Bingo has traditionally been a popular game in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland. Purpose-built halls remain all over the country and most of them are open for long hours, seven days a week, giving players the opportunity to attend at whatever time they fancy.
Widely considered a community game, to this day it remains a popular choice for family members to play as a group. Likewise, groups of friends will often have an evening together at the bingo a couple of times a month.
It is debatable that its popularity is created by the simplicity of the game mixed with the excitement of being able to win prizes without requiring a whole deal of skill. It is a game of probability where the players cross off the numbers on their cards as they are drawn randomly by a caller.
Each card contains nine columns by three rows, with each of the rows containing five numbers and four blank spaces. Traditionally, there is more than one winner per game, with the winners determined by crossing off:
Four corners: The leftmost and rightmost numbers on the top and bottom lines
1 Line: Cross off a horizontal line of five numbers on your ticket
2 Lines: Cross off any two lines on your ticket
Full House: Cross off all 15 numbers on your ticket
Usually there is a prize for the first person to do each, though the rules do vary from game to game and club to club.
The 90-ball game is traditionally played in Ireland, meaning there are numbered balls from 1-90 that can be on your card and be drawn from the bag. With the expansion of online casinos and the growth in popularity of bingo online, there are more and more variants available to players these days.
75-ball bingo is common at an online casino, otherwise known as American bingo. There is an 80-ball version too, as well as Speed Bingo, which is played with just 30 balls, allowing players to play more games in the same period of time.
It is becoming more common for computerisation to play a factor in bingo games now, whereby an auto-validation system is used to scan a digit security code on the players’ tickets to ensure they have correctly crossed off the numbers on their winning ticket.
This saves clubs from the time-consuming exercise of reading out every number on the ticket, as well as games being held up by false victory claims.
You may regularly play online bingo, but on occasion you may like to attend a brick-and-mortar bingo hall to play the game in person too, perhaps with friend or family. If that is the case, here are our five favourite bingo halls in the whole of Ireland:
1. Jack Pott’s Bingo at The Star Crumlin
There are four Jack Pott’s Bingo halls in the capital but arguably the best in Dublin and the whole of the Republic of Ireland is at The Star Crumlin.
Located on Kildare Road in Crumlin and open from midday to 22:30 seven days a week, The Star Crumlin offers dedicated rooms to the game and serve their players snacks throughout the day.
In recent times, Jack Pott’s have introduced electronic bingo into their clubs. This allows you to play more books at once, which in the process gives you more chances to win. And most importantly, you will never miss a number again!
Jack Pott’s halls don’t just host bingo games. You can also find various slot machines and other gaming facilities to play in between your bingo games and breaks.
2. Whitehall Bingo Club – The Grand
At The Grand on Collins Avenue in Whitehall you’ll be in for a great night of bingo with a nice atmosphere at the Whitehall Bingo Club. Open from 12:30 until 23:00 seven days a week you head down whenever you feel like it.
The staff here are very friendly and welcoming and there’s usually big prize money to be won, though that depends on what day of the week you go, and the number of players involved in the game.
3. Jack Pott’s Bingo at The Cabra Grand
Certainly the most popular bingo chain in Dublin, if not the whole of Ireland, Jack Pott’s makes us two of the top three of our list. Or should I say your list, as it’s the players who decide which are the most popular halls.
Indeed, The Cabra Grand is often frequented with players throughout the day, open 10 hours a day, seven days a week. Membership is free and staff are always on hand to assist with your requirements.
The other two Jack Pott’s bingo halls in Dublin are at The Arena Tallaght on Whitestown Way and at The Cabra Grand on Quarry Road. The latter was originally opened in 1949 as a 1,600-seat cinema but was converted into a bingo hall in 1975 and today seats over 500 people.
4. Forum Waterford
The Forum Waterford in Waterford City is one of south east Ireland’s top entertainment venues. This is not a purpose-built bingo hall and actually originally opened in 1937 as ‘The Regal’. The bingo room can host over 500 players in a single session.
Bingo is only played here between 20.00-22:00 every Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday – but it’s some of the most exciting and entertaining in the country.
Since the start of the millennium the Forum has a multi-purpose venue downstairs and a separate theatre space upstairs. There is also a 160-seat restaurant with a small stage.
5. Rock Bingo
Further down south and you will find Rock Bingo in Cork. This bingo hall is open from 9am until 11pm during weekdays, but only 9:30-16:30 and 16:00-23:00 on Saturdays and Sundays respectively.
Open since New Year’s Day 2012, Rock Bingo is the best place to go to play the game in the city. As well as that and their helpful staff you will also find a wide variety of fantastic food to choose from at the restaurant