You either love it or hate it, but Bingo is big business and here to stay.

Since its conception in Italy circa 1530, Bingo pushed its way into town halls and disused cinemas and was scaled up for the masses in the 1950s. Not just a past time for pensioners, memorable (and sometimes slightly cringeworthy) television ads saw the much-loved game gain in popularity and dedicated halls housed raucous hen-dos and provided pre-club entertainment for a younger audience.

Yet in 2012, The Bingo Association reported there were just over 400 halls in the UK - less than half the number in the game’s heyday. That isn’t to say the nation’s love affair with Bingo is dwindling, it’s just moved with the times and found its way onto our laptops, smartphones and tablets. If Bingo is the game for you, it’s never been more accessible. You can now play whilst watching the telly, in the bath or in bed. Prize pools have also sky-rocketed, and there are deals, offers and bonuses aplenty to keep your gaming pot afloat.

This interesting infographic, provided by bingo heavy-weight PaddyPower, shows just how much bingo has transformed throughout the ages. The most eye-opening thing for me was discovering there was an online jackpot payout of £5million back in 2014 > Seems I’m spending too much time on Twitter and not enough on playing the slots!

Righto, I’m off to have a go and see if I can raise a few thousand to pay off my credit cards… or maybe take another holiday… or maybe stump up a deposit for a mortgage…