Some operators require players to download free software to play their games. Other operators use Java or Flash based games that allow you to play immediately online after registering a player account.
To win the largest prizes, users must fund an account, but free bingo games are also available offering players a way to win smaller amounts of money with no risk of gambling. Some online bingo sites offer no deposit bingo with sandbox play. This will allow the player to get the hang of the system without a cash investment, but no monetary value can be gained.
Most sites accept a standard range of e-wallet funding options, such as Neteller, Firepay, 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.
Recently, the USA government has passed laws that may limit banks ability to process credit cards for US citizens. The laws will soon be detailed and may put a crimp in the ease by which US citizens have been able to play their online bingo pastime in the past
Bingo is one of the easiest games to play and the online version is no different. Playing bingo online, players can make use of optional features which make playing the game easier, such as auto-daub. Auto-daub automatically marks off the numbers on cards as they are called, so players 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. Some of these features are designed to free players to enjoy the communal pleasantries of the chat features.
There are also a great variety of games to play to suit just about every interested bingo player. Most of the top sites offer several bingo games. Some inexpensive game rooms appeal to the player who may want to play for just a 10 cents or 10 pence. Some bingo games only allow players to purchase the same amount of cards so you are not constantly competing against the “high rollers” out there who buy many cards for the same game.
The Chat application 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. Chat functions as an effective retention tool, aimed especially at the predominantly female audience.
It is customary for players to congratulate winning players with comments like “WTG,” or “Way To Go.” Much like instant messaging, online bingo chat communities have their own acronyms which are often used in replace of often repeated sentences.
CM stands for “chat monitor”. The CM works for the bingo site 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. Most sites have a chat protocol known as chat etiquette or chatiquette.
Popular chat games include Odds and Evens, Dodgeball, Roulette, At the Races, Birthday Bingo, Lucky Gem and Bullseye. On a busy site you can expect to win roughly four to eight times the amount it costs to buy a bingo ticket if you win one of these games.
Some 50,000 of the estimated 3 million land-based bingo players now play bingo online. 90% of these are below the age of 50, dispelling the myth that bingo is for the older generation. 85% of online players are women.
If you go into an online bingo site and enter the chat room, you will find that there are significantly more female players there than male players. That’s why most online bingo sites target women aged 35-54 with their advertising.
A recent survey commissioned by St Minver Ltd, showed that the UK was third in a list behind the US and Japan of countries with the highest propensity playing online bingo.[citation needed]
One of the biggest bingo software providers, Parlay Entertainment undertook a survey of the bingo market together with UK bingo players. It derived from its product that of the $150 million global market, the US provided 85% of revenues, whereas the UK was the fastest growing online market.[citation needed]
While the market is growing fast, still only 1% of UK land-based players played online, showing that many have still not made the transition to online bingo.
