For the last few years many land based bingo clubs gone from using employees to call bingo numbers on their cash bingo units to automated systems that use a pre-recorded voice stored in the computer system to call the numbers. Until now very few clubs had dared to try such technology for main book session bingo and have relied on traditional methods to call the numbers. But is it really a good idea?

The idea of having a traditional bingo caller is that the game seems more personal and there is some interaction between the caller and the bingo players. In fact bingo players at most bingo clubs will have their favourite caller, whether that be because they believe they are luckier when a certain person calls the numbers or they just prefer the way some callers call. For Gala Bingo players this is all about to change later this year. Sources reveal that the company is preparing to swap its traditional staff callers for the latest technology which will call the numbers automatically. While the benefits of the new technology mean that operators do not have to rely on training bingo callers and in theory there will be no mistakes it is difficult to predict whether the customers will see the changes as beneficial.

One of the other dangers associated with introducing new technology into bingo clubs is that you reduce the differences between land based bingo clubs and online bingo. Many bingo clubs already offer the facility for players to purchase their cards on hand held electronic units which automatically mark off the bingo numbers and let you know when you have won. You take too many of the traditions away from land based bingo clubs and bingo players will be asking why not just stay at home and play online bingo?

Bingo callers traditionally get paid more than other staff members within a bingo club and there is some concern within Gala Bingo that the changing of the role from Bingo Caller to Bingo Host is likely to see these benefits eroded. Other bingo staff will see the benefits of the new calling technology as many are reluctant to want to spend two hours in an evening calling bingo numbers. In fact for many bingo managers one of the concerns in the past is ensuring your team of staff include enough trained bingo callers to cover all of the sessions in a week and as such the new technology is certainly likely to have clear benefits in that it is easier to run a bingo club.

However two managers of bingo clubs that are rivals to Gala Bingo clubs are welcoming the news and believe that bingo customers will not like the latest changes. One manager that wished not to be named claimed: “that’s another 100 customers we will get each week, we have purposely stuck to traditional methods of running our club over the years and this not only keeps our customers happy but brings disgruntled bingo players from the local Gala Bingo club. We understand that in some ways the club could make a few pound more with electronic bingo but then our club is built on traditional bingo tickets and we would no doubt lose many of our customers if we changed this”

The jury is certainly out on whether this a positive move or likely to result in admissions at Gala Bingo clubs decline further.