Bingo Hideout

Gala online bingo

Familiarity breeds… investment 

The Gala brand has always been a big player in the world of bingo with a committed player base in all its forms ever since it started out. Despite this strong history the promoters of the online bingo site version of the Gala game have set it further apart from the rest by spearheading new trends in terms of promotion and game play.

Bingo Cafe

A whole new you

This site does require a free software download in order to appreciate the graphics, but once you've completed this the opportunities it affords the player are brilliant fun and make for a whole new approach to the game. When you're visiting the Cafe you can view the space from different angles and your avatar can choose to walk around exploring or simply join another table. The freedom this site offers players means you can really feel a part of what's going on and as an experience of online bingo it is more akin to playing live bingo.

Self-exclusion (as can be seen on some of the more recent posts on the Bingo Hideout forum) is an interesting concept. As a way of preventing abuse of the game it is, on the face of it, an effective and sensible policy for any online gaming site to introduce.

Used as a form of self-help and as an approach to an acceptance of a problem, self-exclusion can be all a player needs to readjust their attitude to the game or get back on track with their finances. It can also come with its own set of problems, however, as do many player- centered approaches to gambling awareness.

Time out

The concept of self- exclusion works when a player becomes aware that his or her gaming is out of control and wishes to have time off from the game to cool down. This can come about as a result of a large expenditure or long hours in play, which are of course not necessarily the same thing. It can also come about as a result of a need for a simple break from the game where a player needs to commit time or money elsewhere for a while and needs to break the habit of play.

The Sun online bingo

As you're probably aware The Sun Bingo site has recently been cited as having the largest share of online bingo players of any UK based site. The Sun is of course a recognisible brand which millions are already comfortable with, and as a hugely popular tabloid it has the power to promote its site’s benefits without yet moving into the realm of TV promotion.

Sun, fun and keeping it in the family

Clearly the best example of a very successful self-promotion project, this site concentrates on only a few fun sidegames and instead puts an absolute emphasis on sociability. This site is pared down by comparison to those who hold tourneys every month and have regimented daily and weekly promotions in order to maintain player numbers but this doesn't seem to matter to those who are already signed up.

Wink Bingo is another site attracting a lot of industry attention at the moment, and their viral ad campaign is now being heavily circulated via email and shared links, bringing in more interest and players than ever. Only launched in Feb of this year, Wink is proving to be a strong competitor with many players taking up residency there after the sign up period.

This viral campaign, which features three elderly ladies in their local bingo hall talking is a massive boon to the site and to the popularity of bingo altogether. Demonstrating how current Internet bingo is and underlining the popularity of the Internet as a subtext this campaign is both clever and amusing.

We love online bingo!

Those of us who enjoy Internet bingo love it so much we spend around £600 million on online bingo tickets a year. These figures are based on the amounts returned to players in jackpots over a year and take into account the 15%-20% an operator will keep for itself. This estimation of the figures has been so far widely accepted although the site admits it's not the whole picture as operators are loath to give out definitive numbers. In the light of this, we thought we'd take a look and see what these figures are and what they mean to our members.

Here comes The Sun

According to this report, The Sun Bingo has a massive 19% of the online bingo market and Gala Bingo a huge 16%. These are of course two trusted brand names that everyone - even non-players - can recognise and so their success comes as no surprise to those in the industry. It is interesting however that The Sun site, which doesn’t use TV promotion to gain players, leaves behind both Gala and Foxy. Both Foxy and Gala are renowned for their advertising achievements, with Sharon Osbourne being the face of Gala and Foxy sponsoring a TV show. The Sun seems to rely on word of mouth and ads in its paper and on its main site to bring in player numbers, an approach that is certainly paying dividends.

Foxy online bingo winners

Foxy Bingo has long been a favourite of ours at Bingo Hideout and our high recommendations of this site have always gone down well with all our members. Of course we are not the only ones who have noticed the Foxmeister's rise to fame and increasingly throughout the online gaming industry Foxy are now being recognised as one of the leading players around.

As reported last week Ben went off to the 3rd Online Bingo Summit to represent Bingo Hideout and saw Foxy win Best Online Bingo Operator and Best Marketing Campaign 2008. We here at Bingo Hideout are all pleased to continue to support Foxy Bingo and think they deserve all the credit they receive from players and now throughout the industry.

Jackpot Joy online bingo

How many?

With over 2 million players already registered, Jackpot Joy is clearly doing something right and the players, as well as the industry, are loving it! Hosting games of 75, 80 and 90 balls, Jackpot Joy offers as much choice as possible in the bingo hall and with so many daily, weekly and monthly promotions on offer, what's not to love?

Game Village Bingo

Relocation, relocation, relocation

Signing up for this site involves choosing a house and a street to live on – it feels like joining a club with exclusive members. Unlike other sites that only need your details to join, this site offers you a fantastic free 30-day trial to give you a feel for the virtual area the bingo games take place in. During your 30-day trial you can accrue points while in play, which you can then enter into the Game Village Bingo free prize draws. That effectively means you could get something for nothing – something we at Bingo Hideout are very much in favour of.