Is Bingo going to change in 2020?

Bingo had its first surge in popularity back in the early 20th century in the US but the much-loved game of chance had been played for centuries and can be originally dated back to the early 1500s in Italy who had a state lottery system called “Lo Gioco del Lotto d’Italia”. From its humble Italian beginnings, it started to spread across Europe until the French caught onto the growing game in the late 1700s, where a “lotto” caller would reach their hand into a bag and pick out wooden chips which were marked 1-90. Not too dissimilar to our modern bingo, but the version we all know and love was made popular as previously mentioned in the US by a toy salesman based in New York, Edwin Lowe, who originally called the game “Beano” as the game was played by using dried-up beans to mark player’s “Beano” cards as their numbers were called out. As is typical is bingo halls to play today, when a player covered up all their numbers or a line of numbers they would indicate their winning card by shouting “Beano!”. It was an energetic and thrilling game right from the start and players were totally captivated by this riveting game. According to Edwin Lowe’s account, during one game of Beano, one of the winners was so excited they stumbled on their words and exclaimed “Bingo” instead of Beano, and this is how Bingo was coined. 

How has Bingo popularity changed over the years?  

Today, bingo is played across the world and is a much-loved game for players both young and old because it’s social, fun and requires no skill or strategy to win – all you need is luck! Bingo has had its ups and downs and its spike in popularity started to wane following political change serving an almost fatal blow when the smoking ban was introduced in 2007 under the labour government. This meant that many players didn’t want to play bingo if they couldn’t smoke as for many, smoking and bingo went hand in hand. Subsequently, the smoking ban had a huge and far-reaching impact on bingo halls and the popularity of the game being played. Technology and the internet are soon some to the rescue for the beloved game and in 2020 the bingo business is booming thanks to the bingo online revolution. But what does 2020 and beyond have in store for bingo and are we going to see some changes to everyone’s favourite game? 

What are the trends we are likely to see in Bingo in 2020? 

More online bingo content targeted at young players 

Many online casinos are starting to up their game and create more and more bingo-centric content on their sites to build the bingo community and appeal to the next generation of bingo players, especially targeted at the under 45s.  

Making online bingo more sociable and interactive for players 

As you might know, all too well if you’re a big bingo fan, playing bingo on bingo machines in bingo hall is, by and large, no longer player’s first choice when it comes to playing bingo and most players choose to play bingo at online casinos either on their desktop computers, laptops, mobiles or tablets. This is simply because it’s so quick, easy and accessible for players and they can enjoy the game from the comfort of their own home. However, bingo is a very sociable game that is best enjoyed with friends and online bingo can prevent players from getting this social aspect from the game. In 2020 we can expect to see a change in the layout of bingo make it as entertaining and interactive as possible to keep players engaged – you can expect to see bingo games with a focus on delivering high-quality entertainment and fun over a relatively short but intense period of time. Bingo is very unique in terms of its so the future of bingo will need to reflect this uniqueness. This could include the integration of chat room functions and video for players to provide that social interaction that may be lacking in some online bingo games.  

Improved graphics and themes  

In 2020 you can expect improved themed bingo games, for example, if you’ve ever played Rio Bingo by Pariplay, a Rio carnival-themed bingo game or similarly themed bingo games, you’ll know that they are a breath of fresh air from a more traditional form of bingo. There will be a greater focus on ensuring that players get the best gaming experience with varied and intriguing themes to make the gameplay even more exciting than ever before. To keep players interested and to elevate their bingo experience, developers will likely focus their attention on incorporating energizing and fun themed-soundtracks in their games as well as improved high-quality graphics that are rendered perfectly to allow players to load and play games with ease. In 2020 players can also expect to see alternative game designs that will cater to a wider audience.  

Cashless payment apps 

In terms of changes to land-based bingo halls in 2020 and beyond we may also expect to see bingo machines move towards cashless payment apps to attract younger players who often never take out cash when they’re out and about to reflect the lifestyles changes in players so that bingo clubs aren’t left behind.  

Summary 

We can’t wait to see what 2020 and beyond has in store for bingo! Developers are seeing reaching out to new players as both a challenge as well as an opportunity to improve bingo games, working hard to create games by engaging new players not just in the short term, but in the long run to create new, loyal players by making games that make a brilliant first impression. It goes without saying, the only way is up for the gambling industry and bingo is no exception, with technology and graphics improve and the introduction of virtual reality, improvements to online bingo are imminent and are bound to impress and appeal to a wider audience in 2020 and beyond.


Related Articles

Leave a Comment