Mention bingo to most people and you’ll get the same reaction – a polite smile, a mental image of a church hall, maybe a joke about their nan. It’s one of those activities that carries a reputation far removed from what it actually is, at least when it’s done properly.
At SoPo in Southport, bingo is done properly. Very properly. We’re talking 10 sessions a week across six days, a dedicated Level 1 auditorium, jackpots that regularly run into the thousands and a room that has a genuine energy to it. This is not a quiet affair.
If you’ve never been, or you’ve been dismissing it as something that’s not for you, here’s what’s actually going on.
The scale of it might surprise you
SoPo’s bingo program is one of the largest on the Gold Coast. Sessions run Tuesday through Sunday, with morning sessions at 11am most days, evening sessions on Tuesday and Thursday nights, and three separate sessions on Sundays – 11am, 3pm and 6:30pm. That’s a lot of options, which is part of why it draws such a consistent crowd.
The sessions are held in the Level 1 auditorium at 36 Scarborough Street, Southport – a proper dedicated space, not a corner of a dining room. It’s set up for this. The staff know what they’re doing, the calls are clear and first-timers are well looked after if they need a hand figuring out how it all works.
The jackpots are the real headline
This is where people tend to stop laughing. The prize pool at SoPo’s bingo sessions is genuinely substantial. The Saturday 11am session runs the Lone Roller jackpot at $10,000. Thursday evening sessions run up to $5,000 in unlimited calls. Tuesday evenings sit at $3,000 in 50 calls, plus a $1,500 treble on top. Sunday sessions include BSG Rewards with prizes reaching up to $50,000.
These aren’t raffle-ticket prizes. They’re real jackpots with real competition, and that’s a big part of what drives the atmosphere in the room.
The atmosphere is the other part
Ask anyone who’s become a regular at SoPo’s bingo sessions and they’ll tell you the same thing – it’s the room that keeps them coming back. There’s a mix of long-time locals who know each other by name, and new faces who showed up once out of curiosity and found themselves booking it into their weekly schedule.
It works as a solo activity (a relaxed few hours with the chance of walking out considerably better off), as a group outing, or as something completely different to do on a weeknight when you’re tired of the usual options. The entry cost is $21, which covers your session and keeps things accessible.
Morning sessions deserve a mention too
The daytime sessions often get overlooked because people assume bingo is a night-time thing. It isn’t – and the 11am sessions at SoPo are worth knowing about. They’re a good option for a relaxed midweek morning out, especially for retirees, shift workers or anyone who prefers to get their entertainment in before the evening crowd arrives.
Monday mornings run a special Money Minder session at a slightly different price point – check the current schedule on the SoPo events page for the latest details and jackpot amounts, as these update regularly.
Pair it with dinner and make a night of it
One of the advantages of SoPo being a full venue is that bingo doesn’t have to be the whole plan – it can just be the anchor. On Tuesday evenings, the 7pm bingo session pairs naturally with the 2-for-1 dinner special running from 5pm to 8pm. Show up for dinner, stay on for the session.
Thursday evenings work the same way – $16 Steak Night runs until 8pm, and the Thursday night bingo session starts at 7pm. It’s an easy combination that turns a single evening into something worth making the trip for.
Palm Springs, SoPo’s signature bistro, serves lunch from 11:30am to 2:30pm and dinner from 5pm to 8:30pm, so morning and lunchtime session-goers are catered for too.
Plan your visit
SoPo is at 36 Scarborough Street, Southport, with 130 underground car spaces on site, and easy access via tram and bus. The venue is open from 9:30am daily and runs late – so whether you’re coming for a morning session or an evening one, getting there and getting home is straightforward.
Session cost is $21. Jackpots and session times are updated regularly, so it’s worth checking the current schedule before you head in.
Check current sessions and jackpots at the SoPo What’s On page, or head to the SoPo homepage for everything in one place. If you’ve been dismissing bingo as something that’s not for you, give it one session. The room usually changes people’s minds.