Online Bingo Attractive to Middle Class Gamblers - 08-11-08

August 11 - While the traditional bingo industry has been beset by high taxation, smoking bans and closures, the online bingo market is flourishing according to recent statistics.

A new breed of players has arisen - middle class women who complete their morning chores, pack the children off to school and then sit down to access their favorite online bingo sites in the hope of winning a few quid or even the jackpots offered by these websites.

888 Holdings, which recognized the need for a totally girls-only bingo site and launched 888 Ladies earlier this year, reported that its revenue was up fourfold on the previous quarter thanks to its new online offering.

"Online bingo is booming everywhere," said the group's Chief Executive Officer, Gigi Levy. "But it's a mistake to link it to traditional bingo, because that's a completely different proposition. Our women are young, above average income and typical internet consumers. Land based bingo is about elderly people, smoking and aggressive slot machines."

Steve Baldwin of the Bingo Association, however, believes that there is room in the market for both types of bingo. "When online bingo was invented, land-based bingo feared the competition," he said. "Now they have realized there is only a 10% crossover of their players."

Gigi Levy believes that the rise in popularity of online bingo was also partly due to the tough economic conditions in the global market. "People are cutting back on leisure," he remarked, "but they are staying home and spending only in the low tens of pounds a month with the chance of winning some extra cash. The beauty of it is there are very low costs and a huge number of players, so despite low margins, it is very profitable."

Whatever the reasons, online bingo is growing at an incredible pace. According to recent statistics, the number of online bingo players doubled from 250,000 to nearly 500,000 in the United Kingdom. There are currently almost 250 bingo sites in the country, and the growth seems to be continuing.

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