Is online bingo the new online poker?

10.31.2008 | 2:22 pm | gambling

The last 12 months have seen a major increase in the number of people playing online bingo and there are many who are comparing the early stages of the industry with those of online poker some years ago. Online bingo, as we saw with online poker, was written off by many so-called experts from day one as a sport or pastime which would not transfer to the online arena. However, these so-called experts have now been made to eat their words as online bingo has literally taken off over the last 12 months with more sites coming on line almost monthly and promotions everywhere.

The interesting thing about online bingo is the fact that rather than taking excess customers away from the off-line bingo market it has literally created a whole new marketplace and attracted a range of customers who have never played bingo before. We are seeing the likes of Mecca bingo, Sun bingo and the new Wink bingo taking the headlines although there are many more up and coming bingo sites which are attracting more than their fair share of new business.

Online bingo is an industry which seems to have a promotion every event in the UK whether this be the Brazilian Grand Prix, Halloween, bonfire night or Christmas. This very focused marketing approach has played great dividends and not only managed to retain customers but also ensure an ever-growing band of enthusiasts. The online bingo phenomenon has seen cash jackpots increase month by month, more and more prize bingo games and more lucrative loyalty bonus schemes than ever before.

Let us hope that unlike online poker, the US authorities do not take a dim view of the fact that online bingo is taking more and more of the online gambling market!