Housie
Ninety balls, a paper ticket and someone at the front calling numbers. Housie is the New Zealand name for what most of the world calls bingo, and it is still played every week in RSA halls, clubs and church rooms from Kaitaia to Invercargill.
If you have never been, the format is simpler than the jargon suggests. Everyone buys a book of tickets. A caller draws numbered balls one at a time and announces them. You cross off the numbers on your ticket as they come up. When a ticket reaches the winning pattern for that round you shout — the traditional call is “housie!” — the caller stops, and a marker checks your ticket against the numbers drawn.
What makes it a New Zealand institution rather than just a game is the setting. A housie night is a fundraiser as often as it is entertainment: clubs, schools and sports teams run sessions because the format is cheap to put on and everyone already knows how to play. The prizes are frequently meat packs, grocery vouchers or a chilly bin rather than cash, and nobody minds.
The online version — normally listed as bingo rather than housie — keeps the mechanics and drops the hall. Grand Mondial's lobby is slots-first and jackpot-led rather than a dedicated bingo room, so if a genuine 90-ball ticket game is what you are after, check the lobby before depositing rather than assuming it is there.
90
Balls in a standard NZ game
15
Numbers on one ticket
6
Tickets in a full book
3
Winning patterns per game
The rules, one card at a time
The ticket
A housie ticket is a grid three rows deep and nine columns wide. Fifteen of the twenty-seven squares carry numbers, five per row; the rest are blank. Each column holds numbers from its own band — the first column takes 1 to 9, the last takes 80 to 90 — so your numbers are spread across the range rather than clustered.
The book
Tickets are sold in books of six. Across a full book every number from 1 to 90 appears exactly once, which means every ball called marks something somewhere. That is why regulars buy a book rather than a single ticket — it keeps you in every round.
The three prizes
A standard game pays three times. One line: five numbers in any single row. Two lines: any two complete rows on the same ticket. Full house: all fifteen numbers on one ticket. The full house is the big one and the game ends when it lands.
Calling and checking
Shout as soon as you complete the pattern — most halls run a rule that a late call after the next ball is drawn does not stand. A marker reads your ticket numbers back against the board. If two tickets claim the same prize on the same ball, the prize is shared.
The calls
Callers often dress the numbers up: “two little ducks” for 22, “legs eleven” for 11, “two fat ladies” for 88. The nicknames are decoration — the number is always said plainly as well, so you do not need to learn a single one to play.
Session shape
A night is a sequence of games, often with a break in the middle and a larger jackpot game at the end. Bring a dabber if the hall uses them; pens are fine everywhere else. Arrive early enough to buy your book before the first call.
Playing for money, and where
Housie for prizes is legal in New Zealand, but the framework it sits in matters. Under the Gambling Act 2003 most housie run by a club, school or charity falls into the lower-risk end of the licensing classes, where the proceeds are meant to go to an authorised community purpose rather than into someone's pocket. That is why the game is so tightly bound up with fundraising here — the law effectively points it that way.
The practical version for a player: a hall session run by a club is above board, cheap, and the prize pool is usually modest. A commercial online bingo room is a different proposition entirely, governed by the same rules as any other online casino game.
| Where | Typical cost | Prizes | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|---|
| RSA and working men's clubs | A few dollars a book | Meat packs, vouchers, small cash | The classic format. Often members plus guests; ring ahead. |
| School and charity fundraisers | Entry plus books | Donated goods | One-off nights, advertised locally rather than online. |
| Sports and community clubs | Low | Mixed cash and goods | Proceeds go to the club's authorised purpose. |
| Online bingo rooms | From a few cents a ticket | Cash, sometimes progressive | Offshore operators; see the legality page before depositing. |
Hall housie versus online bingo
The hall
- Cheap by design, and the money mostly stays local
- Fixed session length — it ends when it ends
- Social, and the pace gives you time to think
- Fixed times and a drive to get there
- Prize pools are small
Online
- Available whenever you want it, tickets auto-marked
- Bigger prize pools, sometimes networked jackpots
- No natural stopping point — set a limit yourself
- Operators are offshore and unlicensed in NZ so far
- Slots-led lobbies may not carry true 90-ball games
Housie questions
Is housie the same as bingo?
Effectively yes. Housie is the New Zealand and Australian name for 90-ball bingo. The ticket layout, the one line / two lines / full house prize structure and the calling are the same game. Online casinos almost always list it as bingo rather than housie.
How many numbers are on a housie ticket?
Fifteen, arranged five to a row across three rows of nine columns. The remaining twelve squares are blank. A book of six tickets covers all ninety numbers exactly once between them.
Is housie legal in New Zealand?
Yes. Housie run by clubs, schools and community organisations is permitted under the Gambling Act 2003, with the framework built around proceeds going to an authorised community purpose rather than private profit. Online bingo is governed by the same rules as any other online casino game.
Can you win real money at housie?
At a club or fundraiser the prizes are often goods — meat packs and vouchers are traditional — with modest cash prizes on some games. Online bingo rooms pay cash and sometimes carry progressive jackpots, which is the main practical difference between the two.
Does Grand Mondial Casino have housie or bingo?
Grand Mondial runs on the Games Global catalogue, which is slots-led and jackpot-focused rather than built around a dedicated bingo room. Check the current lobby before depositing if a genuine 90-ball ticket game is specifically what you want.
What does the caller mean by "two little ducks"?
It is 22 — the shape of the digits. The nicknames are tradition rather than requirement: "legs eleven" is 11, "two fat ladies" is 88, "kelly's eye" is 1. Callers always say the plain number as well, so you can play without knowing any of them.
Do I need a dabber?
Some halls prefer them because they are quicker and easier to check, others are happy with a pen. Ask when you buy your book. Online the marking is automatic, which is faster but takes away most of the reason to concentrate.