment here.
0:28:56 > 0:29:00You know, whether it's greyhound racing or going down to the pub
0:29:00 > 0:29:03or the working men's club, those sorts of activities
0:29:03 > 0:29:08are seen as less educational, they're less favoured.
0:29:08 > 0:29:11- NEWSREEL:- The Theatre Royal, Margate, a fine 200-year-old house,
0:29:11 > 0:29:13the second oldest theatre in the country.
0:29:13 > 0:29:16But the queue I found outside wasn't waiting to see the play,
0:29:16 > 0:29:18they were waiting to play bingo.
0:29:18 > 0:29:21Mr Brown, are the bingo sessions helping the theatre much?
0:29:21 > 0:29:23Well, they're not at the moment
0:29:23 > 0:29:25but we're hoping during the winter period
0:29:25 > 0:29:27when audiences are low, they will.
0:29:27 > 0:29:29This is a very old theatre.
0:29:29 > 0:29:32Do you think this is a very dignified way of helping it?
0:29:32 > 0:29:35It's not a dignified way but it's a means to an end.
0:29:35 > 0:29:38Isn't there a danger that it might turn into a bingo parlour
0:29:38 > 0:29:41rather than a theatre? How does your regular company feel about it?
0:29:41 > 0:29:45Well, we have a member of the company here. Susan?
0:29:45 > 0:29:49She would probably tell you more than I can. Miss Matthews.
0:29:49 > 0:29:52Susan, you work in the box office, don't you, this afternoon?
0:29:52 > 0:29:53Yes, on Sundays.
0:29:53 > 0:29:57How do the actors feel about this bingo business?
0:29:57 > 0:30:01Well, we don't like these posters put all round our beautiful old theatre.
0:30:01 > 0:30:03To begin with, we didn't like it at all.
0:30:03 > 0:30:07But taking the long view, if it means that we can have 12 months' work
0:30:07 > 0:30:11instead of just a seasonal period, then we are for it.
0:30:11 > 0:30:13Susan wasn't alone.
0:30:13 > 0:30:16Many at the time felt that bingo was a threat to the world
0:30:16 > 0:30:17as they knew it.
0:30:18 > 0:30:23But for others, bingo was a welcome arrival to the world.
0:30:23 > 0:30:25Working-class life was changing,
0:30:25 > 0:30:30with old patterns of living coming under threat for whole generations.
0:30:30 > 0:30:32Rows of terraced houses
0:30:32 > 0:30:35were being demolished to make way for new estates.
0:30:35 > 0:30:39And whilst this often improved the material quality of people's lives,
0:30:39 > 0:30:42the sense of community was faltering.
0:30:42 > 0:30:45Whole streets were being restructured,
0:30:45 > 0:30:47the life of the street was very much changing.
0:30:47 > 0:30:50People were beginning to live in high-rise blocks of flats.
0:30:50 > 0:30:54Women would still go to the wash house in the 1950s and '60s
0:30:54 > 0:30:56to do their laundry.
0:30:56 > 0:30:58A lot of those spaces were going,
0:30:58 > 0:31:04so the idea of having a communal life outside of the house...
0:31:04 > 0:31:07And remember that a lot of houses
0:31:07 > 0:31:09were not places that people actually socialised in.
0:31:09 > 0:31:12We've got this mythology, really, about working-class life
0:31:12 > 0:31:15that people were always popping in and out of each other's houses.
0:31:15 > 0:31:17That wasn't really the case.
0:31:17 > 0:31:20So to have a place that people could go out to
0:31:20 > 0:31:24and have a kind of non-intimate sociability,
0:31:24 > 0:31:28to be out with your mates doing an activity together,
0:31:28 > 0:31:32bingo really fulfilled that.
0:31:32 > 0:31:36So for the ordinary working people of this country, it was a godsend.
0:31:36 > 0:31:41The cinemas had closed, they needed a community action.
0:31:41 > 0:31:45It's no good sitting at home every night and talking to their neighbour,
0:31:45 > 0:31:49they wanted somewhere to go to meet their friends and have a night out.
0:31:49 > 0:31:53And the bingo hall became the place -
0:31:53 > 0:31:57cheap, easy, friendly,
0:31:57 > 0:31:59great community atmosphere.
0:31:59 > 0:32:02We've met more people here in the last couple of sessions
0:32:02 > 0:32:05than we've met in two and a half years we've lived down here.
0:32:05 > 0:32:08What satisfaction do you get out of this?
0:32:08 > 0:32:12- It gives me a couple of hours out. - How much do you spend?
0:32:12 > 0:32:15- 12 and six on the night.- That all? - Mmm.
0:32:16 > 0:32:18You think that's worth it for what you get?
0:32:18 > 0:32:21Well, I've been a few times and I got £23, one shilling,
0:32:21 > 0:32:24so my expenses are paid, aren't they?
0:32:24 > 0:32:30For older women, there was that need, I guess,
0:32:30 > 0:32:33for sociability, you know, to avoid loneliness.
0:32:34 > 0:32:37A lot of older women, in particular, live on their own,
0:32:37 > 0:32:43and, in many ways, bingo was simply a way to get out of the house.
0:32:43 > 0:32:46That's also why bingo sessions
0:32:46 > 0:32:48during the day are very popular.
0:32:48 > 0:32:51A lot of elderly people don't want to come out in the evenings.
0:32:55 > 0:33:00Every Wednesday about quarter past, half past 12,
0:33:00 > 0:33:01I come round, open the hall,
0:33:01 > 0:33:05and then fill the urns with water, ready,
0:33:05 > 0:33:11and have it hot for when the players come in
0:33:11 > 0:33:13at about one o'clock-ish,
0:33:13 > 0:33:16so they can all have a hot cup of tea if they wish.
0:33:16 > 0:33:21'And then I do another duty, which is taking their entrance fees of 50p.
0:33:21 > 0:33:26'Our basic average is about 30 to 32 every week.
0:33:26 > 0:33:31'Sometimes it goes up to about 38, which is a good week.
0:33:31 > 0:33:33'But I get excited'
0:33:33 > 0:33:37when it gets past 25 cos that covers all the expenses
0:33:37 > 0:33:40and gives us a little profit, which is all going into the church funds.
0:33:40 > 0:33:44Seven and nine, 79.
0:33:44 > 0:33:47It's an escape from the boredom of life.
0:33:47 > 0:33:50They come for the companionship, somewhere to go,
0:33:50 > 0:33:55somewhere to get out of their little blocks of flats or apartments,
0:33:55 > 0:34:00sometimes a slight break away from the family.
0:34:00 > 0:34:07And then they're all talking from table to table
0:34:07 > 0:34:10and amongst themselves, and probably sometimes
0:34:10 > 0:34:15they wouldn't say two or three words throughout the week to anyone else.
0:34:15 > 0:34:20It's amazing how there's a jolly, friendly atmosphere.
0:34:23 > 0:34:25It's the company. You meet people,
0:34:25 > 0:34:30or you probably wouldn't have anybody to talk to. It's nice.
0:34:30 > 0:34:34Unfortunately, a lot of elderly people on their own,
0:34:34 > 0:34:38they don't have anybody to talk to, and when they do get a chance,
0:34:38 > 0:34:40well, like me, they can't stop.
0:34:44 > 0:34:47Bingo is now a staple of many church halls.
0:34:47 > 0:34:48But back in the '60s,
0:34:48 > 0:34:51it was closely associated with other forms of gaming
0:34:51 > 0:34:53and helped trigger a wider moral panic
0:34:53 > 0:34:57about the extent of gambling in the UK.
0:34:57 > 0:35:00- NEWSREEL:- There must be times when it seems to moralists
0:35:00 > 0:35:04as if Britain is a nation given over almost completely to gambling,
0:35:04 > 0:35:05the second oldest profession -
0:35:05 > 0:35:09the nation fiddling while the Treaty of Rome burns.
0:35:09 > 0:35:12But the Sabbath contrasts are too spectacular for comfort.
0:35:12 > 0:35:17In this Christian nation, only one person in ten goes to church.
0:35:17 > 0:35:20God who made us mighty no longer makes us mightier yet.
0:35:23 > 0:35:28Since the 1960 legislation liberalising betting and gaming,
0:35:28 > 0:35:31many now believed that Britain had become a nation of gamblers.
0:35:31 > 0:35:35Britain was actually the destination of choice
0:35:35 > 0:35:37for anybody who wanted to gamble,
0:35:37 > 0:35:39because there was more opportunity to gamble
0:35:39 > 0:35:42within the UK than anywhere else in the world.
0:35:42 > 0:35:45So the spa towns of Europe were put in the shade by London.
0:35:45 > 0:35:49You know, if you wanted to come and gamble from America,
0:35:49 > 0:35:51then this was the place to be.
0:35:51 > 0:35:53And there was an awful lot of gambling tourism, actually,
0:35:53 > 0:35:56in that period, but mainly for the high-class casinos.
0:35:56 > 0:35:59Some church groups were particularly unhappy
0:35:59 > 0:36:01about the rapid spread of gambling.
0:36:01 > 0:36:03There's a lot of religious opposition,
0:36:03 > 0:36:06there are bodies that are opposed to gambling -
0:36:06 > 0:36:08the National Anti-Gambling League -
0:36:08 > 0:36:11because there's this great outrage against, basically,
0:36:11 > 0:36:13two or three things. One is that, in fact,
0:36:13 > 0:36:16it's a waste of money, it causes poverty.
0:36:16 > 0:36:21Secondly, it corrupts children and women, women and children.
0:36:21 > 0:36:24And thirdly, the third real objection,
0:36:24 > 0:36:27is that it creates an attitude of getting something for nothing,
0:36:27 > 0:36:28something for nowt.
0:36:28 > 0:36:30And those were the three driving forces
0:36:30 > 0:36:33behind trying to stop people gambling.
0:36:33 > 0:36:36But the Catholics didn't have a problem with bingo.
0:36:36 > 0:36:40Instead, they saw it as an opportunity.
0:36:40 > 0:36:43Made in heaven, 67.
0:36:43 > 0:36:45In the post-war years,
0:36:45 > 0:36:48there had been a huge influx of workers from Ireland
0:36:48 > 0:36:50to help rebuild the country.
0:36:50 > 0:36:53The Catholic Church needed money to pay for the building
0:36:53 > 0:36:55of new schools and social clubs to cater for them.
0:36:55 > 0:36:58Bingo provided an important income.
0:36:58 > 0:37:01It is said to have partly paid for the building
0:37:01 > 0:37:04that has become affectionately known as Paddy's Wigwam.
0:37:04 > 0:37:07The Catholic cathedral in Liverpool had been started before the war,
0:37:07 > 0:37:09and to a very different plan.
0:37:09 > 0:37:12But, of course, money was much tighter after the war,
0:37:12 > 0:37:15building materials were rationed. So they had to have a new scheme
0:37:15 > 0:37:18and they had to have a massive fundraising effort
0:37:18 > 0:37:20alongside the new scheme.
0:37:20 > 0:37:22So the Metropolitan Cathedral decided,
0:37:22 > 0:37:25"Well, if we're going to raise that sort of money quickly, you know,
0:37:25 > 0:37:28"bingo games is one very good way forward. We will have bingo games."
0:37:28 > 0:37:29And they did.
0:37:29 > 0:37:32And very successfully too, because they raised a lot of money
0:37:32 > 0:37:34and it's a very beautiful testament
0:37:34 > 0:37:37to the use of gambling money, I think, as well.
0:37:37 > 0:37:41Even though bingo was doing positive things for the Catholic Church,
0:37:41 > 0:37:43political changes afoot in 1964
0:37:43 > 0:37:46suddenly spelt an uncertain future
0:37:46 > 0:37:48for the commercial operators of the game.
0:37:48 > 0:37:50CHEERING
0:37:50 > 0:37:53When Harold Wilson's Labour government came into power,
0:37:53 > 0:37:55it could see that things had got out of hand.
0:37:57 > 0:37:59Control was not really in place.
0:37:59 > 0:38:03I had five casinos - small ones.
0:38:03 > 0:38:05Because I manufactured the equipment,
0:38:05 > 0:38:08I could put them in a club, it became a casino.
0:38:08 > 0:38:13And so you open good casinos, bad casinos - too many of them.
0:38:13 > 0:38:16Uncontrolled, you could open anywhere.
0:38:16 > 0:38:19You buy a cinema, you open.
0:38:19 > 0:38:21It was freedom.
0:38:21 > 0:38:25When they're uncontrolled, you sometimes get a bad element in them.
0:38:25 > 0:38:28And bingo was virtually uncontrolled then.
0:38:28 > 0:38:32Up to tricks, 46.
0:38:32 > 0:38:37A few unscrupulous bingo halls were operating some sharp practices.
0:38:37 > 0:38:40I still think the vast majority of bingo that was played was safe
0:38:40 > 0:38:43and was done with the best intentions.
0:38:43 > 0:38:45There might have been one or two bad places,
0:38:45 > 0:38:48but people were making so much money legitimately anyway,
0:38:48 > 0:38:53there wasn't much need to... cheat the system.
0:38:53 > 0:38:56But there were one or two cheats. You know, you've got the caller
0:38:56 > 0:38:59reading out a different number from the ball.
0:38:59 > 0:39:00Number four.
0:39:00 > 0:39:02They pull a ball and the ball might have a number three on,
0:39:02 > 0:39:05they'd read number 17 because they wanted that ticket to win
0:39:05 > 0:39:07and they probably have a list of numbers.
0:39:07 > 0:39:08But the attractiveness of bingo
0:39:08 > 0:39:12had caught the attention of a far more dangerous fraternity.
0:39:13 > 0:39:17Bingo, as it was constituted during this period,
0:39:17 > 0:39:20was a very, very good way of laundering money
0:39:20 > 0:39:22because bingo players paid cash,
0:39:22 > 0:39:25there wasn't a record kept of how many people came in
0:39:25 > 0:39:27or how many cards you sold.
0:39:27 > 0:39:29If you won a large cash prize at bingo,
0:39:29 > 0:39:32or even had a large amount of money that you wanted to put in the bank,
0:39:32 > 0:39:34you could say, "Well, I won it at bingo."
0:39:34 > 0:39:37There was no check to say you didn't win it at bingo,
0:39:37 > 0:39:40so there was nothing to stop you putting the proceeds of a heist
0:39:40 > 0:39:42in the bank under the guise that it was a bingo win.
0:39:42 > 0:39:45- NEWSREEL:- Today's report shows that bingo show clubs
0:39:45 > 0:39:48have a membership of 14.5 half million members,
0:39:48 > 0:39:50casino clubs close on a million,
0:39:50 > 0:39:52and that every year one-armed bandits
0:39:52 > 0:39:55make a profit of around £10 million.
0:39:55 > 0:39:57One of the most lucrative opportunities
0:39:57 > 0:40:00for the organised crime gangs were the slot machines
0:40:00 > 0:40:03that were situated inside the bingo halls.
0:40:03 > 0:40:07There was always a risk with the gaming machines that, although they
0:40:07 > 0:40:11were run by family businesses in this country, of the foreign element
0:40:11 > 0:40:16creeping in because of the weakness of the Gambling Act.
0:40:16 > 0:40:19So we had got a potential problem.
0:40:20 > 0:40:21So, there we were,
0:40:21 > 0:40:26playing with machines that were prewar, most of them.
0:40:26 > 0:40:29But the brand-new machines were coming in and the companies
0:40:29 > 0:40:33behind them were not the best of the syndicates in America.
0:40:33 > 0:40:36We won't get involved with what you call them.
0:40:36 > 0:40:40But they then shipped them over under their own banner
0:40:40 > 0:40:42and brought in their own people.
0:40:42 > 0:40:46They saw England as an easy touch
0:40:46 > 0:40:51and they thought they could move in and take over the gambling business.
0:40:51 > 0:40:55The gaming industry is a fast-moving industry with a lot of loose money
0:40:55 > 0:41:01and perhaps hot money involved with a fringe of criminal element
0:41:01 > 0:41:05with certain dangers of a social nature.
0:41:07 > 0:41:11Fearing a Mafia-style takeover, the Labour government was
0:41:11 > 0:41:16determined to tighten the rules and crack down on commercial gaming.
0:41:16 > 0:41:18They actually meant it was going to end.
0:41:18 > 0:41:20There was going to be nothing left.
0:41:20 > 0:41:24Bingo was seen as much a part of the gaming world as casinos,
0:41:24 > 0:41:27so Eric Morley and other operators knew
0:41:27 > 0:41:30they had to lobby government to save their profitable industry.
0:41:32 > 0:41:37It was up to us to go and explain to government that bingo was not
0:41:37 > 0:41:42hard gambling that took away people's livelihoods.
0:41:42 > 0:41:45Bingo was soft and fun.
0:41:45 > 0:41:47And we had to explain this
0:41:47 > 0:41:51and persuade politicians there was a total barrier between the two.
0:41:52 > 0:41:53They were successful
0:41:53 > 0:41:57because when Labour passed the Gaming Act in 1968,
0:41:57 > 0:42:02the casino industry was decimated and went from 2,000 clubs to 121.
0:42:02 > 0:42:06But bingo came out of it relatively unscathed.
0:42:06 > 0:42:11The National Association of Bingo Clubs has come along with us
0:42:11 > 0:42:16in recognising that if bingo is to be this social game,
0:42:16 > 0:42:20played, as I say, between neighbours for modest stakes,
0:42:20 > 0:42:26then we must have rules which ensure that it doesn't become
0:42:26 > 0:42:31a source of regret and sorrow and hardship.
0:42:31 > 0:42:33People want to go there and enjoy themselves
0:42:33 > 0:42:37and not feel that they've lost more money than they can afford.
0:42:37 > 0:42:41So they softened for bingo because we persuaded them,
0:42:41 > 0:42:46with evidence, that bingo was a soft community game,
0:42:46 > 0:42:49played by ordinary people.
0:42:49 > 0:42:52Some controls were tightened up and licences became harder
0:42:52 > 0:42:56to come by but the way was clear for the next decade.
0:42:56 > 0:42:59Over 8 million people, mainly housewives and pensioners,
0:42:59 > 0:43:01play bingo perhaps once or twice a week.
0:43:02 > 0:43:06They wager on their clickety-clicks and their Kelly's Eyes
0:43:06 > 0:43:09an incredible £185 million a year.
0:43:10 > 0:43:15The promoters call this obsession an entertainment with a flutter.
0:43:15 > 0:43:18Certainly, it fills lonely hours for the elderly
0:43:18 > 0:43:20but folk also want to win.
0:43:20 > 0:43:23Perhaps a few pounds only or maybe up to 1,000.
0:43:24 > 0:43:28And soon such amounts would pale into insignificance.
0:43:28 > 0:43:31The British tabloids that had once so derided bingo
0:43:31 > 0:43:33now wanted a slice of the action.
0:43:33 > 0:43:36Fleet Street's first bingo millionaire
0:43:36 > 0:43:38phoned in his full house claim this morning.
0:43:38 > 0:43:42They ran their own games and offered prize money that people
0:43:42 > 0:43:45previously could only have dreamt of.
0:43:45 > 0:43:48It began with the Daily Star, was quickly followed by The Sun
0:43:48 > 0:43:50and soon after most of the rest of Fleet Street's
0:43:50 > 0:43:53mass-circulation papers joined in.
0:43:53 > 0:43:56Millions of pounds are being offered in prizes in the biggest
0:43:56 > 0:43:59circulation war Fleet Street has seen for decades.
0:43:59 > 0:44:04The bingo games now reach 25 million newspaper buyers a day.
0:44:04 > 0:44:06They're all bingo mad.
0:44:06 > 0:44:10We used to print the Daily Express bingo and the Daily Star bingo
0:44:10 > 0:44:13and the Mirror and...
0:44:13 > 0:44:17Massive numbers - we were doing
0:44:17 > 0:44:19a five million, six million run.
0:44:19 > 0:44:23At its boom, we were having many millions of players playing
0:44:23 > 0:44:25bingo in newspapers every day.
0:44:25 > 0:44:31We were having play rates for the national papers of about 30%.
0:44:31 > 0:44:34Now, what that means is, we were dropping bingo tickets
0:44:34 > 0:44:36to every home in the country.
0:44:36 > 0:44:40And 30% of those tickets were being played. That is huge.
0:44:40 > 0:44:41Absolutely huge.
0:44:41 > 0:44:44The Sun newspaper claims that bingo has added
0:44:44 > 0:44:46half a million to its sales,
0:44:46 > 0:44:48proving a more potent circulation booster
0:44:48 > 0:44:49than its more familiar attractions.
0:44:49 > 0:44:51Yes, it is cost-effective
0:44:51 > 0:44:55and hopefully we will also kill off some of our rivals in the process.
0:44:55 > 0:44:58Do you really think it is going to end like that?
0:44:58 > 0:45:00Is this a battle to the death, as you describe it?
0:45:00 > 0:45:04It is a battle to the death and our rivals are really feeling the pain.
0:45:04 > 0:45:05So, what do you think this means for
0:45:05 > 0:45:08the future of some newspapers in Fleet Street?
0:45:08 > 0:45:11Well, I hope it means that some of our rivals are put out of business.
0:45:11 > 0:45:13Even the broadsheets wanted in on the game.
0:45:13 > 0:45:16It's a cross between the football pools and bingo.
0:45:16 > 0:45:18As befits The Times' image,
0:45:18 > 0:45:21you get an upmarket plastic card the size of a credit card.
0:45:21 > 0:45:24The game is based on the ups and downs of the stock market.
0:45:24 > 0:45:28We did games for people like The Times and the Telegraph and whatever
0:45:28 > 0:45:30that, at the time, were variations on bingo.
0:45:30 > 0:45:31It wasn't bingo,
0:45:31 > 0:45:36it was either how the stock market moved or years of wine.
0:45:36 > 0:45:37But it was still bingo.
0:45:37 > 0:45:40- INTERVIEWER:- It does smack slightly of an upmarket bingo.
0:45:40 > 0:45:44Well, if we are selling four million copies of The Times
0:45:44 > 0:45:47by this time next week, I would agree with you, yes.
0:45:47 > 0:45:50The newspaper industry was delighted with the results
0:45:50 > 0:45:54but traditional bingo operators weren't quite so enamoured.
0:45:54 > 0:46:00It isn't bingo. It's a lottery. They draw so many numbers a day.
0:46:00 > 0:46:02You have got to buy the newspaper for a week.
0:46:02 > 0:46:05It's a sales gimmick to sell newspapers.
0:46:05 > 0:46:10They can play for big money because it's an advertising gimmick.
0:46:10 > 0:46:11But it is not bingo.
0:46:11 > 0:46:14There is no community atmosphere, there is no pleasure.
0:46:14 > 0:46:15It is purely a gamble.
0:46:17 > 0:46:19The bingo clubs were worried.
0:46:19 > 0:46:22Momentum in the halls seemed to be slowing down.
0:46:22 > 0:46:25Overshadowed by the newspaper bingo millionaires,
0:46:25 > 0:46:27they needed to bring the buzz back.
0:46:29 > 0:46:31Bingo was going to be left in the doldrums.
0:46:31 > 0:46:34We had the idea of the National Game.
0:46:34 > 0:46:37The Bingo Association thought up this game.
0:46:37 > 0:46:40They wanted to link up all the bingo clubs in the UK
0:46:40 > 0:46:44and consolidate ticket sales to create a massive prize fund.
0:46:45 > 0:46:49We went across to Parliament and we pleaded with government.
0:46:49 > 0:46:52The Gaming Board threw up their objections.
0:46:53 > 0:46:57The Home Secretary at the time was Douglas Hurd, I can remember it well,
0:46:57 > 0:47:03and he said, "No, let the bingo hall talk." He liked it and he listened
0:47:03 > 0:47:07to the reasons, the sense, the logic of it and said,
0:47:07 > 0:47:11"This is great. These people have to compete.
0:47:11 > 0:47:15"The people playing bingo have to have something to go for,
0:47:15 > 0:47:17"a big prize."
0:47:17 > 0:47:20In 1986, the National Game was born.
0:47:20 > 0:47:22I think people thought that we weren't serious,
0:47:22 > 0:47:25linking up 800 bingo clubs, National Game by computer.
0:47:25 > 0:47:27And, really, there wasn't the technology.
0:47:27 > 0:47:29It was all new technology.
0:47:29 > 0:47:31Computer-generated bingo tickets were sold
0:47:31 > 0:47:33in halls all over the country.
0:47:35 > 0:47:38A random generator selected that night's numbers which were then
0:47:38 > 0:47:42transmitted across the network to all participating clubs.
0:47:44 > 0:47:47This computer could take in and analyse all the tickets
0:47:47 > 0:47:51that were sold, know what numbers were called
0:47:51 > 0:47:56and could check the winners and could control perfectly
0:47:56 > 0:47:59the running of this huge game with hundreds of thousands
0:47:59 > 0:48:03of tickets being sold from Scotland to Land's End...
0:48:05 > 0:48:09All the numbers are in now so eyes down. National Game.
0:48:09 > 0:48:10Full house only.
0:48:10 > 0:48:13..and now your prize money went huge.
0:48:18 > 0:48:23250, £500,000. Big money in those days.
0:48:23 > 0:48:28Suddenly you had a legalised massive jackpot where you might
0:48:28 > 0:48:31get 80 or 100 grand for a single game of bingo.
0:48:31 > 0:48:33It was just like, "Wow."
0:48:33 > 0:48:34Five and nine, 59.
0:48:34 > 0:48:36BELL RINGS
0:48:44 > 0:48:45That's a good one.
0:48:45 > 0:48:51Every night you got close and you had an equal chance of winning it
0:48:51 > 0:48:55as everybody else in the land playing that game.
0:48:55 > 0:48:57So it was a very popular game.
0:48:57 > 0:48:59And it brought the spark back.
0:48:59 > 0:49:03One of the unique attractions of bingo is that it is not
0:49:03 > 0:49:05strictly a win/lose situation.
0:49:05 > 0:49:09The enjoyment of playing can be almost as much fun as the winning.
0:49:09 > 0:49:11They enjoy the thrill of nearly winning.
0:49:11 > 0:49:14They enjoy the actual real thrill when they do win.
0:49:14 > 0:49:16They enjoy seeing their friends as well when they're there.
0:49:16 > 0:49:17They might go with a group.
0:49:17 > 0:49:20But you're not there to chat, you're there to play bingo.
0:49:20 > 0:49:24For everybody that won, there was at least 50 people nearly winning.
0:49:24 > 0:49:27And the excitement was how close you got to winning.
0:49:27 > 0:49:29So that was the thrill of bingo.
0:49:29 > 0:49:31You feel like shouting when someone shouts, "Here."
0:49:31 > 0:49:33You're like, "No! It's mine!"
0:49:33 > 0:49:34The one thing worse than that
0:49:34 > 0:49:36- is when your one number is the next number out.- Yeah.
0:49:36 > 0:49:39- You are one away from the line. - If it wasn't that next number
0:49:39 > 0:49:42that come out, I could live with that but when it is the next number,
0:49:42 > 0:49:45my heart goes in my stomach. It's like, "Couldn't you just miss it?"
0:49:45 > 0:49:47And so it got the adrenaline going,
0:49:47 > 0:49:50got the excitement going, got the pleasure of it.
0:49:50 > 0:49:52You're shaking all over, aren't you?
0:49:52 > 0:49:56I keep willing it out and it won't come. And I call it a bugger.
0:49:58 > 0:50:01If you have a win, you are delighted.
0:50:01 > 0:50:04If you don't, well, say, "We'll try again next week."
0:50:04 > 0:50:08- You get terribly excited each game, do you?- I get very excited. Yes.
0:50:08 > 0:50:11- Before each one?- Oh, we do, yes. - During the game.
0:50:11 > 0:50:14During and before and before we come. It's lovely.
0:50:14 > 0:50:16And when they have won -
0:50:16 > 0:50:18ecstasy, they have made it.
0:50:18 > 0:50:20Four and six, 46.
0:50:20 > 0:50:22- Seven and three, 73. - SHOUTING
0:50:22 > 0:50:25OK. Oh, we have got two.
0:50:25 > 0:50:27- Did you win this afternoon? - I did, yes, twice.
0:50:27 > 0:50:28I won £10.
0:50:28 > 0:50:31It's my first time winning as well, so it is dead exciting.
0:50:31 > 0:50:33I've had nothing yet.
0:50:33 > 0:50:37I have won 20 before but that's it. Still waiting for the big win.
0:50:37 > 0:50:39Did you enjoy the session?
0:50:39 > 0:50:41- Very much, thank you.- Did you win? - Yes, 10 shillings.
0:50:41 > 0:50:44Whether they won a pound or they won 1,000 didn't really matter.
0:50:44 > 0:50:47They would yell just as loud,
0:50:47 > 0:50:49they would jump in their seats just as high.
0:50:49 > 0:50:52Bingo! I've won.
0:50:52 > 0:50:55It might only be four pound but you have won.
0:50:55 > 0:50:57I don't know, it gives you a thrill.
0:50:57 > 0:50:59Well, it gives me a thrill, anyway.
0:51:01 > 0:51:02250 each.
0:51:03 > 0:51:07When I win money here, I come in the next day and spend a certain
0:51:07 > 0:51:13part of it and go to my bar and get my two bottles of Guinness.
0:51:15 > 0:51:20People go and say to you, "I don't go to win, I go for the pleasure."
0:51:20 > 0:51:22I think they're fibbing.
0:51:22 > 0:51:24I think everybody wants to win.
0:51:24 > 0:51:28Whether it is bingo or whatever you do in life - you want to win.
0:51:30 > 0:51:33The National Game had brought bingo into the modern era.
0:51:33 > 0:51:36But the converted cinemas that had once provided glamour
0:51:36 > 0:51:40now looked shabby and out of step with the way people were living.
0:51:42 > 0:51:46As people became more used to travelling in cars,
0:51:46 > 0:51:49you opened bingo halls where you'd got the biggest car park.
0:51:49 > 0:51:52Cricklewood was a total success
0:51:52 > 0:51:55because it had got car parking for 1,800 cars.
0:51:56 > 0:51:59We were now creating the large bingo halls.
0:51:59 > 0:52:03The 1,000-seater, 2,000-seater.
0:52:03 > 0:52:04People were more demanding now.
0:52:04 > 0:52:07They were asking for better facilities.
0:52:08 > 0:52:11You have moved to much more upmarket buildings
0:52:11 > 0:52:13that are designed for bingo.
0:52:13 > 0:52:16JIMMY THOMAS: We could develop a bingo hall
0:52:16 > 0:52:18with entertainment around the outer core.
0:52:18 > 0:52:22We could put a pub, a restaurant, theatre,
0:52:22 > 0:52:26all these things around inside the huge shell
0:52:26 > 0:52:30and then put a couple of thousand seats in the middle of it.
0:52:30 > 0:52:36So they became the next generation of bingo halls.
0:52:36 > 0:52:38When I walked in, I couldn't believe it.
0:52:38 > 0:52:41I thought, "Oh, this is great, isn't it?"
0:52:41 > 0:52:43Everything matches everything, doesn't it?
0:52:43 > 0:52:47- Yeah, yeah.- Everything matches everything.- Beautiful, yeah.
0:52:47 > 0:52:48It's out of this world.
0:52:51 > 0:52:52Big prize money
0:52:52 > 0:52:55and the new super-sized, specially-designed halls
0:52:55 > 0:53:00seemed to have created a bright 21st-century future for bingo.
0:53:00 > 0:53:05- A very good evening to you all. Good evening.- ALL: Good evening.
0:53:05 > 0:53:08But then something came along that had potential to extinguish
0:53:08 > 0:53:11this favourite British pastime for good.
0:53:12 > 0:53:16In 2006, the Scottish Assembly introduced a smoking ban
0:53:16 > 0:53:20and the rest of Britain followed suit a year later.
0:53:20 > 0:53:25Smoking is a very important thing to bingo players.
0:53:25 > 0:53:3065, 70% of people in bingo halls smoked.
0:53:30 > 0:53:34It's a nervous reaction when you're playing. You enjoy a smoke.
0:53:34 > 0:53:35It was part of the pleasure.
0:53:35 > 0:53:39A high proportion of working-class people smoked.
0:53:39 > 0:53:42Bingo is a working-class game.
0:53:42 > 0:53:46Bingo is also a game for people who take risks on occasions
0:53:46 > 0:53:49so when the smoking ban came in, it hit bingo harder,
0:53:49 > 0:53:51proportionately, than other pastimes.
0:53:51 > 0:53:55We reckoned that that would take 15% away
0:53:55 > 0:53:59from the bottom-line income of the bingo hall.
0:53:59 > 0:54:02For a lot of bingo halls, that meant closure.
0:54:02 > 0:54:06Unfortunately, this is the club that we had to close.
0:54:06 > 0:54:09We shut this in May of last year.
0:54:09 > 0:54:12Well, we used to have, on a regular basis,
0:54:12 > 0:54:17over a thousand people playing in any evening at the Rio Bingo Club.
0:54:17 > 0:54:20Nobody can deny it is a more pleasant place to be
0:54:20 > 0:54:24in a bingo hall now - cleaner, tidier,
0:54:24 > 0:54:26there is not that stink of tobacco.
0:54:26 > 0:54:29You're talking to a non-smoker so I am probably biased,
0:54:29 > 0:54:34but it did hurt my business and it hurt the bingo business.
0:54:34 > 0:54:36And we haven't fully recovered from that.
0:54:36 > 0:54:39But over time, it has adapted.
0:54:39 > 0:54:44By 2010, there were nearly 13 million less players a year
0:54:44 > 0:54:46compared to 2006.
0:54:46 > 0:54:49But it still meant that around 48 million people
0:54:49 > 0:54:51were playing annually.
0:54:52 > 0:54:55Bingo is once again having to reinvent itself,
0:54:55 > 0:54:59this time for the smoke-free 21st century,
0:54:59 > 0:55:02designing new clubs with something for everyone.
0:55:03 > 0:55:07Bingo still has its fan base within the UK
0:55:07 > 0:55:09and it is quite an extensive one.
0:55:09 > 0:55:11The game is trying to reinvent itself -
0:55:11 > 0:55:15it's targeting student nights out and hen nights.
0:55:15 > 0:55:17And it appears to be working.
0:55:17 > 0:55:21Today, the biggest growth area in membership is women under 35.
0:55:21 > 0:55:25It's more younger people now that come. Especially at the weekend.
0:55:25 > 0:55:28We've got the lounge and it's just a good atmosphere.
0:55:28 > 0:55:30It really is now.
0:55:30 > 0:55:33It's a lot more for the younger people now. It's really good.
0:55:33 > 0:55:36Bingo's success in attracting a new clientele has been
0:55:36 > 0:55:40helped by the creation of separate spaces for those who want
0:55:40 > 0:55:43to socialise without disturbing the more hardcore player.
0:55:44 > 0:55:47It's got a different vibe about it than everyone seems...
0:55:47 > 0:55:50Everyone seems to think it's all for, like, grandmas and stuff
0:55:50 > 0:55:52and it's really not.
0:55:52 > 0:55:54It's really good fun and you get to have a drink and a laugh.
0:55:54 > 0:55:57Cos you've got the loud room and the quiet room,
0:55:57 > 0:55:59you can sit in the loud room with your girlfriends
0:55:59 > 0:56:04and have a bit of a chitchat and have fun and it's a good laugh, really.
0:56:04 > 0:56:06You know, the business is always cyclical.
0:56:06 > 0:56:08I think bingo is on an upturn now.
0:56:08 > 0:56:12There's still millions of people playing the game now.
0:56:12 > 0:56:17I remember people saying, you know, 25, 30 year ago,
0:56:17 > 0:56:19"Oh, bingo won't last."
0:56:19 > 0:56:22You know, it's still very strong these days.
0:56:22 > 0:56:26I don't think, personally, that there will be a time
0:56:26 > 0:56:27when bingo isn't popular.
0:56:27 > 0:56:29Nearly there, 89.
0:56:32 > 0:56:36The bingo business has managed to survive because at the heart of it
0:56:36 > 0:56:40is a simple game that we fell in love with a long time ago.
0:56:41 > 0:56:46And its appeal today is much the same as it has always been -
0:56:46 > 0:56:50It is an egalitarian game, beautifully without pretence,
0:56:50 > 0:56:54that has kept us entertained through difficult times,
0:56:54 > 0:56:57injected a touch of glamour to the high street
0:56:57 > 0:56:59and brought people together.
0:57:01 > 0:57:04We have made a lot of friends, haven't we?
0:57:04 > 0:57:07I mean, I didn't know Anna until I came to bingo
0:57:07 > 0:57:11and then when this opened, we just came on a Friday
0:57:11 > 0:57:13and we've been every Friday since.
0:57:13 > 0:57:17It does play an important social function.
0:57:17 > 0:57:20I think it is important that that does continue.
0:57:20 > 0:57:22One and seven, 17.
0:57:22 > 0:57:27I was sat with people 90 years old, sharp as needles.
0:57:27 > 0:57:31One of their daughters said to me, "My mother was going into a home.
0:57:31 > 0:57:35"Since she started playing bingo, her mind is fresh again."
0:57:35 > 0:57:38And that's what bingo does. It makes you work your brain.
0:57:38 > 0:57:42And there's always that chance that you might just get a full house.
0:57:42 > 0:57:43Bingo!
0:57:45 > 0:57:48But whether you win or not, bingo is more than just a game.
0:57:48 > 0:57:50For many, it's part of who they are.
0:57:51 > 0:57:55I don't want people crying at my funeral.
0:57:55 > 0:57:58I said, "What I want is, as you walk in,
0:57:58 > 0:58:01"you're handed a strip of bingo tickets
0:58:01 > 0:58:05"and I want the priest to call the bingo numbers
0:58:05 > 0:58:08"so we can all have a game of bingo."
0:58:08 > 0:58:11# Just listen to the music of the traffic in the city
0:58:11 > 0:58:15# Linger on the sidewalk where the neon signs are pretty
0:58:15 > 0:58:18# How can you lose?
0:58:18 > 0:58:21# The lights are much brighter there
0:58:21 > 0:58:24# You can forget all your troubles
0:58:24 > 0:58:25# Forget all your cares
0:58:25 > 0:58:28# So go downtown
0:58:28 > 0:58:30# You'll find a place, for sure
0:58:30 > 0:58:32# Downtown
0:58:32 > 0:58:35# Everything's waiting for you. #
0:58:35 > 0:58:38Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd