Here at Playing Bingo we promote both land based and online bingo but one thing you won’t read on our pages is the suggestion that playing online is safer than playing in a bingo hall! A recent news article listed in Google news under a search for “bingo” asked if bingo hall crime was on the up and then went to make a few suppositions about players in general before stating that “the heightened risks associated with visiting bingo halls is certainly tempting a lot of players to try their hand with online bingo”.
The article goes on the mention a number of robberies at land based bingo halls detailing the date of the theft and the amount stolen. Three examples were used; one in March 2011, another in 2007 and the last in July of these year – a trend this does not make. Yes, bingo halls are subject to robberies but so are banks, building societies, homes and even churches, many of which don’t have an online offering at which you can feel “safer”.
The basis of the article is completely flawed. The robberies mentioned did not occur during bingo sessions, but when bingo players had actually left the building. Robberies from bingo clubs tend to occur once the evening sessions have ended and there is a big pile of cash either in the safe, or in the tills. The only people that are potentially in any sort of danger are the staff, NOT the players.
There is more likelihood of danger from falling off your chair whilst laughing at such a ludicrous article and banging your head on the corner of a table than from visiting a bingo hall. To suggest that traditional players are moving online in their droves due to ‘fear’ is unlikely to convince even the most naive reader that they are putting their safety at risk by entering a bingo hall. The phrase ‘cloud cuckoo land’ comes to mind.
Where the writer of this news piece got their information from is beyond me because there has never been any data released that suggests that online bingo is a safer option than visiting a bingo club. There have been many factors that have enticed club players to try online bingo; the safety aspect has not ever been cited as one of them before now! Players have chosen to try online bingo for a number of reasons, all widely covered in both the national press and by a number of reputable bingo news sites. The smoking ban was originally an incentive to play online but over the years this has become less of a reason, the ability to play 24 hours a day, seven days a week another and of course, some sites offer large jackpots on a regular basis.
The question is why do some online bingo portals, like the one that we have chosen not to name and shame, feel the need to beat land based bingo halls with a dirty stick in an effort to try and make online bingo more appealing?
Would you ever see a bank suggesting for a minute that we should all complete our financial transactions online because it is safer than visiting your local branch because of the minimal risk of a bank robbery occurring or a land-based bingo hall suggesting that you would be safe in their club than at home because a burglary may occur whilst you are in the house playing online bingo?
