Chain: Mecca Bingo
Mecca Bingo is one of the UK’s best known bingo brands, though its estate has shrunk considerably in recent years. Rank Group, which also owns Grosvenor Casinos, has been trimming the network hard, and Mecca now operates around 40 clubs across Great Britain, down from over 70 just a couple of years ago. Nine venues closed during 2025/26 alone, as rising gambling taxes squeezed margins across the industry. Rank’s new chief executive, Richard Harris, has suggested the cull is largely done, with around 40 clubs now considered the right size for the current climate.
The Mecca story actually starts under a different name. The clubs were originally known as Top Rank, and many of the buildings began life as cinemas rather than bingo halls. When the 1960 Gaming Act opened the door to commercial bingo, Rank spotted an opportunity in its own struggling picture houses. As cinema audiences fell away through the sixties, dozens of Art Deco Odeons and Granadas up and down the country were given a new lease of life as bingo clubs, which is why so many Mecca venues still have that unmistakable old cinema grandeur, complete with sweeping circles and ornate ceilings.
The Top Rank clubs were rebranded as Mecca in the late 1980s and early 1990s, a change that wasn’t without controversy. In 1998, the name sparked protests from some Muslim community groups in Luton, who objected to a gambling venue sharing its name with Islam’s holiest city. Rank stood by the decision, saying it was simply part of bringing the whole chain under one recognisable brand, and the Mecca name has stuck ever since.
For years, Mecca’s main rival on the high street was Gala Bingo. That changed in 2015, when Gala’s entire estate of clubs was sold off and later rebranded as Buzz Bingo, so it’s Buzz you’ll most often find going head to head with Mecca for custom these days.
Mecca has also kept itself firmly in the public eye. Since 2022, it’s been the official bingo partner of Britain’s Got Talent, running themed games both online and in its clubs, alongside the usual mix of traditional sessions, electronic bingo and slot-style games.
Clubs are spread across many of the UK’s major towns and cities, so if you’re planning a weekend away, it’s well worth checking the list below to see whether there’s a Mecca nearby, you might just be able to fit in a game or two alongside the sightseeing.
