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We’ve all grown up with bingo in the background of our lives. Although you might never have played it, nor had parents who played it, you always knew there was a game called bingo. It’s something that has always been a part of our heritage without us really knowing much about it. Every town used to have a bingo hall, and many still do, and they were as permanent a fixture as the cinema and the local pubs.
But today, for anyone who wants to play bingo for the first time, they won’t usually be heading down to the nearest bingo hall. Instead, they’ll simply go online and put ‘bingo’ into their favourite search engine and have instant access to a huge range of different bingo sites; each offering a great welcome bonus to get them started when they first sign up to play.
Online bingo is so popular in the UK that an estimated £600 million is spent on online bingo cards every year. And with more and more people now choosing to play online bingo on their mobile device rather than on a desktop or laptop, it looks like this trend is set to continue.
Even though we can now play bingo anywhere on our mobiles or tablets, it doesn’t necessarily mean that we’re playing while on the move – away from home. When you think about it, it’s much more convenient to sit playing a few rounds of bingo on the sofa rather than going to start up the computer every time you want to play. That way, you can mix a few minutes of playing time in with other activities – like watching the TV, or while you’re in the kitchen making dinner.
Since 2008, online bingo activity has increased by 155% and bingo accounts for 17% of all online gambling in the UK. Online bingo is big business and it’s not surprising that there is a lot of competition between different bingo operators for our custom. Each of the main bingo sites like Gala Bingo, Mirror Bingo and Sky Bingo has its own welcome incentives which draw players to join and then keep them loyal to the site with further promos and offers. For example, if you try out the online bingo games at Mirror Bingo you’ll see that new players who deposit £10 are entitled to a £30 credit bonus. That money can be used to play bingo games but also casino games, scratch cards and keno on the site, so players get to experience the full range of games that Mirror Bingo has to offer.
Another development in technology that has helped secure the future of bingo is that you can now login and play via Facebook. The social networking site introduced real money games back in 2012 and many of the bingo operators now make it possible for players to log in to their sites via Facebook. So when you login to Facebook to check up on what your friends are up to, you might end up doing a little gaming while you’re there.
Just because bingo has become so techno-friendly it doesn’t necessarily mean the end of the bingo hall. There’s the distinct possibility that online bingo will follow in the footsteps of live online casino – where you can stream a live blackjack or roulette game and take part in it, watching the real dealer deal your cards. We may soon have the chance to stream live bingo games from bingo halls that we can take part in, and get the full nostalgic atmosphere with the bingo calls being made by the caller in the bingo hall.
Technology hasn’t wiped out a traditional game like bingo. Instead, it’s enhanced the player experience, and made it a game that even more people now enjoy; especially as they can play at any time, in any location.
