Online bingo is already big news, as for some time it’s been bringing masses of new players to a game they’d never encountered before.

The Gala game offer is smart, sophisticated but easy to use, and has surely reinforced the Gala brand name’s image as a household name field-leader in accessible entertainment.

But thanks to what appears a pivotal agreement between Gala and hugely successful TVCatchup what we’re now seeing is the prospect of a full-blown interactive gaming and leisure channel - a site where you can play bingo and many other games, and also enjoy brilliant regular programme features led by leading names in UK showbiz.

With ten million downloads of their app already downloaded via Google Play, TVCatchup will deliver Gala Bingo to an audience that just seems to want more and more.

It’s riding the crest of a wave of demand that appears able to dominate the mainstream alternative to “vanilla” television.

The formula for success is based on the premise of easy access, so everything is available via smart phone, tablet or laptop, and that “use anywhere” function is one of the key ingredients expected to drive exponential growth.

But Gala Bingo insists it has a product to match the delivery system. Running daily from 7pm till midnight, the service will be run by Strictly Come Dancing’s Alison Hammond, as well as characterful Charlie King from The Only Way is Essex.

Between them they are in charge of a beguiling array of programmes, featuring everything from Newbie Nation, an excellent introduction to the great game of Bingo for people who’ve never played, or maybe know the game but not as an online version.

This runs from 7pm to 8pm, and is promptly followed by The Daily Buzz, a lingering look at celebs from home and abroad and the headline-grabbing moments which put them in the limelight. It runs from 8pm, and is run again at 10pm for anyone who missed it first time around.

Then there’s Flutter Friday, a peppy magazine-style resume of glitterati eyecatcher moments from the worlds of sports and celebrity - so snippets about the Royals, or big movie stars and pop idols, are as likely to feature as must-watch football highlights.

And it goes well beyond betting coverage, its compelling main theme, to include subjects like racing and even hit shows like X-Factor.

Meanwhile there is a whole array of interactive games viewers can play alongside the flagship Gala Bingo games - such as Buzzwords, a skills content where you pit your wits against other people using the site.

Or try On the Buzzer, a head-scratching interactive quiz puzzler which also includes the Gala Bingo site’s top-performing games - so allowing users to enjoy two completely different streams of entertainment at the same time.

This surely amounts to big news on the online home entertainment front, building together all the most successful elements of high quality leisure viewing with field-leading web-enabled Gala bingo games - and the early running seems to show that with many viewers it is pushing on an open door.

One reason for the success is that TVCatchup is already signing four million viewers per month, ensuring that the new Gala online front-runner will get all the attention it deserves, but it’s the quality, accessibility and versatility of the whole package that arguably scores highest points.

Gala TV has already won early industry recognition where it counts, gaining nominations at both the eGR Marketing and Innovation Awards and the WhichBingo Awards.

Now it seems ready to take the world of easy-access online entertainment by storm, because consumers appear just as enthusiastic - Gala TV may just be a classic example of a great idea whose time has come.