A Not So New Era In the endless rounds of media conversation about ‘the way things were’ and parts of our culture being swallowed up by new technology it’s not all that often that you hear about people complaining about the disappearance of bingo.

Yet, every now and then, if you happen to be reading towards the back of a national newspaper (or the front of small regional ones) you’ll find the odd article about a bingo hall being closed down and quotes from angry pensioners.

This, of course, is to paint an unfair picture of the demographic of bingo-goers. Various high profile bingo companies have posted massive profits from bingo halls that could double as pubs or clubs, but these aren’t quite the same as the small, local, town halls where people come together maybe once a week to socialise and to play the game.

Just as rapidly (if not more so) than the game is disappearing from out villages and town centres, it’s growing on the internet. The internet is a perfect medium for bingo, and the industry has grown rapidly in recent years. Industry front runners like 32Red, who’ve added online bingo to their casino offering, are high profile companies with big sponsorship budgets and equally large prizes for the winners of their games.

However, industry bosses are confident that the online game still has a long way to go. Whilst many people are happy to play a few games in the comfort of their own home and maybe win a little bit of money, for many people, getting out of the house to play a game or two of bingo is an important element of social interaction.

The importance of giving people a medium to interact whilst playing is demonstrated by the companies that have been most successful, many offer a platform upon which gamers can talk and make friends whilst they play. As technology develops and internet connections around the country speed up, the success of the methods that companies will use to help gamers interact with each other will be vital to the continued growth of the industry.

That said, for some people, the internet will never really replace the charm of quiet games played in town or village halls, not least because the generation that play in those halls are not the most internet-savvy. If the online bingo industry could reach those gamers then they’d definitely be onto a winner.