Things just keep getting better and better for the online bingo industry. While land based bingo halls in the UK are burdened with excessive taxation and declining attendance due to smoking bans online bingo is attracting players at an astounding rate. Misguided government policies have already caused many bingo halls to shutter their doors forever. Thanks to these same misguided policies online bingo has experienced an 80% increase in players during the past year.

When the national smoking ban went into effect in the UK online bingo experienced a mini boom as smokers switched to online bingo in droves. Now thanks to the closure of so many bingo galls online bingo is experiencing another ‘bingo boom.’ The online bingo industry continues to thrive even in the midst of a global recession. While brick and mortar bingo halls shed jobs the online bingo industry is providing many new employment opportunities.

The current auction of Cashcade, owner of the popular UK Foxy Bingo and GetMinted casino brands has generated a great deal of industry interest. The brands are expected to sell for £70 ($114,779,522 USD) million to £100 ($163,999,317 USD). Cashcade reported a 91% increase in revenue to £33.7 million ($54,118,936 USD) and pre tax profits of £10.9 ($16,402,387 USD) million. PartyGaming, owner of the popular website PartyPoker, is the frontrunner in the bidding for Cashcade.

In 2008 the online bingo industry generated $1.4 billion dollars globally. The online bingo industry is expected to generate $$1.7 billion dollars this year and $2 billion in 2010. The UK online bingo market is 20% of the global market for online bingo. In the UK the popular Foxy bingo brand is second to bingo giant Gala bingo. If PartyGaming wins the bidding war Gala could very well lose the number 1 spot in the UK bingo industry.

PartyGaming has indicated they will cross market their poker and casino products to online bingo players. At the present time bingo is second to poker in popularity as an online game. Should the US adopt a more reasonable attitude towards online gaming the addition of the US market could mean the addition of millions of online bingo players. It is easy to see why industry insiders are excited about the future of online bingo.