Less is (apparently) more with linked bingo sites

Online bingo fans who have played at a few bingo sites in their time may well be aware of linked bingo sites, but as a beginner, it can be confusing to compare a few bingo sites and find more similarities than differences. In fact, it seems to be a pet peeve of many online bingo fans – you go to a site, it looks different and yet if you look a little deeper that sinking feeling of familiarity may come over you. So what are linked bingo sites, and why have they got some of the online bingo community in a bit of a tizz?

So: the basics. Linked bingo sites (or networked bingo sites) not only share promotions; they also share rooms. It’s all down to software choice. Some software (known as white label) acts as a gaming gateway. So an operator can use the software as a “doorway” into a much bigger room. The good news for bingo fans is that jackpots can be bigger and better thanks to the increased number of players. The bad news is the games can be crowded with much lower chances of winning thanks to the players! But the same is true at some of the very big bingo sites – and this is always a balancing act for roomies. It’s a bit of a vicious circle, which operators have also managed to get caught up in.

Now, often sites will mix things up a little, adding some “local” rooms and reserving the networked rooms for bigger money games. Check out Gone Bingo or other sites on the “Better Bingo” network, or many sites on the Virtue Fusion network, who link up everyday for their Bingo Linx games (i.e. Mecca Bingo, Paddy Power Bingo, Crown Bingo) but manage to have some unique promos and games to give bingo fans something different.

A less frequent example of sharing games, which in our humble opinion always works, happens at the Joy of Bingo network (which comprises of Wink Bingo, Posh Bingo, RedBus Bingo and Tasty Bingo), who link together for the Joy Pot promotions. The guys still get on with their own thing on a day to day basis, which means different promos, games and unique rooms that means each site has a personality of it’s own.

The key point is how much your bingo site of choice goes that extra mile to offer something a little different. And some networked sites offer literally no differences between them besides the “skin” of the site (which put very simply equates to the colour scheme, theme and layout). In this case, that feeling of déjà vu comes over you in just a few short clicks. Now, if you happen to play at one of these sites and you don’t have a problem with it, there’s no reason to quit. But what surprises us is how many new sites have opened that run on the same software, offering the same tired promotions that we have seen so many times and frankly have decided we have very little chance of winning. Being blunt, it’s a bit like seeing the same turd polished over and over and over again.

What gets us is that as the online bingo world becomes bigger and bigger, it is interesting to see the amount of effort put in by some operators becomes smaller and smaller. And considering there is plenty of competition about, you’d imagine online bingo operators would work a little hard to grab our attention with something new and exciting. Of course, there are some new bingo sites that have opened recently – Fancy Bingo and Wonder Bingo to name just a few – that do prove us wrong. But we have to wonder why some operators have adopted this less is more attitude, particularly as it happens to end up as just more of the same.