Bingo Portal Boss hits back at free bingo offers

February 5, 2010 Bingo News

Written by Nerys (February 5, 2010 at 1:20 pm)

Well, no sooner than we write about free bingo continuing to hit the headlines in 2010, news reaches us that the founder of one of the biggest bingo directories has hit back at the continuing presence of free bingo in the online bingo world.

Writing in the eGaming Review blog, Which Bingo owner Phil Fraser warned about the dangers faced by the online bingo industry in the year ahead, and it seems like for him, free bingo is rapidly losing it’s shine.

Despite the runaway success of the free no deposit bingo offer in 2009, it looks like the industry fires may be cooling somewhat in 2010. And even though Cheeky Bingo, Foxy Zero and Costa Bingo have proven to be a firm favourite with online bingo fans in the UK, Fraser was quick to point out some of the problems operators will face as a result of their rather generous bingo splurge last year.

Labelling the free bingo proposition as “not all it is cracked up to be”, Fraser went on to say the free bingo model was “creating trouble for the market

“Firstly, the offering is not good; the prizes being played for are miniscule and the rooms are overcrowded”

“Secondly, in many cases, should a player actually win they have to deposit to claim their prize. Such player experiences cannot sustain long term player numbers

“Thirdly, these sites are creating an ‘expectation’ from the online bingo playing public that online bingo should be free. This can only damage the greater market in the long term.”

Fraser also went on to claim many free bingo or free no deposit bingo sites were receiving “complaints from existing players about the free play players damaging their playing experience” and claimed prize funds were relatively small at these

It comes after a year in which the industry has ballooned to an estimated total worth of around $1bn. With many attributing part of the continued growth of online bingo to the free bingo proposition, and many enjoying free bingo games as a great way to practise and begin their online bingo experience, the force of Fraser’s comments will no doubt come as a bit of a shock. With Cheeky Bingo scooping the prize for Best Online Bingo Innovation at numerous awards shows in 2009, some suggest that it is a sign of things to come, with free bingo looking set to lose favour with the online bingo world in 2010 as quickly as it burst onto the scene.

At least, this is from an operators perspective. But as bingo fans, we want to know – what do you think? Is free bingo the greatest gift to the bingo player, or have you found that it has made your online bingo experience that little bit worse?

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