The big business of online bingo
There are so many online games out there - why is it that bingo is so popular with so many people? It's been estimated that there are more than 100 million online bingo players around the world already, and the number is growing all the time. There are literally hundreds of bingo sites to choose from if you want to have a game online.
Online bingo is popular because it's always there, with 24/7 gaming schedules, you can find a game about to start whenever you login to a bingo site. However, being able to play online bingo whenever you feel like it doesn't make it unique. While it's true that you don't have to wait for opening hours like you would at the local bingo hall, there are thousands of other games that are equally accessible online. What makes bingo stand out though, is that the online game has such a strong social side to it.
Bingo's always been a game that fosters a sense of community and the trick with the online version is that there's the same feeling that visitors to a real bingo hall would get. They know that they can meet their friends online in the bingo chat rooms whenever they feel like it. And while in the bingo hall you'd only be able to chat between games, with online bingo, the chat never has to stop. That's because the software will take care of the daubing of numbers for you, and automatically log a win if you have one, while you are having fun chatting with other players.
Surprisingly, with the increase in people playing bingo online, bingo halls are still doing ok. In fact, it may be that the new generations who have started playing bingo online have now got a taste for this old-fashioned game and now appreciate the fun of going to a land-based bingo hall every now and then. After all, it's a great alternative to meeting your friends down at the bar - or you can have a few rounds of bingo together at the beginning of a night out and then move on somewhere else.
Although the players of online bingo range in age, gender and profession, a lot of the marketing for online bingo seems to be aimed at young and middle aged women. The sites are often in pinks and purples and there's a lot of emphasis on how easy it is to socialise while you play - something that is probably more interesting to women than men, in general. Also, a lot of women who wouldn't choose to "gamble" per se on a casino gaming site, but they see bingo as a lighter form of having a wager - bingo tickets only cost pennies at a time after all. And at sites like bgo and Costa Bingo, there are always some free to play games on the schedule too.
Online bingo is a game that is cheap and easy to play, and can take as little as five minutes, if that's all the time you have to spare. With the addition of the social aspect, it's no wonder so many people are flocking to play bingo.
Photo Credits: Johnragai
