The annual turnover of online bingo accounted for over 51.85 million pounds between April to September 2020 in Great Britain. There are over 4 million active bingo players in the United Kingdom with more adding to the list every day. When someone talks about online gambling, it includes slots, video games, poker, bingo, roulette and so much more.
It is quite incredible that bingo has survived in the gambling market and is still preferred by British gamblers. The 2000s had seen a resurgence in bingo popularity in the UK when plenty of slot sites were launched. The online versions had all the traditional features of the game with familiar bingo chat rooms, cards, and prizes.
The State Of Bingo In Great Britain
Online bingo has shown significant growth due to the effects of Covid-19. A major area of growth has been the online bingo industry which was earlier neglected. Recent growth in bingo has revived its potential for the years ahead. With fewer bingo halls available, revenues have significantly decreased, which has led to calls for the government to bring about tax breaks in order to help the industry. According to a UK report, we will look into the current state of bingo in Great Britain.
A Million Dollar Industry
From 2019 to 2020, both brick-and-mortar bingo establishments along with online bingo platforms generated a massive GGY of 910 million Euros in the UK. A major portion of 635.9 million euros was by live bingo halls, but trends indicate that online bingo is not too far ahead to catch up. The wagered sum on bingo at online bingo platforms was up by 0.9% over 2019-2020 whereas the money wagered in offline casinos had decreased by 5.7%. There are multiple bingo variants available like 90 ball bingo which is extremely popular in the UK. There is 75, 80 ball bingo which is a popular format too due to the fun patterns
What Is Driving The Online Bingo Popularity?
One of the major factors in the above statistics is the pandemic. Many punters have locked themselves up in their homes and preferred to stay indoors rather than go out and risk their lives. This increased the popularity of online bingo as punters were eager to gamble on the game and the availability of popular online betting platforms offered an easy avenue for them. Moreover, Brits prefer bingo sites like these ones because they do not connect to self-exclusion schemes like GamStop and players have the ability to play bingo games whenever they want.
Facebook and other social media handles have popularised free bingo games with plenty of entertaining forms of bingo rather than the monotonous traditional form. Punters who tried out the free online versions of the game got a hang of it and are naturally attracted to the chance of winning real cash in the game. While the availability of entertaining and free games has made bingo more appealing to newbies, it also happens to be a more popular game among women than men. It is quite widespread among women due to the easy gameplay and sizable jackpots offered.
Future Of Bingo In Great Britain
Bingo is expected to grow more and more in popularity where obviously, online bingo will be the prime source of growth. The major advancement that offline bingo offers over the online-bingo version is the social interaction component with other punters. This trait is soon to be replicated by VR technology, and technological innovations like live games for online gambling as well. The fact that punters were driven toward online gambling from 2019 to 2020 shows that they are likely to ease up this transition.
These punters may not entirely abandon brick-and-mortar casinos but are definitely going to spend their time and money on online casino platforms as well due to the ease of access. The game itself will continue to improve and evolve with new forms popping up every day. Hybrid bingo games incorporating other forms of entertainment like dancing might allow live parlours to compete against one another to bring in more customers. Eventually, according to the history of the bingo game, time will tell what the future has for bingo. However, if current trends are kept in mind, the game surely is not likely to fall off the UK gambling radar anytime soon.
Conclusion
It is impossible to say what the future beholds for bingo, but as per recent trends, the market is definitely moving towards online bingo due to its accessibility. Reliable and secure online bingo platforms protect player data with 128-bit SSL encryption technology. Also, bingo halls have always been a part of the British tradition, so, be it online or offline, bingo can never go out of fashion. It is evident that retail bingo halls need a boost to maintain sustainability, let alone bring back the glam and glory of the 90s.