Last year a few economic analysts predicted the end of the so called ‘bingo boom.’ The recession has hit many gaming forms and established gaming firms in the UK such as Ladbrokes, who reported a decline in online poker revenues. Despite the online poker slowdown internet bingo seems to be holding its own. In fact many industry analysts predict a ‘cut throat’ atmosphere in the online bingo world as new bingo sites compete for players with older established websites. But why is online bingo doing so well when other gaming sites are losing players?
Some in the bingo industry believe that their success lies in female customer base. For the first time, major gaming firms are targeting women with extensive marketing campaigns. More than 80% of all online bingo players are women and most bingo sites report the same ratio of female to male players. Most television ads for online bingo in the UK are clearly aimed at females. Online bingo offers players entertainment 24/7 and during the last few years jackpots have become larger and there have even been a couple of ‘bingo millionaires.’ Online bingo is now the most popular game in the UK.
In addition to a wide variety of bingo games, websites also provide players with casino games. Roulette, poker, and slot games are especially popular with online bingo players, but bingo remains the chief attraction. Bingo’s first cousin, keno, is becoming more popular with players and many play bingo games and casino games simultaneously thanks to the auto daub feature available at most internet bingo sites. Many online casino players are switching to bingo sites because of the generous deposit bingo bonus that is usually available. Bingo bonuses enable players to access dozens of bingo and casino games for free. Most bingo sites offer new players free bingo to entice them to sign up and play bingo and casino games regularly.
Targeting women as a marketing strategy has been highly successful for the internet bingo industry. For years, demographic studies have shown time and time again that the vast majority of bingo players, online and land based, are women. Common sense would dictate that any marketing campaign be targeted at this large pool of potential players. Online games are also getting more sophisticated thanks to new graphic and video technology and the days of boring online games are gone forever. Despite the ongoing recession the future of the internet bingo industry looks very bright.
