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Bingo on the ‘net! Bingo is pastime favoured by people all over the globe. And so with the recent boom in popularity and availability of the World Wide Web, it was only a matter of time before Online Bingo was born. Quite simply, Online Bingo is bingo on the ‘net! INTRODUCTION Online Bingo still embraces all the trademark qualities of its land-based counterpart. The community focused environment, the friendly welcoming atmosphere and the sense of mutual camaraderie are all integral to Online Bingo. All these qualities are accommodated via Online Bingo’s multiplayer platform. Online Bingo is not just a matter of marking-off virtual numbers on a virtual bingo card. Its multiplayer element allows you to play live with other real bingo players. These facets are incorporated through the interactivity players can have with each other, accommodated via an onscreen live chat applet. In fact Online Bingo allows players to come together to play bingo in the largest communal bingo hall in the world – ''The Virtual Bingo Hall''. Bingo is already well-established as a branch of the e-gaming industry and is the main player in the ''soft-gaming'' business. Online Bingo has become a multi billion dollar business that is said to rival online poker as ''the next big thing''. ONLINE BINGO EXPLAINED Getting Started Some operators require that you download software to play their games. For this you can simply download free software from the site, install it and start playing. Meanwhile, other operators use Java or Flash based games that allow you to play immediately online after registering a player account. Depositing Before playing (at pay-to-play bingo sites), players are required to fund their account. Most sites accept all the e-wallet funding options, such as PayPal , Neteller , Citadel and PrePaidATM. Sites often provide a number of incentives to deposit, including matching bonuses where the site will reward depositing players by matching a percentage of their deposit. How To Play Bingo is one of the easiest games to play and the online version is no different – in fact it’s even easier. Playing bingo online, you can benefit from many optional features which make playing the game much easier, such as auto-daub. Auto-daub automatically marks off the numbers on your cards as they are called, so you don’t have to. Most software providers support other gaming features as ‘Best Card Sorting’ and ‘Best Card Highlighting’ where players cards are sorted and highlighted by closest to bingo. You may think this defeats the object of the game, but this is where Online Bingo differs from its land-based counterpart. Online Bingo’s chat facility not only embraces the communal aspect of bingo, but also provides a different component through which a different level playability can be reached. Such features as those mentioned above exist to grant players the freedom to enjoy the pleasantries of chat. Chat & The CM The Chat applet is an example of Online Bingo’s multifaceted approach and it is here where bingo both differs and surpasses other online games such as poker and casinos. The Chat applet brings a different dimension to gaming. This is where all the players of a game can meet and chat during games of bingo. Whereas in land-based bingo where talking is strictly forbidden during a game, it is actively encouraged in Online Bingo. This is arguably the greatest appeal of Online Bingo and also serves as an effective retention tool to Online Bingo’s predominantly female audience. This naturally leads to the introduction of the CM or the Chat Monitor. The CM is a keen bingo activist who works for the bingo site. He/She acts as the ‘host’ of a chat room and plays a role in welcoming players and creating a friendly and communal atmosphere in the room. This includes, but is not limited to, congratulating players when they win a game as well as playing chat games in-between bingo. Players respond well to this and encourage the community spirit by welcoming new players and wishing them good luck themselves. As this has developed, so too has a strict bingo chat protocol known as ‘chat etiquette’ or ''chatiquette''. Currently the only CM resource on the net is CM of the Year.com Online Bingo Lingo Bingo was responsible for such phrases as ''two little ducks'', ''Kelly’s eye'' and ''two fat ladies'', but as these bingo calls have become old fashioned and less popular, Online Bingo has re-invented bingo lingo. This time it isn’t the bingo caller spouting the phrases instead it’s the players who have got involved. The Bingo Chat applet has lent itself to be the vehicle behind a new wave of SMS text-like abbreviations. This has become accepted as the modern bingo lingo. A full glossary of terms can be found at FreeBingo.co.uk 90 Ball Versus 75 Ball There are actually two types of bingo played around the world. North America plays 75-ball bingo on a 5x5 card with the centre square usually marked 'free'. In the UK, parts of Europe, Australia and parts of South America they play a 90-ball game, marked on a 9x3 card. Online Bingo is no different, as both types of bingo are prominent at sites. The 90-ball game however is regarded as the standard game at UK based sites. 75 ball bingo is played on the 5x5 square card. The desired pattern which players aim achieve can vary dramatically, from a simple single line to more complicated themed patterns. The aim of the game, however, is always the same; to mark off the numbers to achieve the desired pattern. When achieved… bingo! Speed Bingo is a variation on this which is becoming more popular. It is played exactly the same, but numbers are simply called much quicker. In 90-ball bingo, each card has three horizontal lines and nine columns. Each line contains five numbers, meaning each card has 15 numbers. The first column contains numbers from 1 -10, the second column contains numbers from 11-20, all the way through to the final column which contains numbers from 81-90. A game of 90 ball bingo will normally be played in three stages; one line, two lines and Full House. In a 'one line' game players need to mark a complete horizontal line across one card (i.e. 5 numbers marked). The aim of a 'two lines' game is to complete any two marked lines horizontally across one card (i.e. 10 numbers marked). Finally a ‘Full House’ means all the numbers marked off on one card (all 15 numbers), as in a regular coverall game. The prize split differs for each stage of the game. The Full House is always the largest prize in any one game. Bingo Networks/ Front-Ends More than 1 in 4 (over 25%) of bingo players play at five or more sites. Conversely, less than 15% of players stay loyal to one site only. Therefore one can assume that most Online Bingo players are regularly ''cruising'' the internet searching for new bingo sites. There are a number of sites that will have the same promotions, similar graphics, the same bingo rooms and the same CMs. What’s being described here are sites that are part of a bingo ‘network’. In very simple terms this means a number of different sites (or ‘Front Ends’ as they are known) playing with the same numbers being called and playing for the same jackpot. Hence what you have is a number of different bingo sites, all feeding players into one giant game. The bigger the network, the greater the number of players. The greater the number of players, the more cards purchased. And the more cards purchased, the bigger the cash prizes! Being part of a network means that ‘Front End’ operators can benefit from central resources. This means that players have quality services like customer support, secure banking and technical support that perhaps are not present at some of the smaller sites. But the key benefit to the player is that there’s always going to be players in chat, good size pots on offer and reliable software. UK ONLINE BINGO The UK Bingo market has always been dominated by Gala and Mecca’s reign over the land-based bingo halls. However, the times are changing as more and more people make the switch over to Online Bingo. The popularity of Online Bingo has previously seen a steady growth, but never in the UK has it been more popular! Proof of this is evident by the market’s recent major developments. Online Bingo is growing faster in the UK than anywhere else and the estimate is that in less than a year's time 250,000 people will be playing Online Bingo on a regular basis. According to research, Bingo is now the most popular leisure activity in the UK for women between 20 and 25 years old. A UK Online Bingo site manager was recently quoted as saying "There are more Bingo players in this world than poker players. Unlike poker, everyone knows how to play bingo. In five years' time Online Bingo will be as big, if not bigger than poker." That may or may not be so, but the UK Online Bingo market has been going from strength to strength. As interest in the UK market grows, already successful US sites have started to invest in the UK market. None have invested more so recently than ‘Bingos’. Launched in 2004, Bingos.co.uk is one of the largest bingo sites in the world. There have been some huge developments as Bingos.co.uk has spent big in order to make an impact in the UK. This began with the redesign of the Bingos.co.uk website which was soon followed up with Bingos.co.uk running the first ever £1 million Jackpot Bingo game on the Internet. Bingos.co.uk has also splashed out on an expensive celebrity endorsement. Former Atomic Kitten star and celebrity mum Kerry Katona has reportedly signed a £500,000 deal to be the face of Bingos.co.uk. Bingos is not the only existing Online Bingo site to launch a UK alternative. Bingo Liner, BingoMania, Astro Bingo, Bingonanza, 123Bingo, Bingo Palace, iBingo and most recently Kiwi Bingo have all now got UK versions of existing US sites. The expansion of the UK Online Bingo market can only mean good things for the bingo fan. Players are able to enjoy more variety of UK sites than ever before. Sites are also offering bigger and better promotions and their jackpots are growing as sites compete for players. As well as the launch of UK versions of US based sites, the UK market is also seeing an influx in big brand names launching bingo games on their already established websites. This is something new and unique to the UK market. Huge brand names such as Yahoo! , Virgin, AOL UK and most recently MSN UK are all now associated with the UK Online Bingo market. This is as well as other brand names such as:
UK Online Bingo has also seen the inevitable launch of both Gala and Mecca’s Online Bingo game. Big name companies are starting to realize that this is an exciting and lucrative market and now want a piece of the action. SOFTWARE PROVIDERS The big Online Bingo software providers are:
BINGO PORTALS & DIRECTORIES There are a number of Bingo Portals & Directories where you can find further information on Online Bingo. If you are new to the game then these sites are the perfect places to find the best bingo sites on the web. WhichBingo is home to the largest bingo directory on the net and is widely regarded by players and site owners alike as the godfather of all things bingo. WhichBingo was recently recognised as the most popular bingo portal on the ‘net by independent research assisted by Alexa Internet . RESOURCES
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