Online bingo has been around for a great many years now, and for those of us who have played from the very start there have been many changes as the industry has grown and evolved. While back in the early 2000s there were only a handful of bingo sites, all with cosy, manned chat rooms, there are now millions of sites and many players too!
I’m a bingo writer now but back at the start of the online bingo boom I worked as a bingo chat host. Chat rooms were cosy places and everyone was very involved. The phrase social network hadn’t really been invented and chat rooms and the online forum was the only way to really keep in touch with a large community. This in itself made the chat room very popular, it was a chance for players to be social and get to know other people, making online bingo a social event for many.
Now player numbers have increased and many sites are networked too, which means that chat hosts are managing a greater number of players. Add to that the fact that some larger bingo networks have merged chat rooms to save money, and players are literally squashed in like sardines! Another money saving idea used by networks (we’re looking at you Cozy Games) is to bring in foreign chat hosts. We can see what a cost saving exercise this must be, but often the host fails to recognise nuances in chat, is poorly versed in English and relies on childish smileys and emotions to fill the chat rooms.
But do players mind? In the world of Facebook we’re all chatting all the time anyway. Do we still want to use bingo as a social event, or do we have plenty of places to catch up online already? While the bingo forum was popular for many early brands like Think Bingo and Foxy Bingo, these are now virtually defunct as players prefer to keep in touch via large social media platforms.
Mobile bingo trends also have to accept their part in the big changes to the bingo chat room as we all know that tapping away on the phone to send a message is a lot more challenging than sitting at a keyboard, something that makes us much less likely to get into long in depth conversations with other players.
Whatever the reasons, the bingo chat room isn’t the same beast it used to be and many miss it. There are a small handful of sites where you can still get the friendly chat experience, but these cottage sites do often give way to big business tactics as the site gains popularity! For those who really love the social aspect of chat, it can be a lonely world out there.
