Bingo, also known by the name of Housie (NZ & Australia) or Housey (UK) is a popular gambling game. It’s generally played at large venues such as church hallway, rugby clubs etc. People buy tickets in order to try their luck out for huge prizes (money) at stake. As the game starts, numbers are announced randomly by a caller. Players strike them off in their tickets to attain the winning combination.
ALL ABOUT BINGO
A bingo ticket is divided into nine columns and three rows making it to be twenty seven free spaces in all. Now out of these nine spaces in each row five are filled with numbers and the remaining four are left blank. Columns can have either one, two or in rare cases three numbers. Numbers are placed in columns in such a way that column 1 gets numbers starting from 1 to 9, column 2 gets numbers starting from 10 to 19 and so on.
Game is looked over by a caller who calls out the random numbers. Before starting the game he describes the prizes/money at stake. The record payout for UK national bingo game was £950,000. It was awarded to a lucky player from Gala Sheffield Parkway.
Then the caller begins to call out the randomly selected numbers either by using a random number generator, by drawing out number tokens from a bag or by the help of electronic ball drawing machine. The numbers are announced in a specific format speaking the individual numbers separately and then as a group if any. For example 90 is announced as nine zero ninety to avoid any confusions.
People keep on striking off the numbers in their tickets with the help of a dabber or dauber in order to get a winning combination. Most general winning combinations are
Horizontal line which covers all the five numbers in a row
Complete covering two lines on the same ticket
Line covering all the fifteen numbers in the ticket also termed as FULL HOUSE
Instead of buying separate tickets, players in UK usually prefer to buy a book of six tickets containing all likely numbers but in different patterns.
Player calls out line or house when all the numbers required for winning have been marked off. An official checks the ticket of the concerned person for the claim. Nowadays a computerized number validating system is used by officials to save the time.
There is often a small interval between the consecutive sessions of the game. Housey is often organized in UK by churches, community clubs, charities and sports clubs in order to raise funds. It’s also a highly rewarding and ever increasing business for many companies.
Some of the largest companies with Bingo halls in UK are:
Gala bingo
Virgin bingo
Mecca bingo
Riva bingo
Sky bingo
Nowadays, online bingo is also gaining much popularity with many different big companies launching their own websites. Some of them are Ladbrokes, The Sun, and Bingolive365. Bingolive365 is the first online bingo company to offer live & interactive service to its callers all over the world.
By: Neeraj S Sharma
If you’ve read our first article “From-Bingo-Supplies-to-Bingo-Programs—How-to-Run-a-Successful-Bingo-Fundraiser-Part-1″, you should have checked out the licensing requirements for bingos in your state and determined a rough idea of how many bingo players will be attendance. If you’ve read the 2nd article, “From-Bingo-Supplies-to-Bingo-Programs—How-to-Run-a-Successful-Bingo-Fundraiser-Part-2″ you’ve built your bingo program and picked your bingo prize payouts.
Now let’s look at the revenue generators or the bingo products you’ll sell at your bingo.
Bingo Books & Admission
Many bingos will sell an admission package to each bingo player when they arrive. This package usually sells for around $20 and includes entry to the event, a bingo book with bingo sheets for each game in the bingo program, and perhaps an added bonus such as a free dauber or an extra bingo sheet for a jackpot game.
If you have early bird games (a handful of games before your main bingo program), you should sell bingo books for them for around $3-$5. Additionally, extra bingo books should be sold (usually for $5-$15 each) at a discount to the admission price. Finally, it’s a good idea to sell extra single bingo sheets for the larger prize (jackpot) games.
If you choose not to have an admission package, you can simply sell bingo books for a set price once the bingo players have entered.
Raffles
Raffles are a great way to earn additional funds during your bingo event. During the night, have a friendly person walk around selling with a smile. If possible, it’s a good idea to advertise and presell the raffle tickets beforehand.
You can have 50/50 raffles (where 50% of the proceeds go to the prize), or raffle off one or more prizes. Your prizes should be good quality and have obvious value. Don’t be cheap!
Be careful, raffles, like bingos, can also fall under state regulation. Be sure you find out your state’s policy on raffles beforehand.
Pulltabs
Like raffle tickets, pulltabs (charity tickets) are a great way to increase sales and revenues during a bingo. A pulltab is a similar to a scratch off lottery ticket, but instead it has a number of “windows” that are peeled open to reveal a possible prize. Each box of pulltabs contains a set amount of prizes (usually around 75% of the take). Therefore, each box (once sold) is guaranteed a certain profit.
Pulltabs come in a variety of games and styles. If you decide to sell pulltabs, make sure you know how each game is played beforehand.
Be warned! Pulltabs are even more heavily regulated than bingos. Be sure that they are legal in your state. And, if they are legal, make sure that you are properly licensed to sell them.
Bingo Supplies
Bingo supplies, especially bingo paper, can be a little confusing. If you are unfamiliar with bingo, ordering the proper bingo books can be difficult. We recommend you read “How to Order Bingo Paper” on the Wholesale Bingo Supplies website for a quick overview and for some idea what bingo paper cuts and sizes that bingo paper comes in.
Make sure you order your bingo supplies in advance to give yourself some time. You’ll likely need the following, bingo books, additional bingo sheets for jackpot games, bingo daubers (markers for the players), and raffle tickets and pulltabs (if legal in your area). If you’re unsure of what bingo supplies you need, visit Wholesale Bingo Supplies
If you plan on hosting bingos on a regular basis, you might even consider purchasing an advanced bingo console and bingo equipment. But, this can get pricey. For an annual bingo, it’s best to find bingo equipment you can borrow. Also, you can get by purchasing a low-cost, quality, bingo cage.
Bingo Callers
If at all possible, find an experienced bingo caller. You don’t want some novice person calling bingo who has trouble handling the equipment (dropping bingo balls in the middle of a game can be a disaster) or lacks confidence in front of people. If you can’t find an experienced caller, then find someone who is comfortable with crowds and have them practice with the equipment ahead of time. Go over your bingo program step-by-step.
Whether experienced or not, you want your bingo callers to call numbers at a regular pace. We recommend that bingo numbers be called about every 20 seconds for commercial bingo hall environments where seasoned bingo players play. However, this speed should be adjusted to fit your crowd and the number of bingo faces in play. Hopefully, your bingo equipment will have a timer which will alert your caller when to call. However, if no timer is available, use a watch or clock as best you can to call at a regular pace.
Cash vs Baskets or Other Prizes
It doesn’t make a lot of difference if you give away cash or prizes or a mixture of both at your bingo fundraiser. The important thing is to make sure that whatever you give, you are giving something with value.
Make your bingo prizes worth the effort for your bingo players. If you give bingo baskets, fill them with quality products. If you give cash, make sure you give away some big jackpots. When your bingo players win a bingo, they want win something and they want to win something good.
Bingo Concessions
Your bingo event will usually last from 3-5 hours, with the actual bingo program taking about 3 hours to play. Therefore, it is important to have refreshments and food available if possible. Bingo players are not robots. They will get hungry and thirsty.
Make sure that the food you serve is good quality and keep your prices reasonable. We believe it’s smart business to have your bingo concession be a draw for your bingo event and not a profit center. Let your bingo games make the money while your concession keeps them well-nourished and happy.
A bingo fundraiser requires planning. You’ll need to assemble a team of volunteers, find a qualified bingo caller, acquire prize donations, locate a site, advertise, and more. Make sure you give yourself at least a month or two to prepare.
Good luck and happy fundraising! If you follow our advice, we’re sure your next bingo fundraiser will be a success.
By: Rob Robinson
