How Bingo Going Online Became an Advantage

Bingo in the UK, and around the world, has had many ups and downs during its 300 years of popularity. Today, the bingo industry is bigger than it has ever been before, and that is all thanks to going online.

Moving online has been incredible for the bingo industry, but it has also created huge advantages for players too. Today’s players have more choice of bingo games, and easier access to those games on various technology devices. Players also now have the opportunity to access educational guides on topics such as how to win bingo and improve their bingo gaming strategy to help them make the most of playing a game of online bingo.

As the 21st Century began, the UK’s indoor smoking ban marked the final nail in the decline of bingo halls. Hugely popular from the 1960s for 40 years, bingo halls simply failed to keep up with changing modern trends.

Existing bingo hall audiences were, quite literally, dying off, and too little was done to attract younger replacements. Bingo was left in crisis and with only two choices – adapt or die.

Fortunately, this crisis point occurred just as an incredible new opportunity emerged when the world of online gaming exploded. Bingo adapted easily to online participation and the market was quickly flooded with providers selling the game to new audiences.

With the advent of the smartphone in 2007, the beginning of bingo’s new golden age was sealed. Games were now accessible by almost anyone, almost anywhere, at almost any time, and the UK public could not resist.

However, boosted popularity isn’t the only benefit to come to the world of bingo from its moving online. In this new format, there are a number of wider advantages from which every player can gain.

• Convenience

Whether a new bingo player or an adapter from the in-person days, there’s no denying the convenience of online playing. With just a few swipes of a phone, players can now play bingo whenever and wherever they choose.

• Affordability

Without the overheads of running bingo halls, providers can keep their games lower-priced and offer higher wins. Players also save the cost of travel, drinks, and other additional expenses which were often accumulated when playing in person.

• Choice

Choice is a huge advantage of bingo going online, as everyone’s needs are different and by providing a variety of options, it attracts many more players to get involved. 

At a traditional bingo hall, play would take place in one standardised format with little variation or choice of games. Online, the choice and diversity is endless: 75-ball, 90-ball, Slingo, bingo roulette, themes, jackpots; there’s something for everyone.

• Social

Bingo has always been a social entertainment and the traditional halls were hubs of the community. This is still the case online, except the community is now global, diverse, and inclusive to all.

This has huge benefits for mental health, particularly in those who may be isolated by situation or location. This extends to senior citizens who may have always loved bingo but now physically struggle to get to in-person venues.

These are all important benefits the online world brings to even the most casual of bingo players. The advantages don’t stop there either, as the new format presents opportunities for more serious players too.

The vast increase in choice is key here, as it opens up the ability for players to be more tactical. While bingo, at its core, is a game of luck, simple statistics mean there are ways to improve the odds.

Bingo rules mean every game must have a winner, calculating the odds of you being that winner is easy. The number of cards you are playing divided by the number of total cards is your probability of winning.

For instance, if you buy ten cards and there are 100 in play, you have a 10% chance of winning. If you buy five cards but there are only 20 in play, you have a 25% win probability.

The wider the range of numbers on your cards also means the higher odds of a win. No one number ever has a higher probability of being drawn, but the more numbers you have the better.

This means you can improve your win chances by choosing quieter games, or games where you can afford more cards. Games that allow selections of which cards you take improve those odds even further.

Traditional bingo halls seriously limited how much you could take advantage of this knowledge as your choice was minimal. Online, however, the range and options are endless, allowing for much more involved tactical thinking.

Choice also creates competition, which forces providers to incentivise their players much more. Welcome bonuses, free games, jackpots, and other incentives are constantly offered and recycled for all.

While these incentives are primarily aimed at new players, having consistent options to change providers means anyone can take advantage. Similarly, choice means providers are constantly competing to offer the lowest deposits, cheapest cards, and biggest wins.

This ability to ‘shop around’ increases the power of the buyer vastly from the time of in-person play. Providers were much less likely to incentivise when simply being the nearest hall was enough to attract most players.

Moving online is something the bingo industry needed to do, first to survive, then to grow. For providers, it has opened vast new audiences and demographics and created a global bingo boom like never before.

As these simple points show, however, the hidden benefits this has brought to players are also plentiful. With improved variety, choice, and flexibility, going online has generated great advantages on all sides.

Even if a player simply chooses a bingo game themed with music to their liking, that is a benefit. So, next time you choose to play online, why not first consider the advantages of the huge choices before you?

Share on Facebook

Tweet

Follow us