The shape of things to come for online bingo
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Bingo must surely be one of the most remarkable games ever invented. Historical records show that its origins go as far back as 16th century Italy. And yet it remains as popular now as it’s ever been.
The “modern” era of bingo began in the 1930s and we have to thank an American entrepreneur and salesman called Edwin S. Lowe for this.
Travelling around county shows, he found many people playing a game called “beano” in which the numbers on game cards were covered with dried beans when they were called out.
Seeing its huge appeal, he took the idea and refined it by giving it the more appealing name of “bingo” and mass producing single-use game cards to be marked off with a pen. He made millions from his invention – and made just as many players very happy indeed.
Bingo today
Arguably bingo is at its more popular ever today and that’s all thanks to the incredible success that online bingo has become.
Take a quick look and you’ll find that there countless sites out there all offering a huge range of games for the constantly-growing number of players.
What is even more remarkable is that just a couple of decades ago many people were writing off bingo as a game that had had its heyday in the 1960s and 70s. Back then there were bingo halls in every town and city, open seven days a week.
But tastes and habits changed and, one by one, the halls gradually started to close down. Luckily for fans of bingo, the online casino industry had the foresight to realise that this was a game ripe for conversion using the new technology.
The rest is history. Sites proliferated offering new ways to play and different variations of the game and it was all driven by a desire for innovation.
Now the key question being asked is what the future holds for the game in the rest of the 21st century, and beyond.
Games, games, games
There’s a huge appetite out there for different versions of the base game, one that developers are working hard to satisfy.
Already fans of online bingo games at leading sites like Jackpotjoy are spoilt for choice with traditional 90 ball games as well as the newer variations featuring 75 and 80 balls.
In future one aspect of the game that may change is the speed with which it’s played. So we should expect to see quickfire games using even fewer balls for players who do just want to dip in and out of a session.
Those of us who already play bingo will also be aware of a variation called Slingo, the coming together of bingo and that other online favourite, the slots game. It’s quite likely that more combinations of different casino games may also be on the way.
For example, roulette fans could be attracted to try out bingo if they could also bet on specific numbers being drawn in the run of a game. So variations like this certainly can’t be ruled out.
Themed games are also almost certain to play a bigger part, echoing the way that many slots already have TV or movie tie-ins.
VR and AR
On the technological side, it’s almost certainly going to be in the areas of virtual and augmented reality that some of the biggest strides forward are set to be made.
A major breakthrough has been the emergence of VR headsets to suit most budgets bringing the tech within the reach of many. It’s also opened up countless possibilities for bingo sites to enhance the paying experience.
So it will soon be possible to recreate the authentic atmosphere and ambience of a bingo hall, even allowing for “virtual” meetings between friends. As the social aspect of bingo has always been so important this will be a huge advance on the chat rooms that are already available.
Similarly, augmented reality could start to transform the bingo experience for people, without the need for VR headsets, in ways that promise to be both exciting and unexpected.
Artificial Intelligence too
There has been even more noise about the emergence of AI as there has been about virtual and augmented reality. Rather than being a case of the machines taking over as some might have feared, AI is proving to be a friendly and useful technology.
In the case of bingo sites its most likely use will be to get to know the individual player’s preferences and then to act on them.
So games may be subtly adjusted to suit the individual and the way that they like to play. Algorithms might also pre-select and recommend games much in same way that streaming services like Netflix and Apple TV do for films and TV shows.
AI is also very likely to offer greater levels of player support than ever before thanks to the increasing sophistication of chatbots and the more personalised service that they can now provide.
The blockchain too?
While the future cryptocurrency is still very much open to debate, the blockchain tech that’s behind it undoubtedly has a great deal to offer.
It’s highly possible that it will have a role to play in the future of online bingo, but just how it may be too early to speculate.
But one thing that we can be sure about is that bingo has a very bright future indeed.
