National Bingo Day 2023 – Get Ready to Celebrate Bingo!
It started in the UK in 2021 and is the perfect reason for the entire bingo industry, from land-based bingo halls to online bingo sites large and small, to come together on National Bingo Day to share in the joy of our favourite game.
The event is spearheaded by The Bingo Association, which is the trade association for all licensed bingo operators in Great Britain. The association represents the entire bingo industry, and National Bingo Day forms part of its efforts to promote and develop the interests of all GB licensed bingo operators. The National Bingo Game which is affiliated through many different high street bingo brands is also a massive supporter of National Bingo Day, offering enhanced prizes.
For 2023 approximately 26 MP’s have confirmed that they will be visiting their local bingo hall to join the fun, with more just checking diaries to make sure they will get “home” on time, train strikes permitting). The retail bingo industry sector will be actively collecting for Ukraine, and other sites are collecting for their own nominated charity, including Jackpotjoy and other Gamesys sites collecting for Alzheimer’s, with the aim of raising in the region of £100k.
Transatlantic influence
The idea for National Bingo Day UK came from the USA, where an annual day has been dedicated to bingo for a number of years.
The Bingo Association, prompted by a suggestion from market leader Mecca Bingo, decided a similar event in the UK would provide an opportunity for players to celebrate the game they love and give non-players encouragement to try bingo, while creating a point of interest for the media to help promote the game in all its forms and highlight the entertainment value of the game.
The 27th of June 2021 was selected for the first UK National Bingo Day, ensuring the celebration would take place at the same time as its US counterpart and the date will remain as the 27th June moving forward.
What Happens on the Day?
Well, whether you play land based bingo or prefer to play online bingo, you are sure to find plenty of special events, promotions and offers. There won’t be a better time of year to choose a new bingo site to play at.
Some bingo halls may host celebrity appearances, live entertainment, or guest callers to add to the excitement. However, on a more serious note, National Bingo Day UK serves as an opportunity for bingo operators to showcase their commitment to responsible gambling. They often collaborate with charities or organizations dedicated to supporting mental health, the elderly, or other vulnerable groups. Fundraising initiatives are frequently held, with a portion of the proceeds from ticket sales or special games being donated to these causes.
Win With Whichbingo on national bingo day
We know that bingo-lovers love a good promotion and we are preparing something special for WhichBingo readers by partnering up with a guest bingo brand for the day itself.
We have an exclusive offer for you from the lovely people at Jumpman Gaming. Join any of the brands below and enjoy a guaranteed minimum 50 free spins when you make your first deposit of just £10. Input code ‘WHICHBINGODAY’ at participating brands when you join to take advantage of this offer.
*18+. UK Residents only. Wager £250+ on selected slots between Monday and Sunday and get 50 Free Spins @ 0.10p totalling £5. Only wagering on selected slots will count towards the qualifying amount of £250+. Full TCs apply. Please play responsibly. Begambleaware.org. #AD
*18+. New customers only. Deposit £10 for 50 free spins on selected games (Accept & wager winnings 30x within 48hrs) & spend £10 on bingo tickets for £50 bingo bonus (Accept & wager bonus 4x within 7 days). Debit cards only. Offer Ends 31/05/2024. T&Cs apply. begambleaware.org. Please play responsibly. #AD
*18+.New customers only. Deposit £10 for 40 Free spins on selected games (Accept & wager winnings 30x within 48hrs) & spend £10 on bingo tickets for £40 bingo bonus on selected bingo rooms (Accept & wager bonus 3x within 7 days). Only completed games are credited. Debit cards only. Offer Ends 31/05/2024. T&Cs apply. Begambleaware.org. Please gamble responsibly. #AD
*18+. New customers only. Spend £10 to get £40 Bingo Bonus (4x wagering) + 40 Free Spins (value £0.10 each, selected games). Claim & use within 7 days. Restrictions and T&Cs apply. Please play responsibly. Begambleaware.org #AD
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Special offers for national bingo day 2023
Special games and exclusive National Bingo Day tournaments are scheduled, along with giveaways and bonus offers, and land-based bingo halls always get in on the action too.
Buzz Bingo
Buzz Bingo is holding a National Bingo Day Live Special with six £500 full houses on offer, plus another 12 full houses worth £150 each – all between 7pm and 10pm on Tuesday 27th June. The event will be rounded of just before 10pm with the chance to win a £1,000 full house – but you do have to call bingo within 40 numbers! Even so, the full house is still worth £100 even if the big jackpot is not won. All the live presenters will be there to provide ongoing entertainment and no doubt playing lots of extra fun games throughout the evening.
*The Legal Stuff: New players. Deposit, stake £10 Bingo get £30 bonus (x4 WR) & £5.00 Main Event in-Club vouchers, or dep, stake £10 slots get 200 x 10p Fire Blaze™ Blue Wizard Megaways™ spins (x20 WR). OR use cash balance/further deposit & get both. £5 min. withdrawal. 18+. Please gamble responsibly. BeGambleAware.org #AD
Bet365 Bingo
At bet365 Bingo play for daily £1,000 prize-pool games in the National Bingo Day and Space Odyssey rooms. Play the game at 10pm each night until 27th June for just 1p a ticket.
T&Cs. All registered players. Buy tickets for 1p, up to a maximum of 300 per player for daily National Bingo Day games at 22:00 UK time between 21/06/2023 and 27/06/2023. Tickets capped at max. of 300 per player. Room restrictions and T&Cs apply.
*18+. New Bingo customers only. Opt in required. Spend £10 cash on Bingo Tickets to receive 100 Free Tickets and 50 Free Spins on eligible slots. Time limits, exclusions and T&Cs apply. Please play responsibly. begambleaware.org #AD
Bet365 Bingo is also running two special events on the day itself – Bingo Ball Racing chat game in ‘Secret Garden chat room’ from 2pm to 4pm and For the love of Bingo free bingo with a £500 prize pool in the exclusive ‘Studio365 bingo room’
Players pick 3 numbers. When called in game shout “Love” and numbers to win! 1st to call wins £3, 2nd £2, 3rd £1 cash prize. Players can win maximum £5 during the session.
Freespirit Bingo –
Free Spirit Bingo is really getting into the ‘spirit’ of the event with 7 days of penny bingo and a prize pot of 1,000 GBP to be won every night from Wednesday 21st – Tuesday 27th of June. Prize break down – 1Line £200, 2Lines – £300, Full House £500. This room will be linked to the Jackpot Room.
18+. New Players only. 1st, 2nd and 3rd ever deposit: spin multiplier wheel and win a Matchup Bonus up to 10X your deposit amount (£2,000 max bonus), £10 min fund for all 3 offers, 65x Bonus wagering requirements, max bonus conversion to real funds equal to lifetime deposits (up to £250). Please gamble responsibly. begambleaware.org #AD
Mecca Bingo Halls
Friday Evening 24th June – MPs visit & Charity Games –
Members of parliament have been invited to their local constituency bingo club, where they will be invited to call a charity game of bingo. Customers will be asked to make a voluntary contribution for participation in the game. The proceeds of which will be donated to the Bingo Associations nominated charity, Variety – The Children’s Charity.
Sunday 26th June – National Bingo Game – double jackpot.
The national game will be doubling their usual £ 50,000, £1,000 and £100 Jackpot Prizes, therefore paying £100,000. £2,000 and £200 on afternoon and evening games.
Tuesday 27th June – Half price National Bingo Game (all day) price reduced to 50p for 2 OR £1 for 5 tickets
Mecca venues will offer a Fiver special – Evening only. Participating venues will offer all bingo played between 7pm-9pm for £5.
Mecca Bingo Online
Mecca Bingo online is celebrating National Bingo Day with a week of fun and games, with at least £100,000 in jackpots on offer. On the day itself, 27th June get half price tickets in the Main Event room and Emoji Bingo from 7pm to 9pm and the same again on Wednesday and Thursday
18+. New customers only. Country Restrictions Apply. Deposit and stake £10 on bingo to qualify within 7 days of initial deposit. Paypal deposits excl. Some prizes have wagering requirements and expiry dates. Full T&Cs apply. Please play responsibly. Begambleaware.org
TAU Operated Dragonfish Brands
Some of the biggest and best Dragonfish powered bingo brands are run by industry experts TAU Gaming and they have put together four special games over four days with some great prizes.
- First Game – £500 Soiree – 24.06.23 – Total JP £500 – Tickets just 1p each
- Second Game – £1500 Party – 25.06.23 – Total JP £1000 – Tickets 5p each
- Third Game -£3K Carnival – Starts 26.06.23 – Total JP 1500 – Tickets 10p each
- Final Game – £5K Grand Finale – Starts 27.06.23 – Total JP £2500 – Tickets 20p each
18+. New customer offer only. Deposit and spend £10 on bingo tickets within 30 days of joining Paddy Power Bingo. Get £10 as slots bonus. Get £30 paid as bingo bonus & 150 free spins (£0.10/spin) 1 per customer. T&Cs Apply. Please Gamble Responsibly. BeGambleAware.org #AD
New players only. 18+. Min.deposit £10. Max bonus 50 spins on Big bass Bonanza. No Wagering Applies. Spins Available for 24 hours after being credited. Promo code: BBB50. Valid until 31.12.24. T&Cs apply. Please gamble responsibly. begambleaware.org #AD
18+. New members only, must opt in. Min £10 deposit & wager. 30 day expiry from deposit.18+. Free Spins: on Double Bubble. 1p coin size, max lines. Bingo: Advertised ticket value based on £1 tickets. Game availability & restrictions apply.Play Responsibly. BeGambleAware.org. #AD
The National Bingo Game
National Bingo Day features large-scale versions of the National Bingo Game in halls around the country, with special offers on food and drink as well as games that feature more winners, lots of cash prizes, brilliant bonuses and great giveaways. Each bingo brand will have its own selection of offers for players, but the National Game itself will be the biggest and best of the year.
Two days of big games are due to take place – one on Sunday 25th June and the second on National Bingo Day itself, Tuesday 27th June. On Sunday 25th the National games will be £1 for two tickets or £2 for five tickets, with £100,000, £2,000 and £200 Jackpots available to be won, and there is a House Prize in every single club. Those of you that love the National Bingo Day offers may note that the prices are a bit higher than last year, but it is worth noting that the prize money has also been doubled for 2023!
Unusual National Bingo Day Events
On National Bingo Day 27th June 2023, and in an unexpected twist, Northern Rail got in on the action. The second largest train operator in the UK published a light-hearted and fun Fare Dodger Bingo card to play train bingo to celebrate the occasion.
The fare dodger bingo card was a tribute to all of the excuses it has received as to why passengers do not have a ticket to travel. Some of the most popular excuses include ticket machines not working, mystery benefactors who will apparently pay later, lost purses, pretending to be asleep and claims of mobiles running out of charge with the ticket on them.
The head of Northern Rail’s retail operations joked that his colleagues have heard every excuse under the sun and that they are all sure to call a full house in no time at all.
How to Get Involved in National Bingo Day!
The beauty of this annual event is that if you are a bingo lover or even if you are trying bingo games for the first time, you will not have to look far to find brands that are rolling out the red carpet to welcome you inside to play and make new friends.
Log on to your favourite bingo site or check out some of the offers we have on this page and the days leading up to National Bingo Day and the day itself will show the bingo operators at their very best. Of course, although we are a valued partner of National Bingo Day, not every single operator will have told WhichBingo what they are up to, but you could always check out the official National Bingo Day website too and see if they have anything we have missed – but we think we have more fun deals for you.
ONLINE BINGO PROMOTIONS FROM THE BEST BINGO SITES
New players only. 18+. Deposit £10 to receive access to ‘On The House’ bingo room for 30 days, where you can participate in up to 2,160 games of free bingo. Games run every 10 minutes 12pm – 12am. Claim 6 tickets per game • 20 Free Spins credited upon your first £10 deposit on Big Bass Splash slot only, valued at 10p per spin. Free Spins must be used within 48 hours of qualifying. Winnings are uncapped and paid as cash with no wagering requirements •18+ Full T&Cs apply. Please play responsibly. Begambleaware.org #AD
18+. New members only, must opt in. Min £10 deposit & wager. 30 day expiry from deposit.18+. Free Spins: on Double Bubble. 1p coin size, max lines. Bingo: Advertised ticket value based on £1 tickets. Game availability & restrictions apply.Play Responsibly. BeGambleAware.org. #AD
*18+. New members only, must opt in. Min £10 deposit & wager. 30 day expiry from deposit. Free Spins: on Double Bubble. Spins value: 20p each. Bingo: Advertised ticket value based on £1 tickets. Game availability & restrictions apply. **£10 lifetime deposit required. Full TCs. – Please play responsibly. Begambleaware.org. #AD
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*18+. New Bingo customers only. Opt in required. Spend £10 cash on Bingo Tickets to receive 100 Free Tickets and 50 Free Spins on eligible slots. Time limits, exclusions and T&Cs apply. Please play responsibly. begambleaware.org #AD
Plenty more fun to come
The success of the first National Bingo Day in encouraging players and operators to come together for a day, or in some cases even a week, of fun and camaraderie, was enough to ensure that the events and offers for National Bingo Day 2022 became even better. The plans for 2023 also look great so keep an eye on the WhichBingo Magazine pages and visit this page regularly to get the best offers on this special day.
Let’s have some fun with B-I-N-G-O!
Everyone loves word games, right? Here’s a special one for Bingo Day. If you have any suggestions, pop over to our Facebook page, give it a like and drop it on us! https://www.facebook.com/whichbingo
There may even be a prize for the best one.
“B is for Balls”
Bingo would be nothing without its all-important bingo balls, the sight and sound of which remain distinctively iconic and much-loved – even in the era of online bingo’s popularity.
“I is for Italy”
Italy has a strong claim to being the home of bingo, given that the first-ever bingo game is said to have taken place there as early as 1530 when Lo Giuoco del Lotto d’Italia first gained popularity.
“N is for Numbers”
Calls like “legs 11” and “two little ducks, 22” are part of the fabric of bingo, which is a game so full of numbers that there are over 552 septillion (552,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000) possible number combinations on a 75-ball bingo card! So much for playing the odds by buying max cards!
“G is for Games”
Whether you prefer slots, scratch games, keno or video poker, you can’t ignore the vast array of side games that adorn every online bingo site, ensuring there is always much more to your online experience than just bingo.
“O is for Online”
While bingo was once the preserve of halls, clubs and community spaces, it is now every bit as popular online with the site claiming to be Britain’s biggest, Tombola, attracting as many as 21,000 players in a single day.
A look back over bingo’s recent history shows why there is much to celebrate relating to the humble bingo game.
Bingo as an entertainment
While land-based bingo halls have endured a difficult decade or two, with the smoking ban and other regulations hampering profits and player numbers, online bingo has been growing steadily during that time. This means that bingo hall operators are constantly coming up with new ways to attract players and keep them entertained and keep themselves relevant for a modern age.
It’s not all about what you can win with bingo. It’s about coming together and having fun at the same time. You can spend a little or you can spend a lot, but the entertainment you get is the same – it’s your choice.
Bingo brings people together
The popularity of bingo really came into its own during the unique events of 2020, when the world had to stay home and people found new ways to entertain themselves. Pursuits like baking and nurturing houseplants enjoyed an explosion in popularity and bingo was often in the news during this time too, as people found cheer by taking part in events like ‘Balcony Bingo’ and ‘Drive-In Bingo’, not to mention the myriad celebrities and even royalty that got involved in bingo calling over Zoom and similar streaming services. Mecca Bingo called in its celebrity friends to distribute food and care packages to the community from its bingo hall kitchens and Buzz Bingo utilised its facilities in a similar way.
But players who were already accustomed to enjoying online bingo also had an ace up their sleeve.
With the pubs, bingo halls, shopping centres and football stadiums all closed during the UK lockdown of spring 2020, online bingo players knew where they could go to mingle safely – the chat rooms of their favourite bingo sites! Many of these are available to players without even having to make a deposit and chat hosts and fellow players alike are always available to listen and offer advice where needed.
Those communities of players and chat moderators became more important than ever during those difficult months, and it was no surprise that online bingo as entertainment attracted lots of new players as people sought viable ways to find interaction with others without leaving the house. The even better news is that the vast increase in spending and problem gambling that regulatory bodies were afraid of never materialised thanks to the self-regulation of the bingo sites keeping a close eye on what was happening, the fact that they cut back on advertising and even dedicated advertising time to promoting safe gambling.
Bingo became an entertainment that helped keep people talking to each other and now there is a whole day, and in the case of some bingo brands, a whole week, dedicated to bingo and the fun and entertainment it delivers!
a flying start and Peak performance
The response to the first National Bingo Day in the UK was tremendous, with 222 online bingo sites participating, across platforms including Dragonfish, Playtech and Pragmatic Play. The event gained more momentum in 2022, with more big brands getting involved both online and offline.
Some of the biggest and most recognisable bingo brands got on board, with Buzz Bingo, Gala Bingo, JackpotJoy, LeoVegas, PaddyPower, Mecca Bingo and Sky Bingo all supporting the event.
Online bingo operators reported positive feedback from the events the held, with uplifts of up to 18 per cent in the number of players visiting their sites.
The 27th of June 2021 fell on a Sunday, which is ordinarily a quiet day for bingo operators, but many reported it was their strongest performing day of that particular week. In 2022 it was a Monday and again this special bingo day helped to boost numbers on a traditionally quiet day.
Key drivers of the success of National Bingo Day are the social media accounts set up across Twitter, Facebook and Instagram to support operators, raise awareness of the various events taking place, and drive engagement.
It’s good to note that a decent number of MPs attended their constituency bingo clubs to support National Bingo Day, so Parliament is not totally anti-gambling. The event helps to raise large sums of money for charity, including £25,000 for children’s charity Variety, £66,000 for Alzheimer’s Research UK, and £20,000 for missingpeople.co.uk.
We can’t wait to see what National Bingo Day 2023 delivers!
If you have any suggestions on how to make National Bingo Day bigger and better than ever, or what you would like WhichBingo to do to mark the event in future years, pop over to our Facebook page, give it a like and drop it on us!
This special day will always be on the fixed date of 27th June 27th. The date will remain the same every year, so that means the day it actually falls on will differ year on year. The hope is that 27 June will become as famous as National Bingo Day as 17th March is as St Patrick’s Day! Everyone involved wants the day to become recognised as a celebration of the great game that is bingo. Many big names like Mecca Bingo and Buzz Bingo and many Dragonfish sites took part in 2021 and it is hoped that with the help of WhichBingo dozens more will get involved in 2022. The special National Bingo Games were a big hit in 2021 so there will be even more big games lined up on the day and in the week leading up to the day itself with some huge prizes to be won in the bingo hall. If all goes well there may even be an online National Bingo Game! Very much in the same way as we celebrate here. Operators offer special events and encourage people to play bingo. The real aim is to go bigger and better and really get everyone involved because the US version is a bit disjointed and events are pretty much on an ‘everyone for themselves’ basis with no coming together. Yes, there usually are. Many brands have embraced the idea of the event celebrating bingo and will be running special bingo games and giveaways across the whole week leading up to the day itself or are offering special welcome bonuses. The intention is to have as many people as possible get into the spirit and join in the fun.WhichBingo Q&A on National Bingo Day
When is National Bingo Day?
What are the hopes and aims of National Bingo Day?
Which online bingo sites are taking part in National Bingo Day?
Will there be a special National Bingo Game in bingo clubs cross the UK?
How is National Bingo Day celebrated in America?
Are there any Bingo Day bonus offers?