Bingo has always been a popular game and has achieved exceptional popularity in the UK. Almost every town and hamlet has its own high street bingo club and many pensioners depend on the local bingo club for entertainment and social interaction. Bingo is wildly popular on the other side of the Atlantic and in the US bingo has been a great fundraising tool for churches and charitable organizations for several decades. People play bingo for the same reasons that made it popular almost a century ago-the social aspect and the chance for some quick cash. Unlike competitive games like poker bingo offers friendly competition unlike other gambling games. Since bingo is a game of pure chance players know they have the same chances of winning as other players. In the UK bingo giants like Gala and Mecca have turned this popular game into a moneymaking machine. Until the recent smoking ban and double taxation bingo halls were filled night after night with enthusiastic players.

Bingo stereotypes abound but the most common is that of little old blue haired ladies sitting in a smoky bingo club with colorful daubers and good luck charms and talismans. Bingo clubs attracted many younger players looking for an entertaining night out. During the past two years land based bingo has seen a decline in players. One study showed that approximately 63% of all bingo players are smokers and the smoking ban hit bingo clubs hard. Many of these players who played traditional bingo went online to play their favorite game. Internet bingo was introduced about a decade ago and after a slow start the internet bingo industry has seen a boom of sorts and there are now about 250 bingo websites serving the UK market.

Clever marketing campaigns and highly entertaining television ads have attracted thousands of new online players. In the beginning internet bingo websites were pretty basic but since the great rush online bingo websites are using state of the art software, stunning graphics, and original variations on the game. Better yet internet bingo sites started to offer players significant bingo bonuses and other player perks. The introduction of chat rooms made online bingo even more attractive. Recent studies in the UK show that more people are playing internet bingo than are playing at traditional bingo clubs. In addition UK bingo sites offer 90 ball bingo which has proved to be a popular variation on the traditional 75 ball game. Internet bingo has continued to thrive in spite of the global recession and according to industry experts the future looks very bright indeed.