Bingo Halls or Theatre, what does the British Public want?

by Hollie Sanders

Bearing in mind that the recent smoking ban and Gambling Act trends that seem to have hit bingo halls for a bit of a loop, damaging their profitability and attendance records to quite an extent. It seems as though the bingo hall owners are not going to sit on their jacksides and let their bingo businesses slide, they have cottoned onto a new idea.

Many of the old Bingo halls were previously theatres before the Gaming Act of 1968 came into being and we experienced the Golden Age of Bingo during the late 1960’s and early 1970’s, some of these owners are now changing the old theatre bingo halls back to being theatres again, one such being the Alhambra Theatre in Dunfermline.

This hold out some hope to restore a bit more of Great British tradition; during the Golden Age of Bingo, old cinemas and dancehalls were also used and transformed into bingo halls. Perhaps the trend will catch on and these old dancehalls and cinemas will be restored to be used for their original purpose. It seems like a win win situation. We can sit in the safety of our homes, puffing away at ciggies and playing as much e-bingo as we like, without even having to take our slippers off.

And when we feel like getting out and dressed up in our best kit and dancing shoes, off we go to the theatre, the dancehall, or the cinema, good old fashioned cinemas, not these horrible shopping mall contraptions that are springing up all over the place. I like that idea!