Online Bingo Convenient For Players

Playing online bingo has a number of advantages over heading to a traditional club, it has been claimed.

The convenience offered by online bingo is helping to drive the industry's growth, it has been suggested.

Bingo halls across the UK are suffering due to the smoking ban, as Mecca Bingo's owner Rank demonstrated by reporting a 50 per cent fall in profits during the first six months of 2008.

However, figures compiled by the Gambling Commission suggest that the 243 registered UK-facing bingo websites now have a total of 500,000 players, up from 250,000 a year ago.

Nickie Shute of BallsUpBingo.co.uk is one of the players who has switched from land-based clubs to the internet and she told the Sunday Telegraph that playing online has lots of attractions.

"You can make a noise without being shushed by the old ladies, play in your pyjamas and start a game at any time of day," she explained.

Ms Shute added that bingo websites offer a wide range of bonuses to players, who need not miss out on the social aspect of the game if they choose to use the chatrooms on offer.