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Online Bingo: Why are Senior Citizens in love with it?

Elisa Coleman — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 19:53:23 +0000

In a previous post, we talked about how online bingo is crossing generation lines. While 30 years ago a typical bingo hall was nothing but a sea of grey hair, today’s online bingo sites are filled with online bingo players as young as 21, all looking for their next big score.

But even though bingo is now anyone’s game, regardless of age (as long as they’re over 21, of course), senior citizens still have a love affair with playing bingo, online or live. Here’s a look at the main reasons why senior citizens just can’t get enough of playing bingo.

It’s a great way for seniors to mingle
Many senior citizens find themselves incredibly bored in retirement. Sure, we all dream of hitting it rich, no longer having to work. But the truth is, a lot of us wouldn’t know what to do with ourselves. Senior citizens who play bingo know this first hand. That’s why they love the game. Bingo is a great way to enjoy life with friends—and meet new ones, too. While retirement can get a little boring, bingo halls offer seniors a great escape from monotony.

It’s a fun, non-threatening form of gambling
Because bingo halls tend to attract an older generation, senior citizens playing bingo don’t have to worry too much about younger folks being aggressive with vulgar language or excessive noise. That’s not necessarily true in other community games like poker.

Online bingo is a great alternative for non-mobile senior citizens
Today’s senior citizens are doing a lot more than reading old copies of Reader’s Digest and playing bridge with their friends. Today’s tech-savvy seniors are making their way online to play online bingo with other senior citizens. And it’s happening more than you think. As senior citizens age and become less mobile, online bingo is a great way for seniors to continue playing the game they love with friends—old and new.

Whether you’re young—or just young at heart—online bingo brings you a great opportunity to have a blast, enjoy life, and win some money along the way.

A look behind the monitor: Who’s playing online bingo?

Elisa Coleman — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 15:30:42 +0000

Grandma. In her ‘70s. Drinking tea. At a community center. On a Thursday night. That’s the typical bingo player stereotype—and it has been for the last 50 or so years.

But the Internet has changed things. Dramatically. And we’re talking about a lot more than the place Grannie chooses to park her bingo cards. We’re talking about who is actually playing online bingo.

Thanks to the Internet, senior citizens no longer have the stranglehold on the bingo market. With the click of a mouse, anyone 21-years-of-age and older can play online bingo. And win. All without leaving their house.

And a lot more young people are trying online bingo for the first time—and loving every second of it.

Maybe it’s the anonymity online bingo provides that’s attracting 20-somethings and 30-somethings to online bingo. There’s no stigma attached to trying something different if nobody knows you’re doing it. Or maybe it’s the fact that people are realizing there’s a lot of money to be made when you play bingo online.

Whatever the reason, here’s a look at four typical online bingo personas. Where do you fall?

Midnight Mac— He’s single, in his twenties. And after a great night at the bar, he fires up his laptop, sits down on his sofa, and plays some online bingo. He connects with his buddies on Facebook while playing free online bingo or bingo games for money. He’s not after a huge payday. It’s just a great way to wind down.

Sunday Sara—She’s a mom of three, in her late ‘30s. She works hard during the day and loves spending the weekend with her kids. But she’s made a deal with her husband. He plays poker with his buddies once a week, and she gets to take a few hours out of every Sunday to play online bingo while he watches the kids. So far, she’s made more money playing bingo online than he has in his poker home games.

Gadget Gary—This guy loves his games. And his toys. He’s got a killer home gaming setup, complete with a 60” LED TV, X-Box 360, La-Z-Boy recliner, and a laptop on the coffee table, hooked up to another 24” external display. He’s built the ultimate ‘Man Cave’ and it’s an unreal place to play online bingo.

Grandma—Yup, despite all the 21-50-year-olds who have found online bingo, Grandma still loves this game. Since she’s technologically savvy, she loves to play bingo online. But it hasn’t replaced her community center trips. She still heads out to those with friends. Only now, with online bingo, she has more opportunity to win.

Those are four typical profiles of people who play online bingo. Are you one of them? Or are you a completely different breed of online bingo player. Comment below and let us know when you started playing, what your home setup is like, and what you like best about playing bingo online.

Plan an online bingo fundraiser

Elisa Coleman — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 08:00:07 +0000

You can’t open a community newspaper, read a church newsletter, or walk by an elementary school billboard without reading or hearing about bingo.

It’s not just that people of all stripes love playing bingo. Yes, that’s 90% of it, but there’s something a little more to it.

Money.

An incredible source of revenue, bingo fundraisers have become even more prevalent now that times are tight. Not only is it a great way for charities and organizations to make money, but it also provides people who love to play bingo with a great night out.

If you’re thinking of holding your own fundraiser, consider bringing online bingo into the mix.

Gone are the days when printed bingo cards, balls, and dabbers are needed. Today, thanks to online bingo, a fundraiser is just a few clicks away.

Before you hold an online bingo fundraiser, you’ll want to check with your local laws to make sure fundraisers are legal. You might need permits, so make sure you get the legalities of online bingo fundraising sorted out before you start.

Once you’ve checked everything out and you’ve confirmed you’re good to go, you’ve got a few options for organizing an online bingo fundraiser.

Because online bingo is played over the Internet, you’ll need laptops or desktops to get things going. If you’re holding the online bingo fundraiser in a school, chances are they either have a computer lab or lots of computers available in the library.

If you plan to hold your fundraiser somewhere without computers, ask participants to bring their laptop to the online bingo fundraiser.

Or, if you’d like to hold your online bingo fundraiser virtually, you can invite everyone to participate from the comfort of their own homes.

Depending on where you choose to play bingo online and what level you are in the bingo site’s loyalty program, you might have the opportunity to run a private, invite-only bingo room. This is perfect if you don’t want strangers participating in your bingo fundraiser.

That said, the goal of a fundraiser is to make money, so the more people who play, the better.

Once you’ve decided on how and where you’d like to hold your online bingo fundraiser, you need to sort out how you’ll make money off the game.

You’ve got lots of options. If you’re opting for a free online bingo site where the prizes aren’t real, you can throw some tangible prizes into the mix and sell tickets to your bingo fundraiser in advance. Or, if the prizes are monetary and dispersed by the online bingo site as normal, you could make a deal with everyone who’s participating to take a percentage of whatever is won.

Bottom line, with online bingo fundraising, you’ve got lots of options. Remember, bingo fundraising works differently depending on the jurisdiction, so check with your local laws to make sure you’re playing by the rules.

The tech secrets to winning at online bingo

Elisa Coleman — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 17:41:31 +0000

If you’re like us, you love online bingo because it offers all of the fun of regular bingo without the dull atmosphere of a boring old bingo hall.

Unless, of course, your online bingo setup is just as boring.

Today, we’re going to look at some tech options you can add to your online bingo playing arsenal to make playing bingo online way more fun.

Use multiple screens
Forget about staring at a 15” laptop screen. Hook your PC or Mac up to an external display and you’ll have more opportunities to win. With extra screen real estate, you can play more online bingo cards simultaneously, and play in more bingo rooms, too. Some desktops and laptops hook up to two or more displays, giving you way more room to play with.

Actually, no, one screen is just as good
Just as good if we’re talking about a 55” Plasma, LCD or LED TV. If your computer supports your TV’s resolution, you’ll love playing online bingo like a king with a massive bingo card hanging on the wall right before your eyes. All you need is an HDMI cable, or a DVI cable if you don’t intend to run audio. Your computer manual should have all the details.

Look for an Online Bingo number tracker
It’s fun to keep track of what numbers you pull, and an online bingo number tracker can help you out. Hop on Google and search for software that lets you keep track of the numbers that are frequently hit. If you’re the type of player who follows specific online bingo strategies, you might find the info that’s generated useful.

Get a faster Internet connection
This one goes without saying. If you’re on a low-speed dial-up Internet connection while you play bingo online, upgrading to the next level is worth your while. While you might not notice a huge difference in connection speed while you’re playing online bingo, you’ll definitely notice a difference if you’re instant messaging or surfing while you play.

Rock an iPod while you play bingo online
Music makes pretty much anything more enjoyable. So throw on some tunes the next time you play online bingo. Even if you don’t win, we’re pretty sure you’ll have a blast.

Who wants to be an online bingo chat moderator?

Elisa Coleman — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 23:22:02 +0000

If you’ve ever played online bingo before, you’re probably very familiar with the bingo chat room functionality. Online bingo is designed to feel a lot like a bricks-and-mortar bingo hall, so online bingo sites (at least the good ones) often build a chat room into their software.

The bingo chat room lets bingo players enjoy bingo chat games communicate with one another about online bingo – or pretty much anything else that people stamping their virtual bingo cards want to talk about.

That’s where an online bingo cm (or bingo chat moderator) comes into play. A bingo chat room monitor hangs out at an online bingo site and observes what’s being talked about among the poker community. Their purpose is simple:

• To make sure online bingo players are having fun
• To make sure everyone feels safe while talking to one another
• To make sure nobody feels threatened by other online bingo players
• To answer questions from online bingo players about the game, the software, the rewards, and pretty much anything else

An online bingo chat room monitor is one of the first site representatives that online bingo players encounter. It’s an important role because an online bingo cm can stop customer support from being clogged with emails and phone calls that could otherwise be easily answered.

To get a job as an online bingo chat room monitor, there are a few prerequisites.

First and foremost, you have to be in love with bingo. While it helps to have played online bingo before, many chat room moderators are new to the online experience. However, they’ve definitely been active in the offline bingo community for several years.

You also need to be very familiar with technology. No, you won’t be asked to code online bingo software or anything like that. But you should be comfortable enough with chatting, email, and navigating and online bingo backend system (don’t worry, the last one sounds more complex than it is, and it’s something you can easily learn).

If you meet all those requirements, your best bet is to create an online bingo account and familiarize yourself with the software, the community, and the overall online bingo experience. Then, go ahead and contact customer support about opportunities as an online bingo chat room moderator. They’ll contact you if they think you’re the right fit.