While Buzz is proud of the nostalgia surrounding bingo, the ambition is to show how it has evolved into a modern game. Howard explains that the experience is “really inter-generational”, with Mother’s Day being the company’s biggest day of the year. The in-club party packages cost £15 for food, drink and a night of bingo, while the welcome pack includes bingo for a night and a drink for £10. The emphasis is on offering an affordable and accessible night out. While Gala Bingo decided to shed itself of its physical venues, Buzz Bingo saw an opportunity to claim a space on local high streets, building a sense of community both online and offline.

Following a pilot rebrand of five outlets in June, 98 clubs were given the Buzz Bingo branding in September, with plans to finish the roll out in February after the key Christmas trading period.

The company traded under the Gala Bingo licence until September when it rolled out its £40m rebrand to Buzz Bingo, including the launch of its first online bingo site in October. It’s very rare from a service point of view in today’s leisure economy.”īuzz Bingo owns 122 bingo clubs across England and Scotland as a result of the £241m acquisition of Gala Bingo’s physical clubs made by its parent company, private equity firm Caldeonia Investments, in December 2015. Particularly as a woman going into a club on your own it’s a really safe and warm environment where the staff will show you how to play and other customers will help. “You can come in your onesie, you can come dressed up, you can come in a group or you can come on your own. “We are unashamedly a brand for ordinary people and everyone’s welcome,” says Amanda Howard, Buzz Bingo marketing director.

Now, the business is on a mission to attract bingo lovers of all ages and genders across the UK by positioning itself as a brand for the people. Despite being Britain’s biggest bingo club chain, boasting more than 100 venues and an active database of over one million customers, Buzz Bingo is a relative unknown.

Gala bingo or buzz bingo