Bingo is no longer solely a way for cat ladies to kill time between “The Golden Girls” marathons in TV Land. Great Britain is seeing a whole new crop of wealthy young professionals playing the game. To be honest, I’ve never really understood British taste. After all, James Blunt is a megastar in England. And I’ll just say it now. I think the American version of “The Office” is funnier. There, I said it.

 Research group Mintel has found that during the last ten years, players under 45 years of age now make up 62% of the country’s bingo players. Players 18 to 24 years old now account for 700,000 of Britain’s 3.5 million bingo players. The most obvious reason for this shift toward younger players is the Internet. Online bingo sites have been springing up over the last decade and younger users are more likely to embrace the new technology. Older users, who are still trying to grasp the idea that you can talk on a phone that isn’t connected to the wall, are still sticking to the traditional bingo halls.

 Research has shown that younger users enjoy playing online bingo because of its simplicity. You can kill time, and maybe even earn a little money, without having to learn a whole lot of rules or strategy. Online bingo is also a good interactive game, with plenty of time for chatting and trash talking between called out numbers. Some can even use Twitter to keep friends and family up to date: “@JBluntFan It’s a 5. I don’t have a five. Damn. One more for Bingo!”

 With this trend expected to continue, more online gaming sites may add bingo to their game selection. In addition, sites that already offer bingo may decide to tailor the experience to a younger demographic, with chat rooms, 3-D animation and better graphics. It seems that a bingo revolution is in process.