New research has revealed the UK’s most bingo-obsessed places, and the results are not what most people would expect. Tipton in the West Midlands tops the national ranking, ahead of a North Lincolnshire village of under 3,000 people and a string of towns across the North of England and Scotland. The South barely gets a look in.
The study, by WhichBingo, home of the casino sites in the UK, analysed Google Trends search data across the country for “bingo” and five related phrases over the past year, scoring each location per capita. Tipton recorded a Combined Google Trend Score of 330. Burton upon Stather in North Lincolnshire came second with 324. South Shields, Hartlepool, and Blyth round out the top five. The first place in the South does not appear until number 25: Essex village Mistley. None of this is entirely surprising if you know the game’s history. Bingo has deep roots in working-class and community life across the Midlands and the North, where dedicated halls became social fixtures from the 1960s onwards. What has changed is what bingo looks like now.
Not Your Nan’s Bingo Night Anymore
The game that Tipton and Burton upon Stather are searching for in 2026 is not the same one that filled those 1960s halls. A new generation of party bingo operators has completely reinvented what a night out built around a bingo card can look like. Think confetti cannons, robot hosts, drag queens, Aussie bogans, and rave lighting, with actual bingo in the middle of it. Bongo’s Bingo started it. Born in Liverpool in 2015, it now runs around 40 regular nights across the UK each year, with thousands of people turning up for the singalongs, dance-offs, daft prizes, and the confetti blasts that have become a signature of the brand. It is loud, chaotic, and routinely sells out. Liverpool, fittingly, was close to the top of the bingo-obsessed ranking. At the other end of the spectacle dial is Hijingo, which runs out of a permanent venue in Shoreditch with floor-to-ceiling screens, stadium-grade lighting, and a robot host called AVA. It is the most visually striking bingo night in the country, and it is genuinely hard to describe to anyone who has not been. The short version: bingo meets Blade Runner. Dabbers in London swaps traditional callers for comedians and tea for cocktails, with rave-style lighting and live performers between rounds. Fanny Galore’s Big Bingo Party, run by an Essex drag queen with sidekicks called Dick and Rodger, has built a devoted following that fills venues on the strength of warm, camp, brilliantly cheeky entertainment. Bogan Bingo brings 80s and 90s rock anthems and Aussie comedian hosts for anyone who wants their bingo with a side of mullet.
42,000 Searches a Month
The research found around 42,000 internet searches for “bingo” in the UK every month. That sustained level of interest reflects both the continued popularity of traditional halls and the growth of online bingo, but it also reflects a shift in who is searching and what they are looking for. According to the Gambling Commission’s industry statistics, bingo remains one of the most widely played forms of gambling in Great Britain. The party bingo boom has brought in a younger crowd that may never have set foot in a traditional hall but will happily queue around the block for a Bongo’s night. Tipton may be the most bingo-mad place in Britain by the numbers, but the game itself has never had a more diverse national footprint. Whether you are in a community hall in Burton upon Stather or a laser-lit warehouse in Shoreditch, it turns out the appeal of the full house is pretty much universal. National Bingo Day falls on 27 June. For once, it feels like the timing is exactly right.
