Job type

Bingo caller

£13k - £17k

Typical salary

20 – 45

Hours per week

Bingo callers announce numbers during bingo games and make sure they run smoothly, often entertaining participants during the game.

More info

  • Engage with and entertain those who love to play bingo
  • Use confidence and charisma to work in a fun-filled atmosphere in a bingo hall or social club
  • Opportunities to move into an entertainment career in the leisure or travel industries

As a bingo caller, you'll call out numbers and provide entertainment to those playing bingo in a bingo hall.

DAY-TO-DAY DUTIES

  • Checking bingo and sound equipment is working
  • Welcoming customers as they take their seats
  • Organising games and explaining the rules
  • Calling out numbers generated by a computer or bingo cage machine
  • Interacting with customers during bingo sessions
  • Checking and confirming winning numbers
  • Handing out prizes
  • Promoting future events to customers
  • Taking part in marketing activities for the venue or company


DAY-TO-DAY ENVIRONMENT

You could work at a venue or social club, and your working environment will most likely be noisy at times.

You'll need

To be a bingo caller, you'll need excellent verbal communication skills, thoroughness and attention to detail, patience and the ability to remain calm in stressful situations, customer service skills, the ability to work on your own, active listening skills, the ability to understand people's reactions, and to be able to carry out basic tasks on a computer or hand-held device.

You'll need to be over 18 years of age to apply for this role.

You can apply directly for this role if you have the confidence and personality to work on stage in front of a crowd. Experience in the gaming industry can be helpful but not essential. Employers will be more interested in your personality and ability to entertain customers.

You could do a hospitality team member or customer service intermediate apprenticeship at a bingo venue. Once working, your employer may give you training to become a bingo caller if you can show you have the right personality.

You can start out as a bingo venue assistant, serving food, signing up new members and checking players' numbers. Your employer may give you training to become a bingo host or caller if you have a friendly, outgoing personality and the confidence to be on stage.

Experience of entertaining an audience is important, which can be obtained by working at a holiday camp or resort, taking part in open-mic events, or performing in local clubs.

CAREER PROSPECTS

With experience, you could move into a supervisory role, managing bingo assistants on the floor, or become a venue deputy manager after further training. You could also become an area manager, with responsibility for several bingo venues across a region. You might also use your stage skills to move into an entertainment career in the leisure or travel industries.