TELEVISION networks are upping the stakes in the battle for ratings by pouring millions of dollars into game shows.

The staging of a national bingo night on Channel Seven tonight marks the beginning of an all-out game show war, with executives hoping viewers will embrace old-fashioned fun in a modern format.

Bingo night has long been a favourite among the blue-rinse set, staged mainly in local halls, but tonight the game will make a dramatic shift to national television screens as Channel Seven unveils the notion of a nationwide contest.

Viewers will be able to check off their numbers on a game card as they aim to win from a huge pool of cash being offered by Seven, with contestants in the running for weekly prizes of $10,000.

Former Home and Away star Tim Campbell has been chosen to host Seven's new show, signalling his rising profile at the network.

But even after the bingo numbers have been called, Channel Nine will fight back when Eddie McGuire opens up his chequebook for Who Wants to Be a Millionaire tomorrow night.

McGuire's return has been strengthened with even bigger prizemoney from Nine, a $5 million prize pool and interactive prizes with the audience each week.

The bonanza follows the return of David Gyngell to Channel Nine. He went to Cannes earlier this month for the world's biggest television trade market, where he snapped up a new game show format.

So far, Channel 10 has kept out of it, instead focusing on light entertainment shows, including an Australian version of So You Think You Can Dance for the ratings war in 2008.