It is easy to think that the world just revolves around online bingo! Free bingo, bingo deposit offers, brand new bingo sites opening weekly – it’s pretty hard to keep up! But even when writing about bingo, you find yourself talking about a lot more than a handful of online bingo sites with free deposit offers.
The online bingo community often crosses over with the offline land based bingo world – players will play at their local clubs, as well as online at their favourite bingo sites. The beauty of the bingo world is that both seem to combine rather effortlessly, whilst retaining their own sense of character. But can the same be said of a new alliance that seems to be growing from the world of online bingo, and finds online bingo teaming up more frequently with the harder world of online gaming? In particular, the world of online casinos and online poker. How well is this match between bingo and it’s older, bigger gaming brothers?
The recent deal between Cashcade, who operate big bingo brands like Foxy Bingo, Cheeky Bingo, Think Bingo and Little Big Bingo, are now owned by PartyGaming, one of the biggest gaming operators on the internet. The deal, which was worth nearly $90 million, has opened up a brave new world in online gaming, where, more than ever, it is becoming apparent that many companies are eager to take advantage of the growing online bingo market- a sector which looks set to swell to be worth well over $1 billion by the end of this year. PartyGaming look set to utilise Cashcade’s bingo base, building on their knowledge to maximise the success of their existing bingo offering PartyBingo, At the same time, it is no surprise that since joining the PartyGaming ranks, Foxy Bingo has already got himself a casino cousin with the recently launched Foxy Flutter.
But should this be concern for bingo players? Of course not! Although perhaps the two worlds may not be as separate as before, this is for many reasons, and none of them should ring alarm bells for any bingo fan! As the online bingo market grows, the game is attracting a wider variety of players, who are more likely to pick and choose as the mood suits. Take for example recent research that suggest UK women are starting to enjoy a bit of a flutter on online roulette wheels. Also, as the market grows, we can expect to see more collision between what were once separate worlds, as operators try to gain bigger and better strongholds over gaming fans. The example of Foxy Bingo and Foxy Flutter will not be the last – but all the better for it! For those that want to try new things, then why not!
To put into context, perhaps it is easy to look to the offline world. Take the Gala Coral group for example. The group operate casinos, offline bingo clubs, online bingo clubs and bookmakers. All are under the umbrella of gaming, and it’s true to say that some Gala Coral customers will prefer some, not all, of the gambling opportunities they offer. But should you wish to, well, then you know you got yourself a gaming family you can trust!
The key thing to remember is that regardless of what form it takes, gaming should always be fun. Although poker and casino style games can seem daunting, there are plenty of other options, and like online bingo sites – if you got a good thing going, then it’s up to you whether you want to rock the boat!
