Overview of Online Bingo

Online bingo is simple. Everyone with internet access can play. Most online bingo sites just require a quick registration and then you can sit down and play bingo. There are 3 categories of online bingo: Free Bingo, Game Sites with Bingo and Pay to Play Bingo, all of which are multiplayer.

Free Bingo is just what it says. You can play online bingo for free. Often times the free bingo sites will issue tokens for winning which you can later submit for a raffle.

Game sites with bingo are also usually free. At some game sites, a player can pay an annual fee to use their site and win small amounts of money or prizes. Many game sites will offer numerous games such as solitaire, mahjong and bingo. At these sites, just like with free bingo, you can also win tokens to submit later for a raffle.

Pay to play bingo sites require the bingo player to make a monetary deposit. The bingo player then will purchase cards using the funds in their accounts. When they win a bingo, the cash prize is deposited into their account. Bingo players can then withdraw their winnings. Pay to play bingo sites also offer the bingo player a bingo chat room where they can visit with other online bingo players and play chat games to earn bingo bonus dollars.

According to the gaming magazine, online bingo has grown from approximately ten online bingo sites in the year 2000 to over one hundred online bingo sites in 2004. There are a limited number of bingo software packages online but they range from Java and Flash to Download. Most of the software packages include side games such as Video Poker, Slots and Pull Tabs.

So who plays online bingo? Everyone. The only restriction is that a bingo player must be eighteen years of age and older. According to statistics, 85% of bingo players are female and two thirds of them are aged 35-54 with 80% of them also playing land based bingo. With that bit of information however, we are finding the world of online bingo is fast becoming popular with the men as well.

Because online bingo is so simple, many land based bingo players are starting to play online bingo as well. It is open twenty four hours a day, seven days a week. Bingo cards usually cost $.05-$1.00 depending on the bingo game. The cost of bingo isnt determined for you based on one night of play. The bingo player can sit down to play one game of bingo or twenty games of bingo. If the laundry needs to be switched, go do it. The bingo cards with automatically daub for you and bingo will be automatically called. How easy is that??
Why Play Online Bingo?

Bingo has been a popular pastime for many years throughout the world. Its a great gathering place for friends and family alike. People plan to go to bingo on certain nights of the week, each and every week. I remember going to bingo every Friday night at the church and if someone wasnt there, I immediately wondered if they were okay. If they werent at bingo, something just had to be wrong!! On Friday nights, it was my time to get away from the kids for a few hours, have some snacks, pull a few pull tabs and hopefully, win at bingo. Now there is a new form of bingo. Its bingo on the internet, but, how can playing bingo online gives us the same satisfaction as sitting with our friends in a bingo hall on a Friday night.

The online bingo games have really done a wonderful job on giving the players a bingo hall atmosphere. The graphics and sound effects are amazing. When sitting at the computer watching the screen, one is transformed into a world of bingo. After a few minutes, you are lost in the world of bingo. Some sites even have a ball blower popping the bingo ball out to be called. Just like at a real bingo hall. Most online bingo sites even offer some side games such as slots, video poker and pull tabs. Yes, pull tabs!! Just like at your favorite bingo hall.

Ok, so now you are saying, What about my social hour with my friends? At almost all online bingo halls, there is an online bingo chat room. This is truly the heart of the online bingo sites. Once you enter an online bingo chat room, you are usually greeted by a chat host. The chat host is there to help you with any problems or questions that you have and also to play some fun chat games with you. In the bingo chat room, you will meet many other bingo players. Often times, you will even find online bingo players that live in the same town as you. Online bingo players come from all over the WORLD. Now your social hour has begun!! Online bingo players will sit and chat with other online bingo players for hours and hours.

There are many advantages to playing bingo online as compared to going to your local bingo hall. What if there is a blizzard outside? What if you are not feeling up to getting dressed and going to the bingo hall? What if you are disabled and find it difficult to get to the local bingo hall? What if you worked ten hours today and are simply exhausted? Just pull up a chair to your computer, turn it on and click on your favorite bingo site. You are there!!

All in all, online bingo has become a very popular pastime. It will never replace your local bingo hall, but, it is usually open twenty four hours a day, seven days a week. If you cant sleep at night, sign into your favorite online bingo site and take a chance at winning a jackpot!!
How to choose an Online Bingo?

So you have decided that you want to try to play bingo online. A few of your co-workers have been playing during their lunch break and recently, one of them hit a jackpot for over $5000.00!!!! So now the task at hand is to find out where to play bingo. You decide to be very selective about where you plan to spend your money to play. You enter BINGO into the search box on the internet and are floored by how many bingo sites there are. How do you pick one???

Online bingo has grown tremendously over the past few years. With the rapid rate of growth, online bingo has become one of the fastest growing parts of the online gaming industry.

There are many factors to take into account when trying to choose a bingo site to put your money into.

Many bingo players try bingo sites that their friends, family or co-workers play at. This is called referring. Most online bingo sites will reward a bingo player for referring another player to their site. Many bingo sites will give them a percentage of their friends initial deposit and then continue to reward them with a smaller percentage of each subsequent deposit. Often times a new bingo player will choose to play bingo at a bingo site that they know others play at. Word of mouth is usually the best way to choose a bingo site.

Another factor in choosing a bingo site is the cost of the bingo cards. Some online bingo sites offer cards for .05 each up to $1.00 each. Some online bingo sites only have .05 cards and others only have $1.00 cards. A word of wisdom to is to go in and find out how many people are playing and compare the cost of the cards to the prize that is being given.

Yet another factor in deciding what bingo site to play at is the minimum deposit required. If you are new to online bingo and not sure if your going to like playing, you should try to choose an online bingo site with a lower minimum deposit amount. If the bingo site requires you to deposit $100.00 that would be a great chunk of change to learn that you didnt like the bingo site at all.

You many also want to check the bingo sites chat room. Are the bingo players in the chat room active? Are they talking a lot? Is the chat leader giving necessary information? Are the chat games easy to follow? The online bingo chat room is a very important feature of the bingo site.

Also, look at the variety of games a bingo site has to offer. Many online bingo sites have numerous rooms with different games available for you to play. Some bingo sites have CASH only rooms and the prizes are higher. Some bingo sites offer .05 rooms, .10 rooms, .50 rooms etc. If you have choices of what type of games to play you may find that the sites diversity is a bit more enjoyable.

Last but not least, be sure the online bingo site has a good support department. The support department is responsible for handling the bingo players issues when the answers cannot be found in the chat room.
What about Free Online Bingo?

For those nervous but curious about Online Bingo. Do you enjoy playing bingo and wonder what online Bingo would be like? If you are that nervous then I suggest you try a few free online Bingo sites.

Although I do not intend to play seriously I have visited many sites looking for - HOW, WHEN & WHERE. I have found that I dont have the money that a lot of online bingo players have but it is good if players are given the option to play free online bingo or paid online bingo. If they are comfortable with the site then the choice should be given to the player.

REGISTRATION - this is of course very important and I would advise that you do not submit your credit details unless you know how to play the game online. There are a lot of online Bingo games available and some very different from the bingo game we all know. Credit card use over the internet has grown considerably and although I am still not 100% comfortable with it all I have only considered it to play online bingo.

Unfortunately most of Free online Bingo sites I have found are American, if you ~ like me, are Australian - you will find there is quite a difference in the rules of the game but then as I mentioned earlier there are also many variations of the very first bingo game as we all know it.

I strongly recommend that you surf a bit and visit the sites that offer FREE online Bingo games. Of course you will need to register to play, but it is only like other game sites, all you need to provide is your User Name and a Password (plus an email address). This is sufficient for most sites. Some sites when opting for Free online Bingo you don't even have to register, you can enter the site as a guest and then if and when you chose to deposit you are directed to the cashier where you then have to complete all the registration details.

PRACTICE - I have spent many an hour playing these games and getting better at it all the time. They are loads of fun, but I will never venture into the world on online casino games. I myself prefer to stick with free online bingo games until I acquire the trust of the site and only then will I consider depositing.

Another drawback with free online bingo is the reduced excitement level when you win and you know that you cant withdraw your winnings because it is only virtually play money. Wouldn't it be great to stumble across a free online bingo site that allows you to accumulate enough credits whereby you are allowed to withdraw some of it in cash?. It is merely a dream but a dream worth marketing if you were a millionaire lottery winner.

I have also learned that there are many thousands of online gambling sites and bingo games around the world but me as I stated earlier prefer to stick to free online bingo until I eventually come across the site that I am happy with and then I will consider depositing my hard earned cash.

I have visited lots of Bingo sites, mostly free online bingo games I have only deposited at two sites that I trusted enough to deposit with. I work hard but don't earn enough to justify spending large amounts on online bingo but I still enjoy the game just the same. I guess I have become a Free Online Bingo junkie but in saying that you could also say I am a realist and live within my means.

In my travels I have noticed just how popular online bingo has become and just how much money some people are prepared to spend on the game. To be quite honest, if I had the money I probably would too but until I find that pot of gold at the end of the rainbow Free Online Bingo games is where you will find me.

Good luck to you all and when you see a rainbow think of me and try and visualize me trying to find that pot of gold at the end of it.
How to Play Online Bingo?
There are not many rules that go along with online bingo, but there are some that really do require bingo players to know, especially when playing for cash.

An online bingo player will play bingo using cash or bonus dollars awarded to them from their bingo site of choice. The player will need to purchase bingo cards for each game in play. A player may not purchase bingo cards unless they have a balance in their online bingo account. To acquire a balance, the bingo player will need to make a deposit using some form of online payment such as a credit card or other form of payment. All online bingo sites have a cashier listing their methods of deposits.

Online bingo uses typical bingo cards which have 5 rows and 5 columns. The rows are titled, B, I, N, G and O and numbered as follows: B row is #1 - #15. I row is #16 - #30. N row is #31 - #45. G row is #46 - #60. O row is #61 - #75. The object is to be the first bingo player to complete the bingo pattern in play on the bingo cards you have purchased. If there is more than one bingo winner in a given game, the prize is split between the winners. Some online bingo games also offer a progressive jackpot. The progressive jackpot is awarded if a bingo player wins bingo within a certain number of balls called. An example of this: The bingo pattern is any line bingo. If bingo is won before the sixth ball is called, the bingo winner will win the progressive jackpot. Progressive jackpots will increase in monetary value with every bingo game that is played until it is won.

Online bingo games are computer operated. The computer will randomly pick your purchased cards. Bingo players will purchase the amount of cards they wish to play every game.

Most online bingo sites use a feature called, auto-daubing. If the online bingo site uses this feature, bingo players are not required to mark their cards. Most online bingo sites also use a feature called, auto-bingo. The auto-bingo feature is used to call bingo for the bingo player when they have completed the pattern in play before any other bingo players in the current game.

Once the bingo player has won a bingo game, the prize winnings are automatically deposited into the bingo player's account. Every online bingo site has their own policies for withdrawing the player's winnings.

Every online bingo site has their rules and regulations. These rules and regulations are very important for all bingo players to read and understand before they register and make a monetary into their account. The rules and regulations are the bingo player's responsibility to understand. If the player does not understand some of the regulations, they should contact the bingo sites support department to receive further assistance.

The world of online bingo is really quite simple. Do not let the rules intimidate you as they are not as difficult to understand as some of the words make it seem. Enjoy and win.
What is the Online Bingo Chat Etiquette?

Have you ever entered some chat rooms on the internet to just find that the language and topic of conversations are a bit out of line? So have many others and if that is a concern for you with online bingo, don't let it be. Most online bingo sites have chat room policies which do not allow such over the edge topics and cussing.

As you are becoming more aware, online bingo is here to stay. If you love bingo, you will love playing bingo from the comforts of your home. One aspect of online bingo that makes playing the game even more exciting is the bingo chat room. In the bingo chat room, you can visit with other online bingo players and play bingo chat games to earn even more rewards. To make everyone's experience more enjoyable, there are some chat room guidelines and etiquette which should be adhered to:

* Respect the chat host and her authority at all times.
* Please do not write in CAPS in the chat room unless requested to do so by the chat host. At some online bingo sites, chat hosts are required to use CAPS as it helps players see instructions.
* Choose your user name wisely. Please your name appropriate. Keep it in good taste.
* No racial, ethnic or sexual slurs will be allowed in chat.
* No impersonating of any other player is permitted.
* No harassment, arguing or disrespectful attitudes towards other players or any chat host.
* Complaints are to be handled by sending an email to the sites support department or other as indicated in their FAQ section: Please keep it out of chat.
* Please do not endorse, solicit or promote any other sites in private or open chat.
* No language that can be considered rude or offensive to any player.
* Comments regarding multiple wins, amount of cards played or that are not positive in manner will be considered rude and offensive.

The above etiquette guidelines will help to make your online experience and others an enjoyable and pleasant one. To simplify, most bingo sites just expect a bingo player to treat other players with respect. Abusive and foul language will not be tolerated and may have you banned from playing bingo at the site permanently. Negativity in a bingo chat room brings down the whole bingo chat room. If you are losing a lot, it may be just time to take a little break from playing bingo. Try not to sit and type into the bingo chat room how much you have been losing and get upset with other bingo players if they are winning. They have lost before and will again as well. Keep it fun!!!

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