Bullet Business

More and more online bingo portals have started acknowledging that the strength and sense of belongingness to the community on their sites is the most critical thing, be it for being the most entertaining or rewarding online bingo offering.  

Without a strong, welcoming and close-knit community, an online bingo site will fail before it’s ever successful.  

Increasingly, online bingo sites are opening online bingo forums where players can meet and discuss online bingo.

Linda Niskanen, marketing manager, MariaBingo Western Europe at Maria group – Unibet, says as seen in the case of poker players, forums are very important communication channels for players to air their opinions.

“These forums can already be seen out there, and we think the bingo community will definitely see more and more use of these forums for the same reasons. Forums help fusing the bingo community as well as playing an important role in spreading the news about where to play, at what time and why,” said Niskanen.

Cherry picking

According to the online bingo industry in the U. K., research has shown that the average online bingo player has between 7 to 10 active online bingo accounts at any one time.  This means that they can go between sites to find the best promotions that suit what they enjoy.  

bingoport.co.uk’s Scott Logan recently told bulletbusiness.com: “We must remember that people have different motivations for playing online bingo, and it’s not always the big jackpots. Players tend to prefer smaller prizes that can be easier to win, and so we are finding these smaller prizes and bonuses are what is attracting players to different sites on a daily basis.  At the end of the day, players can build loyalty to a core number of sites and these sites will be the ones that best cater to these player needs.”

For her part, Niskanen said, “We already see the top players doing this, they are very aware of everything that is happening in the bingo community and (they) are jumping from one site to another, cherry picking the best games in order to maximise their budget and chances to win.”

“But even if you will see “cherry picking” becoming more common, for the majority it will still be more important to know where their friends are playing and where and when the really lovely and funny CM is going to be live. Bingo is after all a very social game and most people are not in it for the large jackpots, but for the belonging, the community and the small but frequent wins that everyone will celebrate with you,” she added.


Not just jackpots

As per the findings of a recent survey, featuring over 2000 users of Bingo Hideout, it emerged that one of the most important factors for users is the the sense of community and the social interaction that online bingo offers. Many surveyed said they had struck up friendships and had been helped through hard times by the people they have met.

Niskanen said, “Our personal experience when it comes to entertainment and rewards is that its not only the jackpots that make people come back to MariaBingo for more, its all the small winnings, the belonging, the cheering for each other and the chat masters providing excellent entertainment in the chat rooms. In general, it’s the whole package and not just the promotions.”

MariaBingo tries to mix promotions that involve products as well as experiences in addition to the money-related bonuses and promotions. The company not only intends to give people a complete gaming experience that is full of fun and excitement, something to talk about, in the chat, in the forums but also with their friends outside of the bingo room.

The fact that people are not there to compete against each other for the bingo winnings, like in poker, but rather are there to socialise and support each other and cheer for the small winnings has made the team at MariaBingo realise that the important aspects of any bingo offering comes from making the gaming experience and social experience in itself important instead of pushing the material things.

“Maybe this is a sign of the times, showing that people have revaluated life a bit, that material things are taking the back seat while the human interaction and old fashioned gossip sessions among friends is taking the front seat. Bingo is more than just a game, like poker, it is taking on aspects of a lifestyle,” concluded Niskanen.