What is drag bingo? Over the years, bingo has undergone a lot of changes to its rules and the way it’s played. People are always coming up with new rules to add more fun, such as patterns, jackpots and changing the number of balls.
Few things can top a night out of bingo with your friends, and while the game tends to be played online these days, there are still plenty of bingo halls all over the UK. Online bingo offers more convenience, but when you play in a real bingo hall, you get the full experience with the caller and all your friends.
Drag bingo is the latest craze sweeping bingo halls, and entertainment venues across the country as bingo undergoes something of a resurgence. The growth of online bingo has meant more people than ever are enjoying the game, especially younger generations.
What is Drag Bingo?
Drag bingo is not all that different from regular bingo. Players buy tickets, wait as the numbers are called out and win by making lines or a full house. The only difference between drag bingo and the regular game is that the calls are made by a drag queen.
If you’re unfamiliar with drag queens and shows like RuPaul’s Drag Race, the basic description of a drag queen is someone, usually a man, who uses clothing and makeup to exaggerate female gender signifiers and gender roles for entertainment purposes.
Drag queen shows offer a night of entertainment with comedy, singing, dancing and even bingo, allowing players to join in the fun and win cash prizes. These events have been popular throughout history but have recently gained more mainstream attention due to changing attitudes towards gender roles.
How Did Drag Bingo Start?
Drag bingo is a new way to enjoy bingo, but it’s actually been around for a relatively long time.
Men have been performing in drag for over a hundred years, and the roots come from the fact that there were traditionally very few actresses to perform leading female roles. As a result, men would usually put on women’s clothes and makeup and take the stage.
Over the years, drag shows have gained popularity, but people didn’t start playing bingo with drag performances until around the early 1990s.
It’s believed that the first drag bingo shows occurred in Seattle, Oregon, in the USA, where bingo nights were commonly used to raise money for charitable causes. Clubs all over Seattle started holding drag bingo nights as a way of supporting and raising money for people suffering from AIDS.
The popularity of these early events meant that drag bingo became a regular fixture at clubs all over the city, and later on, the trend spread to other areas too. Legendary Bingo is one of the most famous examples, with this weekly charity bingo event in West Hollywood being hosted by several drag stars over the years.
The popularity of Legendary Bingo saw it attract numerous celebrity guests over the years, including the likes of Britney Spears, Emma Stone, Amy Adams, and many more, while raising millions for charitable causes.
What’s the Difference Between Drag Bingo and Regular Bingo?
For the most part, the main difference between the two types of games is that the numbers are called out by a drag queen rather than a traditional bingo caller.
As a result, drag bingo nights tend to be far more raucous and offer a party atmosphere where the audience can often become the butt of the jokes. If you’re going to a drag bingo night, you have to be ready for everything, and you definitely shouldn’t go if you think you might get offended.
Aside from the drag performance aspect, drag bingo is also different because the majority of events are arranged for the benefit of charity. AIDS charity fundraisers are a big part of the history of drag bingo nights, and even today, many events will still raise charity for foundations that offer support to those suffering from this illness.
Other events might raise charity for other causes, but raising funds remains one of the key differences between regular bingo and drag bingo.
Drag bingo is unique in that it tends to be played at a faster pace and is aimed at a younger generation.
While bingo gained something of a reputation for being enjoyed by older folks at retirement homes, drag bingo has helped to make bingo into a game that can be enjoyed by anyone. Combining the fun of bingo with the expressive and often risqué nature of drag makes for an excellent night of entertainment.
How Drag Bingo Has Helped Bingo Transform
The rise of online bingo has led to the majority of bingo halls across the UK and many other countries shutting down. What was once a great place to meet up with friends and have fun have slowly become a forgotten memory as more people prefer the comfort and convenience of online play.
However, although many bingo halls have shut down over the years, the trend of drag bingo has revitalised the bingo industry, bringing a new generation of players to the game.
Drag bingo certainly isn’t the first time event organisers have looked for a new way to adapt this classic game, but it has become one of the more popular efforts.
Now, event halls and clubs around the country are hosting drag bingo nights, where people can have fun, win money and raise funds for charity. These events have also led to being more diverse and interesting bingo rooms while playing online.
Drag queen bingo is something that every bingo lover should experience at least once. It combines the trendiest form of live entertainment and bingo to produce a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts.
The concept is yet another example of how games and traditions can change over time, and as more players discover drag bingo, the bingo industry grows and becomes easier than ever to get involved with.
FAQ
How did drag bingo originate?
Drag bingo is thought to have first started in the 1990s in Seattle, where fundraisers saw bingo as a way to raise money for charity. At the time, bingo was associated with old people, and most people found it to be a bit boring, so the organisers added the drag queens to liven things up a bit. Soon, more places started to get in on the trend and drag bingo spread across the country.
What is the difference between drag bingo and standard bingo?
The main difference between the two types of bingo is that drag bingo features drag queens who act as the callers and the entertainment. They tell jokes, sing, dance and encourage audience participation, making it far livelier than a typical game of bingo. On top of this, many drag bingo events raise money for charity.
How is bingo changing?
Bingo has changed a lot over the years as the game has grown more popular and spread to places all over the world. The arrival of the internet brought us online bingo, and the game has had to adapt. One of the ways that bingo halls are attracting new and younger generations of players is the addition is entertainment from drag queens.
