I have been following the Bingo mania online in recent times. Frankly, I have begun to wonder whether we are talking about the Bingo ball game or the game of getting celebrities to endorse the game! Just as there were a plethora of Bingo game variations, websites and TV shows, there was a sudden onslaught of promos by the who is who of glitterati.

While it was quite the expected thing to see music manager Sharon Osbourne on Gala Bingo, it is quite another to spot comedian Vic Reeves in drag on 888Ladies.

Ironically, the two ads tell the tale of Bingo’s evolution online. While women flocked Bingo games websites to play the game for years, there has definitely been an increase in male players of late. The catch is that many of them would rather pass themselves off as women!

It all started with girl pop band, Atomic Kitten’s Kerry Katona at Bingos. On her heels came glamorous singer and model, Katie Price –better known as Jordan—who made news with her celebrity endorsements of Foxy Bingo. The site also boasted of a Katie Room where she made appearances and a Katie Charity game -50% of whose proceeds went to the disabled and the visually challenged.

The fad caught on and Irish model, Glenda Gilson took centre stage for a while with her 90 ball Bingo room and Bingo for the lads and ladies at Rehab Bingo. As the fever spread to radio, the charming Denise Van Outen was in the news, spotted at local Bingo halls in Essex every now and then, drawing her own fan following into the Bingo circle.

With everyone doing a me-too, matters became so repetitive that commentator Stuart Hall’s chatty appearances at Bretford Bingo or Keith Chegwin’s Cheggers Bingo seemed mandatory!

I did a quick check of the celebrity scene in Bingo land now and it seems like 2009 is going to be just a little different. All the Bingo sites are splurging on TV advertisements and tempting offers of huge jackpots. Wink Bingo is relying on diamonds as a prize to do the trick, while Foxy Bingo is falling back on its mascot, the Fox, with a mystery around its ad campaign, “He is Back”, and Gala is making a ‘Splash’ with money flying all over the place. Do not be surprised though, if celebrities manage to squeeze their way in. Guest appearances, if nothing else!