’88 – two body-positive ladies’: Bingo traditionalists in fury as millennials put stamp on classic game… from quips about ‘scrolling through the ex’s pics’ to ‘downright vulgar’ references to 69
- The days of the classic ‘two fat ladies’ call for the number 88 is being replaced
- Chief Executive of the Bingo Association thinks some new terms are ‘vulgar’
- But he did add that the fresh outlook takes bingo into the modern day
Bingo is becoming ‘downright vulgar’ as millennials put their stamp on it, industry bosses have complained.
The days of the classic ‘two fat ladies’ call for the number 88 is being replaced by ‘two body-positive ladies’ in some halls and the chief executive of the game’s official association thinks the move could be leaving the traditional audience behind.
Speaking to The Daily Telegraph, Miles Baron, the Chief Executive of the Bingo Association said lewd references to the number 69 and quips about ‘Netflix and chill’ isolate the standard 45-55 female audience.
‘Some of the innuendos are very offensive. If you’re a traditional bingo customer in a bingo club and somebody calls 69 and says 6 and 9, sixty-nine, you mark off 69.’
Bongo’s Bingo, one of the new names on the scene revolutionising the traditional game
Dabbers Social Bingo Hall in London. They’ve replaced traditional calls with millennial quips
He added that in more ‘risqué’ food and drink environments, aimed at a younger audience, the use of the sexual innuendo around 69 wouldn’t be appropriate for an older audience.
Mr Baron did however say that what newer clubs are doing is ‘absolutely brilliant’ because it brings bingo into the future, but did say that ‘some of the jokes, the innuendo are down right vulgar.’
One club, Dabbers Social Bingo in east London, dub themselves as the UK’s first contemporary bingo hall who are ‘reinvigorating an iconic British pastime’ by replacing cups of tea with cocktails, bingo callers with comedians and dreary prizes with incredible experiences.
The have rolled out a whole new list of bingo calls that might not sit well with older audiences. One is ’56 – Scrolling through the ex’s pics’ and ’14 -Insta hipster scene’.
Some ‘rude’ phases have filtered into the game.
Dabbers Social Bingo in east London dub themselves as the UK’s first contemporary bingo hall
The traditional age for bingo goers is between 45 and 55 for females. Mecca Bingo pictured
Bingo at Maida Vale in London. Traditionalists are irked by ‘risque’ food and drink places
‘Our younger customers who come at the weekend would probably think it’s OK, but our bread and butter – 45 to 55-year-old females – who come on a Wednesday and Thursday, I don’t think would be impressed,’ Mr Baron told The Telegraph.
The new calls have been at the expense of some classics like ‘Legs Eleven’ and ’28 – Over-weight’ which, Mr Baron says, are considered politically incorrect.
But Jonny Lacey, co-founder of Bongo’s Bingo which caters to all ages, told the paper that his company has never had a complaint for their innuendos and ‘tongue-in-cheek comments.’
The head of events at Mecca, Barry Lyons, said they’re adapting the game to ‘appeal to everyone’ and to ‘help it stay relevant in 2019.’