16 November 2020
By Roger Jones
roger@TheCork.ie
Entertainment
While Bingo is commonly looked at as a wholesome game – the kind you’d play with your Granny on a Sunday afternoon, it does technically count as gambling. Anything that entails an over-and-back transfer of money may be counted as such. The rapid and reasonable popularization of the internet unfolded a plethora of possibilities, and with a little effort, you can find an online version of almost any popular game you’ve played. The online market for Bingo is a massive one, and it’s a lot more thrilling when played through a screen – especially with money on the line.
The Bingo Market
Bingo brings back memories of €20 jackpots, and flabby arms flailing in the cold yellow-wall Bingo-hall air. However, times have changed; through the extensivity of the online market, you can now win a lot more.
The biggest online Bingo jackpot ever won was done so in 2012, by a man named John Orchard; he received close to six million pounds. The stakes have risen for Bingo players everywhere, and the online market offers just as many risks as that for poker. Bingo has been able to avoid many laws which other online gambling markets are more susceptible to, simply by its nature. The fact that each person who plays is given a random set of numbers means that everyone has an equal chance to win, so it technically qualifies as a game of chance; this warrants its own set of rules and renders the game legal. The first online Bingo game was set up in 1996, and since then it has had plenty time to amass a following and perfect its gameplay.
Over half of online Bingo-players play it through their phone, and seventy percent of people play from the privacy of their homes. Current circumstances set the stage for these numbers to increase drastically, considering many find themselves with little else to do now. The online market already generates billions – especially in the UK, and it will be interesting to see how it fairs over the course of the pandemic.
How to Find a Trusted Bingo Site
It is relatively easy to find a Bingo site you can place your faith – and your bets – in, but there are still those who exist only to scam users out of pocket. So the following is a list of things you can personally check off to make sure the site you’re using is legitimate and safe:
Transparency
Fraudulent sites are often obvious in their lack of detailed information regarding the financial side of things; a trustworthy Bingo site will be very direct in how they accept and send payment.
Customer Support
Though it may seem blatant, contacting the website directly and asking how various things work is usually a good way of sussing out the options. A trustworthy customer support system will offer you plenty of informative, helpful information on how the games work and what the rules are.
User Count
The more active players using the website, the higher the chance is that it can be trusted. The unreliable websites will very rarely become successful enough to gain a base of consistent users, as people tend to realize that they’ve been scammed quite quickly.
The Details
Reputable Bingo websites will include in their information the various organizations with which they are associated, and official regulations with which they must comply. Most will be very direct about this, as they don’t want to be mistaken for a fraudulent website.
Before anything else, you should have a look at the security information offered by a website, and it will likely put your mind at ease.
There are many reputable options for online Bingo out there, and the best way to find them is to search the web. The internet has a vast number of people interested in all manners of things, and Bingo is no small subject. Unless you somehow happen to fall into a pit of online vipers, dedicated to sending you towards fraudulent Bingo websites, you can usually trust the advice you’re given.
However, it’s imperative that you do your research before trusting any site in which you make a monetary transaction. Make sure to check the site’s certifications, and to look them up by name to find out what kind of reviews they’ve gotten. Be extensive – there’s no room for error when it comes to your personal information.
Gambling is gambling, and it’s an obvious market for people trying to scam innocent gamers out of hard-earned money. If you follow a set of guidelines, and avoid throwing your money around without a little bit of research, you should be fine.
