The Growth Of Bingo Slots

Twenty three years ago bingo seemed to be dying a death. The game which had been beloved by millions of players for decades just didn’t seem to have the same appeal at the turn of the millennium as it did back in its heyday.

The game had grown stale, younger demographics weren’t as excited about bingo as their parents and as a result bingo halls up and down the country began to close their doors in rising numbers.

Now in 2023 though, there are millions of people throughout the country who pick up their mobile phones or tablets two or three times a week to log into bingo slots sites, so what happened in between?

How did bingo go from a game breathing its final breaths to one that is hugely popular with all age groups in 2023? Read on to
find out.

The Internet

Had you pitched the idea of online bingo back in the year 2000 to a panel of investors you might very well have been laughed out of the room. Back then the only people that really played bingo were old age pensioners and even now, that’s not an age group that is synonymous with the internet.

Yet somehow, somewhere a group of investors were convinced to plough their money into online bingo. Not in the hopes of turning grandma and grandad into tech savvy, online gamers, but in the hopes of attracting a younger, more affluent age group and…it worked.

By 2005 online bingo had established itself and was being enjoyed by a range of age groups, but particularly by working professionals between the ages of 25-35. Through the internet, bingo had rebranded itself as a cool and trendy game, but there was more to come…

The Mobile Phone

In a century’s time historians will likely look back at Steve Jobs’ announcement of the very first iPhone in 2007 as era defining. So much has changed in our world since that smartphone was released on to the market, both good and bad.

In terms of bingo though the release of the first iPhone was all good as it gave providers a new way to reach potential customers. Within a couple of years of smartphone adoption there were hundreds of online bingo apps available to download.

This meant that with just a few taps of a mobile screen, anyone could enjoy the fun of online bingo and the leading companies made sure that as many people as possible knew it. Tens of millions, if not hundreds of millions, was invested in shiny advertising and marketing campaigns to open people’s eyes to the possibilities of mobile bingo and…it worked.

Diversification

In around 2014 almost three quarters of all bingo halls in the UK closed their doors for the final time as punters gave up visiting land based venues in exchange for the online alternative.

Within a couple of years of this the online bingo market had boomed to such an extent that there were thousands of companies all vying for the same customers.

This left online bingo companies with only two options:

1. Undercut their rivals
2. Diversify

Whilst many took the first option, reducing buy-ins and increasing prize pots a select few took the second, more long-term option and began to diversify their offering.

For some time slots have been the financial powerhouse of the gaming world, so it was only natural that bingo companies looking to diversify sought to incorporate slot games onto their websites and apps.

That birthed bingo slots sites, a place where gamers could not only enjoy their favourite bingo games but try out the latest and most exciting slot games too.

The companies that chose to go down this route are, unsurprisingly, the ones that have been most successful in recent years.

What is next though? Progress is never-ending and there will come a time when bingo slots sites themselves are seen as stale and overdone. That will leave punters crying out for something more, but what that could be no-one knows – spare for industry insiders.

Until then all we can do is enjoy the huge range of bingo slots sites and thank our lucky stars that bingo didn’t die with the Millennium Bug back in 2000.