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Bingo is an expanding and highly profitable business in the UK. The Rank
group (owners of Hard Rock Cafe, Mecca Bingo and bluesquare.com) is one of many
global companies to have taken an interest in the game, with other major chains
including Mecca, Gala, Top Ten, and Masons.
A typical bingo club in the UK can have between 4,000 and 60,000 customers a
week, with prize money ranging from tens of pounds to hundreds of thousands of
pounds. A major Bingo event of 2004 was the National Game company's Groundshaker
prize draw promotion, played by over 500 participating clubs throughout the
country for a full house (all numbers marked off). The prize is split into
three: an In-house prize, a regional prize (the country is split into about 12
regions) and the national prize which can range from ?50,000 to ?200,000
(usually highest on a Sunday night). This promotion involved the biggest link-up
of different Random Number Generator systems to date.
Bingo is not only restricted to Mainstage Bingo, (bingo played on bingo
books) most Bingo halls contain Mechanised Bingo boards, these boards are 4?
with numbers ranging from 1?80 in colours (eg Red 1?20, Blue 21?40, Yellow
41?60, White 61?80) these boards are played for either money, or a prize.
Games have multiple stakes, and are played very quickly. Called by colour and
number. (e.g. Red number 2, Blue 30, etc.) These games are played in patterns
like mainstage bingo, unlike mainstage any line can include diagonal lines and
downward lines, also four outer, and inner squares.
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