For anyone who grew up with a local club as a weekly habit, it can feel like bingo halls have quietly vanished from the high street. Online play has taken a chunk of the market, operating costs have climbed, and plenty of older venues have closed or been repurposed.
But Suffolk isn’t “bingo-less”. If you want the proper hall experience, there are still a handful of places where you can grab a book, settle in with a brew, and play a full session with a room full of regulars. The main options cluster around Ipswich, Felixstowe and Lowestoft.
Below are four venues still operating in Suffolk, with what to expect at each one, where they are, and what makes them different.
Club 3000 Bingo Ipswich
If you want classic bingo hall energy in Ipswich, Club 3000 is the big one. It sits on Lloyds Avenue in the centre of town and took over the former Mecca Bingo site, so it feels like a purpose-built bingo space rather than a small side-room setup.
It’s a large venue (around 1,200 seats), which means the room can feel properly lively on a busy session and you get that “full house” atmosphere people miss when they only play online. It’s also a venue that works well for first-timers, because staff are used to helping newcomers understand the basics, while regulars tend to be friendly and chatty.
Most days you’ll find a choice of sessions, including daytime and evening play, with times sometimes shifting around promotions and special events. Prices and offers can vary, so it’s worth checking the venue’s latest updates before you go, especially if you’re aiming for a specific deal.
Buzz Bingo Ipswich
Buzz Bingo Ipswich is the modern chain-club option, based at Orwell Retail Park. Many locals still remember it as “Gala”, because it used to be Gala Bingo before the Buzz rebrand.
The big advantage here is convenience. You’ve got retail-park access, easy parking, and a venue built for a mix of paper bingo, electronic touchpads, food, drink and machines. It’s a good choice if you want an evening that feels more like a full leisure trip than “two hours of bingo then straight home”.
Buzz generally runs main sessions in the afternoon and evening, with times varying by day. One standout detail is that the club is often listed as staying open until very late (up to around 3am), which is unusual for a bingo venue and gives you plenty of flexibility if you’re making a night of it.
Palace Bingo Felixstowe
Felixstowe’s Palace is one of the most distinctive bingo venues in Suffolk because it’s tied to a long-running entertainment site in the town. It’s not just “a bingo hall” in the modern retail-park sense, it’s part of a building with a cinema heritage, which gives it a proper old-school “night out” feel.
It’s central, walkable for many locals, and it’s also a nice pick for visitors because Felixstowe’s seaside atmosphere carries into the venue on busier days. The Palace is known for running multiple sessions a day, which makes it convenient if you’d rather play earlier than the standard evening slot.
The venue has also been described as having seen significant refurbishment in recent years, which is why it can feel more updated inside than some people expect. Food options are available on site, and there are transport links right outside, making it fairly accessible without needing a long trek across town.
Apollo Bingo Lowestoft
Lowestoft’s main bingo venue has recently gone through a name change. If you remember Merkur Bingo Lowestoft, it’s now called Apollo Bingo Lowestoft, and locals may still use both names while the new branding settles in.
Apollo is positioned as more than just a bingo room. It’s described as a modern venue with a strong “regulars” crowd, plus additional entertainment areas including arcade spaces, as well as food and drink on site. It’s also set right by the harbour on Battery Green Road, which gives it a different feel compared with the Ipswich clubs.
A handy detail for daytime players is that morning bingo is often listed as free link games, with small-cost extras available depending on what you add on. Afternoon and evening sessions typically follow a more standard paid format, with pricing that can vary by day and package choice.
If you’re going by car, it’s worth checking the parking situation before you arrive, but the venue’s location makes it easy to combine with a waterfront walk or other nearby plans.
The Bottom Line
UK bingo halls have a special place in British leisure time because many started life as old cinemas and dance halls, then found a new audience once bingo took off as a mainstream social night out. At its peak, it was simple and ritualistic: a big room, familiar faces, lucky dabbers, a brew and a bite to eat, and the caller’s rhythm carrying the whole evening.
Yes, there are still bingo halls left in Suffolk, but they’re concentrated in a few key towns and they have largely declined in numbers over the years.
Ipswich has the largest choice, with Club 3000 for big-room traditional bingo and Buzz Bingo for a modern retail-park club that often stays open late. Felixstowe’s Palace stands out for its entertainment-venue character and multiple daily sessions. Lowestoft’s Apollo (formerly Merkur) gives Suffolk another strong option, with harbour-side location and free morning link bingo listed on some days.
For local players, these venues aren’t just about the games. They’re still one of the few places where a night out can be simple, social and affordable, with familiar faces, a proper sense of routine, and the small rituals that make bingo feel like bingo.
