Online bingo is one of the fastest-growing aspects of online entertainment. Like others in the online casino and entertainment industry, being online helped the traditional game thrive. Analyzing what exactly led to this success is difficult, but some combination of the gameplay, the audience, and the industry contributed. So, what three factors made it possible for bingo to succeed online in such a way?
The Gameplay
The gameplay change from traditional bingo to bingo that utilized technology was both the biggest sell of the sector and the biggest weapon it had to win over players. The digital nature of online bingo meant that it could be streamlined and could retain the essence of bingo, whilst using digital means to enhance graphics and create themes around the games. Indeed, you can play online bingo rooms that are themed around all manner of topics from lucky Irish leprechauns to Greek mythology. The design of the games kept the bingo formula and dressed the games up to create a completely new experience.
Some sites offer chat rooms alongside the bingo games to invoke that social spirit, while others ensure there are plenty of sounds and graphics to evoke tension. A bingo game is a tense experience, so ensuring that the feature translated online was key. Being online meant that players could have a more personalized bingo experience, which helped create this excitement and tension and showed players how they could benefit from the new style of playing.
The Audience
Finding an audience is key when it comes to crafting a new niche online. This was one of the trickier aspects of bringing online bingo to fruition as the audience was typically used to playing in a certain way. Swapping bingo halls and community centers for an online presence helped find a new audience, while an increasingly internet-savvy existing audience was finding benefits when playing online. The titles on offer therefore had to appeal to both audiences.
The classic gameplay was available in many rooms, and new takes on the format such as bingo slots and tie-ins with pop culture were also prevalent. The technology of being online meant that the sites could offer games that appealed to both traditional bingo audiences and new ones whose first experiences of bingo were online ones.
The Industry
The growth of the online casino industry in general helped online bingo to thrive. Taking games that were so well-known and transforming them into digital versions could have been a risky strategy, but it ended up allowing new audiences and new styles of gameplay to be discovered. The success of the online casino industry looks to continue, which means online bingo will also be raised by the rising tide.
Indeed, figures suggest that the market size for the online gambling industry globally was $53.7 billion in 2019 and will climb to $59.6 billion by the end of 2020. This environment allowed online bingo to thrive as people already understood the industry and were primed to engage with new titles and new gameplay formats.
To succeed online for bingo, it took a bit of a gamble. But as the stats show, it certainly paid off. A combination of the tweaked and improved gameplay, the development of a new audience, and the success of the online casino industry, in general, helped to ensure bingo found a happy new home on the internet.