Internet bingo is quite a new phenomena but it is already massively popular the world over however the game is best known by the older generation from land based bingo halls and seaside games. So is there a huge difference between the two games? The answer, on the whole, is no although each do hold their own plus points.
Bingo halls up and down the country have been suffering of late with many factors being attributed to the closure of the much loved halls. Bingo is the only gaming sector to have a double taxation levied against it, factor one. A recent change in law also saw the number of jackpot gaming machines in the halls being slashed, factor two and the third factor is the introduction of the smoking ban in public places. All of these have had some part to play in the declining numbers of players visiting land based bingo halls culminating in closures.
Internet bingo has to be factored in as well because once the smoking ban came into force players who would usually visit a hall found that playing bingo at home meant they could still partake in a cigarette at their leisure.
Both online and offline bingo have a very social aspect to the game; for land based bingo halls there is the opportunity to interact with your fellow players in between bingo games whilst when playing online this option is available even during the games. Playing internet bingo you are never going to be ‘shushed’ when a game is in play but at a bingo hall, talk when a game is in play and you may well be lynched!
Internet bingo fairs better when it comes to the variety of bingo games available to play. Offline bingo is restricted in that in the UK you will find only 90 ball played and Shutterboard or Cashline played in the intervals. Shutterboard is the equivalent of 80 ball bingo that is played at online bingo sites.
When playing online however you have many different variants of the online bingo game; 75 ball is the American version of bingo but is available at most, if not all, online bingo sites. 90 ball bingo, the traditional English game is found at many sites although there are some, mostly American facing sites, that don’t offer this version. Other variants include 30 ball bingo, this is a game for player who love their bingo fast and furious and also multi line 75 ball bingo. This version of the game is like a hybrid of 75 and 90 ball bingo.
When you play bingo on the internet you will also never miss a winning bingo call, something that does happen when playing in a land based bingo hall. With computer technology in control of the game on the internet all games are automatically stopped when bingo is marked on a winners ticket. It doesn’t matter if a player has chosen to manually mark their tickets and missed a number, the computer will know there is a winner in the room. This is not the case at land based bingo, there is room for human error. There are many instances in bingo halls up and down the country where a caller has not heard a shout of bingo and continued the game or simply that someone has not realised they have won until it is too late.
As we said at the beginning, both online and offline bingo have their plus sides, it’s really just a question of what appeals to you.
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