The game of bingo has been popular in the UK since the gaming legislation first allowed it in the 60s. Since then, this game has adapted and changed according to trends, enjoying its ever-growing popularity among different audience groups.
Whether played online or in a land-based venue, most players define bingo as a unique and fun pastime that gives you the chance to win great prizes. The rollout of the World Wide Web in the 90s had a major impact on online bingo and mostly how people were experiencing gaming in general. This caused a decline in popularity for bingo, and many people thought this game lost its charm and will stay in history.
However, as the online network was growing and more people were transferring their businesses online, entrepreneurs saw a big opportunity in trying to replicate the bingo experience online. Today, online bingo is one of the most competitive and popular gaming niche markets, as online bingo operators constantly grow their customer base.
In this fast-paced world, we live in, it’s crucial to keep up with the latest tech trends if you want to stay relevant and appeal to a new generation of players. Here, we’ll look at how online bingo adapts to the latest customer demands and what we should expect in the near future.
VR Bingo
Virtual reality is a tech innovation that already makes a significant impact on almost every industry field. Even though it’s not quite mainstream when it comes to gaming, it won’t be long until VR gaming is the new norm and standard. As the offers for VR headsets and helmets on the market continue to improve, many companies invest in research and development so they can be competitive on the market.
This technological advancement has the potential to revolutionise the bingo industry and the way players interact online. This technology can build gaming environments with real experiences by recreating the bingo venue of the past or future ( according to your preferences ). This way, operators create much more immersive and enjoyable offers for players, as bingo is all about socialising and creating a community feel.
AR Bingo
Augmented Reality (AR) is the new buzzword for bingo, and there’s a good reason behind that. This sector’s worth is growing at fast rates, with predictions to reach more than $300 billion by the end of 2021. Much like VR, AR is the process of visually overlaying the real world to provide additional 3D entertainment displayed on a mobile or a tablet screen. If you have an AR display, you’ll be able to project your bingo card on any surface, everywhere you like, and you’re ready to play. Moreover, this feature lets you notify you of nearby bingo peers and guide you to them.
Gesture Control
Who needs controllers at all when you can have a completely hands-free gaming experience? This innovation will let you control your gameplay by simply waving or raising your hands. For example, if your number is called out, you can fill the virtual bingo card with a simple gesture in the air. Combining AR, VR and gesture control, your movements and words are tracked by the system so they can give you real-time feedback that fully immerses you in the gaming world.
Whatever the future holds for online bingo, it is definitely going to be a bright one. The advances in technology, cross-platform developments, mobile bingo and smart targeting mean that bingo reaches a large proportion of the online population. Moreover, as the bingo game moved from the bingo halls and launched straight into the future, we can safely say that bingo is now a predominant game at the large inline iGaming platform.
