Lovers of the popular family pastime game Bingo will have a chance to play the game and win cash prizes as Zaretan Entertainment Limited recently launched the Nigerian version of the game, Naijabingo.
The social gaming which is also known as Tombola or Housie in different parts of the world involves multiple game players with elements of interaction between the game and participants. It is used as a teaching tool for children in Germany, fundraising in churches, as well as in carnivals for entertainment. In Nigeria, the game is predominantly played by officers messrs and civilians in social clubs.
With Naijabingo, participants can either play online or offline by purchasing pocket sized game slips containing six grids with 15 numbers in each. Players are expected to mark all the 15 numbers in any grid from the winning numbers for the particular game.
“The winning numbers to be marked are randomly selected and announced under supervision of officers from Lagos State Consumer Protection Council (LASCOPA) while players are expected to mark the winning numbers correctly on the corresponding grid on their game slip. The player who correctly marks all the 15 numbers on any of the grids for the game automatically wins the full cash prize of that game which is N250,000,” explained the Chairman of the entertainment company, Michael Asuelime.
In cases however, where there are more than one winner in a game, the prize will be split between the winners. There is also a compensation of N10,000 for players who mark only 14 numbers on the grid.
Asuelime describes Naijabingo as a family game that offers equal chances of winning.
“It is not a sport betting game and you do not need any special skill or historical outcomes to predict the numbers,” he said. “We are pleased to bring Naijabingo to Nigeria and achieve widespread awareness supported by technology from our technical partners in the U.K. What really sets us apart is that it is an easy game and since there are no two similar game slips, the strength lies in your picking a winning game slip,” he said.
The game will be played twice in a week, Wednesdays and Sundays. Each day has a dedicated coloured slip. For instance, Wednesday game slips come in blue colours while the Sunday game slips are in red colours.
The company has put in place security measures to ensure that the slips are not pirated and a software to track the outcomes of games played.
Naijabingo game slips can be purchased in an authorized agent shop in different neighborhoods in Lagos.
