The two main providers of land based bingo in the UK are the mega successful Mecca Bingo and Gala Bingo. Recently Gala Bingo has launched an online promotion in their clubs, making it available to all members whether they’ve tried the game online or not. The promotion allowed players who participated on a particular date in their local club to pick up a bonus code which gave them 10 hours worth of free games at the GalaBingo.com website. The free games were said to be worth £10,000 and as always with a decent promo offer, the emphasis was most definitely on the word free.
These sorts of promotions don’t come around very often and it leads us to ask the question whether bingo clubs are really the best place to promote online offers. After all, if you’re already playing in a club why would you want to play online? We can think of tons of reasons but they may not all be immediately obvious if you’re sat down with your mates for your weekly session. There are many reasons people choose to play in their local club, instead of or as well as online and this is not something we should be trying to stop.
Many people visit their local club for the social aspect of the night out and the fact it gets them out and about for a bit. Many people rely on their trips out, even simply once a week to the bingo hall, for communication and social interaction. Of course getting out of the house is also more physically beneficial for your health than plopping on the sofa and switching on the laptop. Playing in the local club might also be somewhat of a tradition for many players, with their specific day they go to play and a rapport that builds up with staff members and other players. Your local club may be a centre point of your community and this is not something easily replicated in the online version of the game. In line with this playing online may feel very alien when you’re used to the familiarity of visiting your local club and coming out of your comfort zone and trying a different type of gaming may not be something you’re particularly interested in. Playing online is not an exact replica of the club experience, yes, it is lots of fun but it may seem strange to players giving it a go for the first time and it certainly isn’t the same as their usual bingo gaming carried out at their local hall.
Similarly, without stereotyping, the fact is many players at bingo clubs are often a lot older than those who play games online and some may not even have home access to the internet. Convincing these players to try out an online promotion is unlikely to be very successful but this doesn’t mean it’s not worth a shot. Typically, older players value the history and familiarity of their club and enjoy the night or day out with their friends and familiar faces. Of course this is not true of everyone but it does seem to be the overall rule.
Mecca Bingo has tried to amalgamate their two types of bingo, installing more electronic, tablet-style bingo games in their clubs, making the online form of the game more familiar to those who visit land-based sites. Their online arm has grown in popularity and some would suggest this is in part down to the introduction of online/computer based gaming in their halls.
As bingo halls attempt to attract a younger clientele, with varied success according to the company owners, it makes sense to attempt to amalgamate and promote their online arms in their clubs. However, it would be a shame to see the land-based bingo clubs decline even further as their clientele all flock to their laptops so we imagine the promotion of online promotions in clubs may not be a regular occurrence. Every now and again pointing out how great playing online is, is likely to show members they can enjoy both types of the game and maximise their bingo playing fun. Perhaps the brands could also do the same at their sites and offer incentives to get online players visiting their local halls too and then maybe the traditional bingo hall could be resurrected completely.
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