New Features in Online Bingo
Bingo first started as a game that was played in local halls. A couple different varieties were created: one that is mostly played in the U.S. (75 ball bingo) and one that is mostly played in the U.K. (90 ball bingo).
The 75 ball bingo consists of cards with a 5×5 grid with the numbers in each column that correspond to the numbered bingo balls. The first column will have random numbers between 1 and 15. When the ball is drawn, the number would be read as B-8.
The next row over would have numbers between 16 and 30. This number would be called out as I-23 and so on across the columns. The object is to complete a row, column or diagonal by covering the numbers as they are called.
The 90 ball bingo consists of cards with a 3×9 grid. You will receive 5 numbers and 4 blanks in each row of 9. The first column of 3 will consists of 0 to 3 numbers between 1 and 10. The second column will consists of 0 to 3 numbers between 11 and 20, and so on across the card from left to right. The object of 90 ball bingo is to complete a line or covering one of the rows with 5 numbers. There is also prizes for covering 2 lines and a full house, which means all of your numbers on the bingo card are covered.
Online Bingo
The first major step for bingo was to take the game out of the bingo halls and develop software to bring bingo into the online world. Because of the United States confusing laws regarding online gaming, most of the online bingo rooms will be hosting 90 ball bingo jackpots and will only allow customers from European countries.
The introduction of anti-smoking laws in the UK in 2007 hurt the land based bingo halls and drove more players into the online bingo rooms. However, the online bingo craze was started to target younger bingo players who were already used to doing many activities on their computer.
Online bingo brought several key new features to the table. The first was the option to auto-daub your bingo tickets. This made buying 10 bingo tickets more feasible as you did not have to scan every card for the number. Some players like to do this manually, but having the auto-daub meant that you could watch the game progress while chatting with your friends without having to worry if you missed winning a line.
The majority of the online bingo software is run online and requires your web browser to be open in order to play the games. This means that bingo players did not have to download any software onto their computer in order to participate.
Once all of the top bingo competitors secured an online bingo room, they needed a way to draw players into their bingo room over the dozens of others who are competing for the same players. The features most often seen that help online bingo sites attract customers are primarily the bonuses and promotions offered.
The bonuses are designed to allow players to purchase more bingo tickets for the money that they have deposited into their account. The best bonuses are usually reserved for new players in order to get them to start playing at their website. The legitimate bonuses are usually between £50 and £200. The thing you must remember is that often this bonus money will have a requirement that you have to purchase X amount of pounds of bingo tickets before you can cash out.
The promotions are designed to allow players who have already deposited a chance to win special prizes or other features. The other features include specials like free bingo games and bogof bingo tickets. There are also many weekly and monthly promotions at most good bingo sites. This should include at least one big ticket game a week. The jackpots for these games will usually be over £1000.
Mobile and Web Cam Bingo
The newest features to in online bingo is the advent of mobile and web cam bingo. Mobile bingo is simply a bingo game that can be played completely from your mobile devices without the need to log in from a computer.
This means that you can deposit money, join one of the sites bingo rooms, buy tickets, chat with friends and every other feature that players are used to from their phone. This allows the players to play from just about anywhere and not be tied down to their computer or laptop.
Web cam bingo is a little more specialized than the mobile bingo. This type of bingo involves players using a webcam in order to see other bingo players and be seen as well. The idea behind web cam bingo is that the player gives the bingo room consent to show others their winning bingo moments. The other feature that the web cam can be used for is video chat. As players become more familiar with setting up web cams, it will be more convenient to set up a video chat with your friend as you are playing for a bingo jackpot instead of using the text chat.