Now trending in nightlife: Bingo raves

Driving the news: Bingo-themed nightclubs, raves and pop-up parties are showing up in cities nationwide, strewing confetti on partygoers as they giddily dot their bingo boards ("B15!").

• "BAM! Confetti... tunes... dance-offs... lip-sync battles" is part of the pitch from Bingo Loco, which stages bingo rave parties in cities like New York, Los Angeles, Minneapolis and Austin.
• Parties feature DJs playing retro tunes and hosts who tell bawdy jokes.
• And the bingo itself? "Win vacations, along with random prizes ranging from lawnmowers to giant teddy bears!" advertises Bingo Loco, a U.K. import.
• Here's a bingo explainer for those who are new to it.

Where it stands: Bingo as immersive entertainment for young adults originated in the U.K. and is just starting to make inroads in America.

• Bongo's Bingo has spread from the U.K. to 40 countries, holding pop-up shows like one that'll be in New York City this Thursday.
• There's a permanent bingo nightclub in London called Hijingo, whose owner tells Axios he's eager to bring the concept to the states.
• He's seeking locations where getting a gambling license won't be too much of a problem — even though gambling isn't the main attraction.

What they're saying: "Our guests are going for the experience, they're going for the entertainment — they're not going to win money," Toby Harris, CEO of State of Play Hospitality, tells Axios.

• "It's a relatively cheap night out," says Harris, whose company owns Hijingo, plus Flight Club, a "social darts" chain, and AceBounce, a "social ping pong" restaurant in Chicago.
• At Hijingo, "they're not spending $150, $200 on a top-end steakhouse — they're spending $50-$60 to have a riot in a really immersive environment with an incredible and humorous, playful show," Harris says.

Between the lines: These nontraditional bingo games tend to be more about going to a "show" than about the rapid calling of numbers and marking of bingo cards.

• At Bongo's Bingo, for instance, "different numbers trigger various musical experiences on stage," the New York Post reports.
• "The number 33 summons an Irish jig and dancers take to the stage," for example. "The number 6 calls up 'Hey Baby (If You'll Be My Girl)' and more dancers."

Zoom out: Restaurateurs say they make more money per customer if they offer darts, pickleball, golf or other activities along with burgers, beer and wings.

• Gen Z enthusiasms like cornhole and axe-throwing are giving way to once-geriatric pastimes like bingo and shuffleboard as young people seek novelty in their partying.

Fun fact: Within the world of bingo-themed entertainment, "drag queen bingo" has become a thing.

• A place near Detroit hosts "an audience-participation comedy show with a drag queen entertainer calling numbers and zingers and insulting everyone and everything."
• Drag Queen Bingo USA will send a crew to your home (in dozens of cities) to stage a vampy bingo game.

The bottom line: Many young adults haven't played bingo before, so these experiences could be their first — and seminal — encounter.