National Bingo Game jackpots for the first time and the National Bingo Game introduced the "Big N" – an optional £1 jackpot charge to players which gave them a chance to play for a gold, silver or platinum jackpot which could exceed £1 million. Ticket sales for the jackpot were lower than anticipated and the prize was not won for a number of months, before the National Bingo Game decided to reduce the participation charge to 50p, but make it compulsory from January 2008. As a result of this move 3 millionaires were created in the 6 months that followed, but Gala Bingo's
National Bingo Game and the National Prize is presently in the region of £5,000–25,000, depending upon the day of the week and session played, plus the Jackpot Prize – see § New Game. Many players prefer to purchase a strip of six tickets, as this guarantees that all numbers 1–90 appear on the strip, so the players know that they will be marking the strip each and every time a number is called. Technology has improved since the game began in 1986 and currently ADSL secure internet connection is used to collect and distribute data. The National Bingo Game has been in operation