For many charitable organizations bingo has been a very effective fundraising tool for decades. In the US and the UK bingo is a popular game and charitable bingo games raise money for a wide variety of causes and charities. In the US charitable bingo games are typically held at churches and veterans organizations. Many Catholic churches offer regular bingo games and the revenue generated is used for many purposes. Social services for the disadvantaged, tuition subsidies and scholarships are funded by charitable bingo games.

Online bingo is a relatively new development in the world of bingo. Online bingo became popular in the late 90’s and now rivals poker as the most popular online game. Bingo halls on both sides of the Atlantic have been adversely affected by smoking bans and many bingo halls report a drastic drop in attendance. Sadly enough, many charitable bingo games have been forced to close due to the drop in players. Smoking bans have sent bingo players flocking to online bingo websites. In the UK some bingo providers reported an 80% increase in players in 2008.

Now it appears that charities are discovering the potential of online bingo. Many online bingo providers have set up bingo games where the proceeds go to a specific charity. US President Barack Obama’s step mother set up an online bingo game that was highly successful and benefited a very worthy cause. Mrs. Obama was able to present UK based Sue Ryder Charity with a check for £20,000. ($32,347 USD) Another highly original charity online bingo game offered a football signed by a famous international football star and the proceeds from the game went to a cystic fibrosis charity.

Many industry experts expect to see more charity online bingo games in the future as charitable organizations turn to this new twist on a traditional fundraising tool. Online bingo websites do not have the expenses of maintaining a physical location and can offer charities a bigger share of profits generated by online bingo games. Online bingo is a growing industry and charities would do well to take advantage of the opportunities offered by online bingo.