Home > Research > Publications & Outputs > Mecca and the birth of commercial bingo 1958–70

Research

Electronic data

Links

Text available via DOI:

Keywords

View graph of relations

Mecca and the birth of commercial bingo 1958–70: a case study

Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review

Published

Standard

Mecca and the birth of commercial bingo 1958–70: a case study. / Downs, Carolyn.
In: Business History, Vol. 52, No. 7, 12.2010, p. 1086-1106.

Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review

Harvard

Downs, C 2010, 'Mecca and the birth of commercial bingo 1958–70: a case study', Business History, vol. 52, no. 7, pp. 1086-1106. https://doi.org/10.1080/00076791.2010.523460

APA

Downs, C. (2010). Mecca and the birth of commercial bingo 1958–70: a case study. Business History, 52(7), 1086-1106. https://doi.org/10.1080/00076791.2010.523460

Vancouver

Downs C. Mecca and the birth of commercial bingo 1958–70: a case study. Business History. 2010 Dec;52(7):1086-1106. doi: 10.1080/00076791.2010.523460

Author

Downs, Carolyn. / Mecca and the birth of commercial bingo 1958–70 : a case study. In: Business History. 2010 ; Vol. 52, No. 7. pp. 1086-1106.

Bibtex

@article{546c7324299c4102b843312e1579d8a9,
title = "Mecca and the birth of commercial bingo 1958–70: a case study",
abstract = "The game of bingo has become synonymous with women of a certain age and class and has been stigmatised as a dead-end use of leisure. However, the development of commercial bingo in the wake of the Betting and Gaming Act (1961) offered the leisure industry access to a new and lucrative market. While many major players in the leisure industry of the early 1960s adopted commercial bingo as an adjunct to their offerings the Mecca dancing group adopted a strategy that made bingo so particularly their own that the brand rapidly became known as the bingo and dancing group with Eric Morley of Mecca referred to in the popular press as {\textquoteleft}Mr Bingo{\textquoteright}. This paper provides a case study of the Mecca group as it moved into commercial gambling, rapidly increased its size and profitability, saw off competition in commercial gambling from larger companies and finally succumbed to a lucrative takeover in 1970.",
keywords = "Gambling, Mecca, business history , business development",
author = "Carolyn Downs",
year = "2010",
month = dec,
doi = "10.1080/00076791.2010.523460",
language = "English",
volume = "52",
pages = "1086--1106",
journal = "Business History",
issn = "0007-6791",
publisher = "Taylor and Francis Ltd.",
number = "7",

}

RIS

TY - JOUR

T1 - Mecca and the birth of commercial bingo 1958–70

T2 - a case study

AU - Downs, Carolyn

PY - 2010/12

Y1 - 2010/12

N2 - The game of bingo has become synonymous with women of a certain age and class and has been stigmatised as a dead-end use of leisure. However, the development of commercial bingo in the wake of the Betting and Gaming Act (1961) offered the leisure industry access to a new and lucrative market. While many major players in the leisure industry of the early 1960s adopted commercial bingo as an adjunct to their offerings the Mecca dancing group adopted a strategy that made bingo so particularly their own that the brand rapidly became known as the bingo and dancing group with Eric Morley of Mecca referred to in the popular press as ‘Mr Bingo’. This paper provides a case study of the Mecca group as it moved into commercial gambling, rapidly increased its size and profitability, saw off competition in commercial gambling from larger companies and finally succumbed to a lucrative takeover in 1970.

AB - The game of bingo has become synonymous with women of a certain age and class and has been stigmatised as a dead-end use of leisure. However, the development of commercial bingo in the wake of the Betting and Gaming Act (1961) offered the leisure industry access to a new and lucrative market. While many major players in the leisure industry of the early 1960s adopted commercial bingo as an adjunct to their offerings the Mecca dancing group adopted a strategy that made bingo so particularly their own that the brand rapidly became known as the bingo and dancing group with Eric Morley of Mecca referred to in the popular press as ‘Mr Bingo’. This paper provides a case study of the Mecca group as it moved into commercial gambling, rapidly increased its size and profitability, saw off competition in commercial gambling from larger companies and finally succumbed to a lucrative takeover in 1970.

KW - Gambling

KW - Mecca

KW - business history

KW - business development

U2 - 10.1080/00076791.2010.523460

DO - 10.1080/00076791.2010.523460

M3 - Journal article

VL - 52

SP - 1086

EP - 1106

JO - Business History

JF - Business History

SN - 0007-6791

IS - 7

ER -