With online bingo growing in popularity by leaps and bounds, is it really any surprise that a lot of famous faces also enjoy the game?  After all, famous or not, they’re still just people and they need to relax and enjoy themselves just like you or I.  Of course, we’ve all seen the stars that make it known by being very visibly involved with online bingo – like all the guest hosts at the new Soap Star Bingo television show from Gala TV.  Some keep their bingo fascination a little more under wraps.

Singer Kym Marsh let it slip to Sky Showbiz that online bingo is actually her “favourite hobby”.  She has even written a screenplay with her husband, Jack Ryder, about bingo.  The project is a dramatic comedy that they’ve created but “just trying to get going now”.  Looking forward to seeing what comes of this, Kym.

Gala Bingo has several famous members that enjoy playing a few bingo games on the sly.  Emma Bunton from Spice Girls, Paul Gascoigne, Chris Evans and Paul Gascoigne have all been known to drop in for a game or two.  Catherine Zeta-Jones has been known to play and also reputed to host regular bingo parties for her friends in her home, as well.

Robbie Williams has been seen frequenting the trendiest bingo spots in London like the glamorous Kilburn Mecca Bingo.  The bingo hall is located in what was the biggest movie theatre in the country back in the early 1930s and the design retains it’s 30s charm and glitz.

Katie Price is at home playing in Foxy Bingo which she acts as an ambassador for.  You can often find her in the chat rooms, getting to know the other players and giving out advice.  Sometimes we hear she even runs some of the chat games on occasion.

Who knows how many other celebrities are in there playing alongside us?  That person in the chat room that you thought was so funny might have been a famous comedian incognito.  You just never know who you’ll meet at an online bingo site.

Bingo has traditionally been a popular game among the masses for more reasons than one. First, the rules of bingo are so easy to understand and follow that just about anyone can partake in this fun activity. Of course, playing bingo also brings with it the inherent excitement that accompanies most forms of gambling. But, perhaps the most powerful reason behind the superb success of online bingo is the fact that it’s a sociable game which brings people together. Players often get to meet new people, talk, discuss as well as provide support to their friends when playing.

While the inherent characteristics of the game of bingo lend their charm to the online versions,  online bingo itself offers more than a few advantages of its own to keep the modern bingo player perennially interested.

1. Bingo on the go : One of the biggest contributing factors to the popularity of online bingo is that you can play it from your personal PC, laptop or cell phone without even having to step outside of the comfort of your home. In other words, with online bingo, you have the freedom to not just play from wherever you want, but also whenever you want. So whenever, wherever you’ve access to the internet and are looking for a relaxing yet exciting pastime, online bingo’s available 24×7 for you!

2. Variety : Besides the convenience, the other factor that makes online bingo such a crowd puller is the sheer variety of game types, formats and promotions on offer! Add to that a host of attractive prizes and winnings and the online bingo experience only gets better.

3. The Money Honey: The other major attraction for bingo fans is of course the money. Every person who plays really hopes to win the ultimate prize in any form of bingo, the Jackpot!

4. Chat Rooms: One aspect of online bingo, which is without doubt on of the main draws of online bingo, are the many online bingo chat rooms. These chat rooms are places where people can meet other people and expand their respective social circles, besides discussing bingo, of course! These rooms are often made more interactive and fun by chat hosts who conduct contests and give away freebies to make people want to keep coming back for more.

In conclusion, although online bingo has come a long way since its inception some ten or so years back, its sky-rocketing popularity suggests that as far as bingo online is concerned, the fun and games have only just begun.

Earlier today, I was scrolling through the hundreds of pages that come up in Google when you search for “bingo”.  I was looking for new ideas or interesting things to write about here and I got a few surprises.  I’m hoping that you will enjoy this rather eclectic assortment of Bingo things that turned up as much as I did.

Did you know that the Urban Dictionary lists thirty-one definitions for the term bingo?  I was shocked as I only knew of two.  Of course, as I read, I realized that with users being able to edit urbandictionary.com, some of the definitions could be total inventions.  Some were pretty crudely put, as well, so if you offend easily, don’t bother reading them all.

Have you ever been to Aruba?  There is a lovely authentic Dutch bar there called Bingo Cafe & Restaurant that is owned and operated by two Dutch friends.  Menu items include things like shrimp a la escargots, Bingo dim sum, Dover sole, cheese fondue and lamb cutlets and you can enjoy your food out on their huge stone terrace overlooking the wonderful view.

Teachers or homeschoolers can go create and print their own 5×5 bingo cards for themed or educational bingo games at teach-nology.com.  You simply input the words or numbers into the grid and the online generator will create a bingo card for you to print out.  This would also be a great idea for a party game at a child’s birthday or a baby shower.

Remember the Bingo song we used to sing as children?  You know the one that starts “there was a farmer had a dog and Bingo was his name-o”?  You can find the entire lyrics posted at scoutsongs.com and they even have an audio file of it that you can play from within the page.

Well, there was more but I am going to save those tidbits for another day.  I hope these made you smile and perhaps dream of a Caribbean vacation like they did me (that shrimp a la escargots sounds yummy).

By the way, Mecca Bingo is paying out five pounds for any joke that they publish on their website so if you know some good bingo funnies, be sure to let them know.  Your sense of humor could win you some cash!  But don’t use our jokes as they won’t be original and that’s what Mecca Bingo is looking for.

THE TEN COMMANDMENTS OF BINGO
Thou shalt not sit in thy neighbours lucky seat.
Thou shalt not stare at thy neighbours card.
Thou shalt not take the Callers name in vain.
Thou shalt not call false “Bingo”.
Thou shalt not wish bad luck on thy neighbour.
Thou shalt not threaten to kill the “Caller”.
Thou shalt not steal thy husband’s money for Bingo (oh, alright you can do this one).
Thou shalt not brag about how much thou hast won.
Thou shalt not whine about how much thou hast lost.
Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s winnings.

Strange, Weird and Just Plain Dumb Laws About Bingo

In the state of North Carolina, USA, a bingo game may not run for over five hours unless it is held at a fair.  One wonders how long the games lasted before this law and why that was such a problem?

Here’s one we just can’t figure out.  In Athens, Georgia, also in the US, the local ordinance forbids anyone to offer goldfish as a lure to get people to play bingo.

We’ve always known that playing bingo is fun, entertaining and exciting but now research is proving that bingo is also good for maintaining mental agility as we get older.  This is important as it will raise cognitive skills for longer than those who do not exercise their brains and minds.  A study done by the Psychology department of the University of Southampton showed how bingo can help.

Tests showed that older players did consistently better in many of the tests, particularly when it came to accuracy.  Of course, the test was only conducted with 112 people in the sample, divided between those of 18-40 and 60-82 so the sample is not only too small for real statistical evidence, they left out quite a large age range.

One thing which wasn’t tested in this study was the effect of the socialization aspects of playing bingo.  That is the predominant factor in bingo’s popularity, both online and offline, according to most polls of bingo players.  One wonders if cognitive function is improved with those who chat over those who do not.  Interesting thought, isn’t it?

Many of the online bingo sites are starting to offer an alternative to playing from the home computer – mobile phone bingo applications.  Simply download the application from the site to your mobile phone and within a few minutes you can be playing bingo from just about anywhere.  This new technology has advantages and disadvantages, just like anything else of course.

The main advantage, of course, would be the ability to play online bingo just about anywhere and anytime.  Waiting in line at the market, riding on the train or while stuck in a traffic snarl-up…anytime you have five minutes to spare would work.

Disadvantages include not having adequate coverage area for some services so you may get disconnected from the site suddenly (like maybe in the middle of a game or even just before you’re about to bingo).  The software application is limited on a mobile device so you won’t get as high a quality in the graphics or other features of the site.

It is an interesting concept even with the disadvantages at this time.  In this day and age of constant connectivity, mobile applications are getting increasingly common and the quality is improving constantly.  Of course, technological advances continue in the mobile industry, as well, so you will likely see large improvements in coming years.

There are those who won’t consider playing bingo at an online bingo site because they can’t imagine that there would be the sense of community often experienced at their local bingo halls.  In some smaller villages, the bingo hall is where you get together with your friends and it’s an important part of the local social scene.  These people don’t realize that many of the online bingo sites are not only seeing that same community feel, they are also encouraging it.  The only difference is that the community is all over the world instead of one tiny hamlet.

All the online bingo sites have a chat room feature so that the players can interact and get to know each other.  Many of the chat games are created to build that rapport between players by encouraging them to interact.  Many of the online bingo sites are offering forums where their members can have fuller discussions, not only about bingo but about anything in their lives.  Some are now offering picture galleries where members can put a face to the name and that in turn fosters deeper friendships.

In this internet age, many people are meeting their friends in cyberspace and close friendships, even love matches, are being built online every day.  There are groups who meet in a certain bingo room every week and they catch up with each other’s lives in chat.  Just like the bingo hall without having to dress up and drive.  Another great thing, you’ll never be in a smoky bingo room when you play at an online bingo site!

There are so many online bingo sites already on the net and more are popping up every day.  Almost all of the online bingo sites are legitimate and trustworthy but there is always those few that just take the money and run.  They all look slick and pretty when you see the site so there isn’t any way to tell the good from the bad without doing your research.  A good bingo review site will help you cull the wheat from the chaff.

When you’re trying to find an online bingo site to play at, it is really hard to compare all of the best features and bonuses as well as knowing the terms surrounding the bonuses.  This is where a good review site really shines.  The reviewer has already investigated all these things and written them down to save you the time of going to site after site.  I hate discovering that a site doesn’t take the payment form that I want to use after I’ve already gone through registering and downloaded the software.

It can be a good idea to read several review sites, just for different points of view.  After all, a feature that one reviewer likes, another may not.  By reading several reviews, you’ll get a fuller picture of what you can expect at the online bingo site.  We have a good selection of online bingo sites already reviewed here on this site.  If you look off to your left, you’ll see a link in the navigation bar where you can access those.

Once you’ve read a number of reviews and narrowed the field down a bit, then it’s good to try playing at those sites using the free play option that most have.  Get a feel for how the software works and what types of games are available.  Don’t forget to check out any chats or forums the site has to see how friendly the other members may be.  Once you’ve found a site that feels right, then it would be a good time to make a deposit so you can get in on the cash bingo action.

With a standard bingo game, the jackpot is a predetermined amount and is awarded to the first player to reach full house.  The jackpot is usually a sum of money but sometimes can be an alternative prize.  Generally, there isn’t a limit on the number of balls that can be called before someone wins the jackpot.

Progressive jackpots, on the other hand, do not have a pre-set amount to win.  Instead the pot grows as more players contribute, often across a network of sites.  This enables the possibility of massive jackpots accumulating and there have been some recently in excess of a million pounds.  With these games, the winner must be declared within a certain number of balls being drawn, otherwise the pot rolls over to the next game and continues to mount.

Since the amounts involved in progressive jackpot games tend to be impressive, these type of games are usually very popular.  The number of players involved makes the pots grow even faster because of this.  Naturally, the higher the pot, the more interest there is in playing the game.

So what do you do if there is a game you really want to play but you can’t be in the bingo room that night?  That’s where the pre-buy option comes into play.  Not every site or every game will offer this option but it can be very convenient and lucrative when they do.  Pre-buy is just like it sounds – you can buy your tickets in advance to many games now.

When you do pre-buy tickets, you have the same chance of winning the big prize without even being on the site at the time!  To know if you’ve won, you simply need to check your account balance the next time you log in or check your betting history.  Often the site will send you an email if you win a prize other than cash so as long as your information is kept updated, you will be notified.

If you’re an old hand at playing online bingo, you’ve probably already realized this but newcomers may not know that most online bingo sites offer two ways for you to access the games.  One version of the software utilizes Flash technology while the other downloads the application to your hard drive.  It may be confusing for someone new to online bingo to know which version would be best for them.

Flash bingo software means that you play the games right in your browser while the downloaded software plays from your desktop.  The flash version is gone as soon as you break off your internet connection while the downloaded software is still sitting there.  Flash software does require you to have the latest Flash version installed on your computer which could be a problem if you have an old computer but most will be fine with it.

The reason that online bingo sites usually offer both options is because there are many people who either simply don’t want another application cluttering up their hard drives or they are afraid of getting a virus so never download things.  Either version will enable you access your online bingo site account, transfer funds to and from it and of course, play the games so which one you choose is a matter of personal choice.  The downloaded software version does tend to have higher quality of sound and graphics and thus seem more realistic to the player.