Bingo: It’s all about connection

Pragmatic Play Vice-President of Bingo Claire McDaid talks about the community spirit surrounding bingo, how the game successfully transitioned from land-based to online, and why it is communication that is of the upmost importance in these challenging times.

Be it humans thousands of years ago sitting and talking around campfires, to work colleagues discussing business on a Zoom meeting, we know that communication is a key component of both physical and mental wellbeing.

The world is currently facing an unprecedented and challenging period, and with our ability to safely interact now curtailed, the importance of socialisation has been highlighted more so now than ever.

Bingo has always been a game centred around the implicit enjoyment of playing a game with friends and just shooting the breeze. If anything, its appeal has only grown over the years, leading it to become one of the most popular gambling offerings in nations across the globe.

Over time, the popularity of bingo has seen it grow into a perennial favourite among gamblers, and while certain elements of the sector have seen peaks and troughs, the attraction to bingo has rarely faded.

The land-based bingo halls of the latter 20^th century were melting pots, bubbling and thriving with a social buzz that only those bingo nights could muster. But as use of the internet exponentially grew in the early 2000’s, people realised that online communication was just as easy, if not more expansive.

Early on, some critics were sceptical about the nature of such a social game moving online, but the key was companies having the ability to make the experience as realistic as possible. Pragmatic Play’s bingo product was founded on creating engaging, immersive mobile experiences which replicate the bingo hall environment, marrying it with the convenience of mobile play.

Our bingo network continues to grow through the development of not just classic bingo titles, but through bringing truly innovative products to an industry with a proud heritage. Our Bingo Blast game is aimed at revitalising the vertical whilst continuing to provide the thrilling engagement factor of bingo.

We’ve accelerated the initial phase of the game, as balls are blasted out of the machine, quickly filling a player’s bingo card. This removes the initial time-consuming start to many bingo products and transports players to a 2-To-Go or 1-To-Go state. This means the game retains the thrill of the chase element of bingo, as players eagerly await a winning ball to drop, while combining time-friendly gameplay for mobile players.

By creating a product that retains the much-appreciated in-game features, combined with a speedy, device-friendly gameplay designed for mobile players, Pragmatic Play has tapped into a previously inactivated bingo market – the modern player.

While cutting-edge slots may be immersive and hugely exciting, they’re a one player game. The thrill of watching a roulette wheel is perfectly developed for those who wish to be kept on tenterhooks and enjoy the expedited nature of one spin at a time. Though even that sector is now utilising social-inspired engagement tools such as slot tournaments and live roulette dealers.

It’s clear that the gambling world has awoken to the importance of adding communication and socialisation to gaming. But bingo has always been about fun and the delight of playing a game with others.

Meeting new people, seeing old friends, and connecting with other players is at the very heart of it. And now, when someone shouts ‘bingo’ it isn’t just heard among excitable players in an online forum – but resonates across the entire gambling sector.

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