In general there are two types of bingo. There is the American style bingo game and the British style also known as â€Housie†in some other countries. Let’s look in a little more detail at the variants of bingo. The type of bingo played in the UK is exactly the same variant as played in Australia and New Zealand although in these countries it is called â€housie†This comprises of a bingo card with 15 numbers and there are usually 5 numbers in each of the 3 rows. These cards have 9 columns which mean 4 blank cells per row. The live game starts with the bingo caller announcing â€eyes down†to indicate to all the players the game is starting. Bingo balls are then drawn one by one either using a mechanical bingo machine or even in some cases by drawing small tokens from a bag. Online the number are drawn using software known as a random number generator. In the UK game every number is assigned a nickname such as â€two fat ladies†for the number 88 however this is a practise that is not that popular in Australia and New Zealand. This game always uses 90 balls and each game lasts no longer than 5 minutes. Players purchase multiple cards and it takes skill to play a dozen or more cards although online the drawn balls are marked off the cards automatically. In America and Canada the cards are different as cards are 5 rows by 5 rows and there are no blank entries so that each card comprises of 25 numbers. The American game only has 75 numbers rather than 90 used in the UK game. The numbers are drawn out in the same way as the UK game. In America most bingo games are organised by churches or charities although there are many commercial bingo halls throughout America. Online you can play all variants of the game and as already stated the skill in marking the cards is negated as each number is automatically marked off every card meaning you can play as many cards as you wish without ever missing a number. Each online bingo site also has chat rooms which have made online bingo a very social game compared to other gambling games such as blackjack and roulette. Many relationships have blossomed from the online bingo chat rooms and many marriages have been reported online from meetings from online bingo chat rooms. As the online bingo games can attract players from all around the world in general the prize pools are much higher than those offered in bingo halls. Playing costs are also reduced as you don’t have the expense of travelling to the venue or even buying refreshments. The rise of online bingo is heavily blamed for the demise of bingo halls throughout the UK as hundreds if not thousands have closed during the last few years. The UK smoking ban which forbids smoking indoors in public areas has also played a major part in the demise of UK bingo halls.
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