UK bingo is on the up, with new clubs opening, a tax break from the government, and younger players embracing the game.
Nicola Garrett, the new CEO of the Bingo Association, spoke to WhichBingo about her outlook and goals for UK bingo.
The Outlook is Positive
Garrett (pictured above) acknowledged that the UK had seen bingo clubs closing in recent years, but was starting to see new clubs opening now.
“We’ve now got new clubs opening and it’s looking really positive for the first time in a little while. We’re expecting to see new venues being built, so in that sense the outlook’s really positive.”
One example is the new £5.5 million Club 3000 Bingo in Leeds which opened in August 2025.
The new venue (pictured below) is Club 3000‘s 25th venue and a sign of investment in UK bingo.
Community Assets
Garrett said she felt “cautiously optimistic” as she saw people engaging with bingo as a means to socialise rather than win money.
“I think we are community assets before anything else.”
Garrett said her big priority was to put bingo alongside the pub and the cinema in the list of things they think about when looking for an activity.
“I want to put bingo at the front of people’s minds.”
The Turn Around
A change in the November 2025 budget scrapped bingo duty as of April 2026, and Garrett credits that with giving many bingo clubs breathing room.
“We’ve had a lot of cost pressures and we continue to, whether it’s business rates, staffing or energy bills.
“We are very reliant on the tax landscape and the business landscape staying consistent, because we are quite vulnerable to those sorts of changes.
Garrett describes herself as cautiously optimistic rather than popping any corks, and she was hopeful that the support would continue, especially with a new budget looming.
“We just hope that the new government continues that support for bingo, because they do seem to have recognised the community benefit and supported us because of that.”
younger players want the paper
Another part of the bingo revival has been an increase in younger players.
“Bingo’s pretty intergenerational already. Everyone sort of knows that scenario of the grandmother coming in with their daughter and their granddaughter.
“But what is exciting is that younger people are coming in in groups by themselves.”
*Read More: Bingo’s Youth Revolution: Millennials Reshape the Game in the UK
Garrett herself is 32-years-old and points out that friends she has brought along have come back two or three times.
She noticed the younger people appreciated a sense of community and nostalgia, in a time when the world is increasingly online.
“My younger friends like to play paper… For younger people, maybe it’s the nostalgia. They really find a lot of novelty in it.”
At WhichBingo we’re looking forward to seeing what Garret can do and hope her vision for bingo can continue.
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