Bingo has been a popular game ever since the 16th century, yet online bingo is a relatively new phenomenon to have taken the world by storm. Despite that many of today's most successful online bingo software were already developed by 2002, it was only in 2006 that online bingo gambling began to make it huge.
The birth of online bingo software
Land-based bingo was being played by many in the UK and Europe between the years 2000 and 2005. Although over this time, its growth remained somewhat modest (1.8 million pounds in 2000 to just over 2 million pounds in 2005), it did maintain an overall growth. This growth was due primarily to deregulation, which allowed more bingo machines to be installed and larger prizes. Few companies were quick to pick up on the investment opportunities of this industry, yet some managed to get their foot in the door even before this growth was realized.
Established in 1996, Parlay Entertainment was the first ever company in the world to develop a commercial online bingo gambling software product. Even in its early stages, the Parlay Bingo software included both 75 and 90 number bingo versions, as well as an extensive suite of casino games and lotteries on the side. Parlay Bingo's software is used to power some of the industry's most popular and successful bingo sites, including Virgin, Yahoo!, and 3 out of 5 of the UK's top online bingo sites. In 2005, Whichbingo.com named it the best new site, and the software was also given the Player's Choice award. Despite being located in Oakville, Canada, Parlay has offices all around the world, and has enjoyed most of its success from British players, who constitute the majority of the online bingo industry. Parlay's most recent success is its joint ventures with Microsoft, who together have launched MSN Bingo via the bingos.co.uk platform.
The second most recognized company, and another first on the online bingo scene, is St. Miniver Ltd. Previously called St. Enodoc, the company purchased the UK online bingo giant "Gala Interactive" in 2003. The company's infrastructure is located in Gibraltar, yet like Parlay Entertainment, St. Miniver is also most successful in the UK and European markets. The St. Miniver software powers some of England's most renowned bingo sites, such as Littlewoods Bingo, Park Bingo, Chit Chat Bingo, and England's Yahoo! Bingo.
Bingo software goes big-o!
Bingo software has also been widely developed by some of the online casino gambling industry's most acclaimed software developing organizations. As soon as the phenomenon of online bingo went big, and industry investors began realizing its potential, other major players began to develop bingo software. Cryptologic, for example, released its version of online bingo software in 2002, along with its exclusive online poker suite. A year later, Playtech launched its first ever licensed bingo operation with Ruby Bingo, establishing its exclusive online bingo network "Bingoland".
Today, considering the relative youth of the online bingo market, there is a considerable amount of software developing companies on the scene. The most predominant among reputable bingo sites include Parlay Entertainment, St. Miniver, Playtech, Chartwell Technology, Party Gaming, Boss Media, Cozy Games and Aberrant Software. There are also many established online bingo networks, which play a crucial part in the rising success of the industry.
Online bingo technology and demographics
While 8 years ago, online bingo was no more than a few numbers on a screen and range of places to click, today it is greatly advanced technologically. Not only do most online bingo software developers provide the most reliable RNG's (Random Number Generators) available in order to ensure randomness and safety, but the software interface itself is highly dynamic, featuring things like tabbed components, several ways of purchasing bingo cards, Swedish bingo variations, peer to peer chat functions, and a whole lot more.
Today, approximately 3 million people play both land based and online bingo regularly, 90% of which below the age of 50 and 85% of which female. St. Miniver has shown that the 3 countries with the highest propensity for playing online bingo are the UK, Japan and the US, with the UK as the fastest growing market of the 3. As such, there are many new and innovative developments being made to advance the online bingo industry, the most recent of which mobile bingo gambling. Being so you and already experiencing such immense popularity, it is only clear that online bingo has its best yet to come.
