For many years, bingo has been a game often associated with women. Although people from all over the world play bingo, it has found a firm home in the UK.
Bingo
It is reported that 65% (estimated to have risen to 78% in 2020) of the bingo market is made up of women, which means the female population is driving this lucrative pastime's growth.
Interestingly the land-based bingo halls that were once heaving with couples and groups of women have seen a decline, but even more people have flocked to online bingo instead.
Bingo sites offer so much to players it is not hard to see why there has been a decline in land-based bingo halls and more uptake online.
Who does bingo appeal to?
Bingo as a game can and does appeal to anyone, but with more than half of the players being female - it begs the question, why?
Socialising
In the early days of bingo, after a long week at home with the children, cooking, cleaning, and more - bingo was the perfect few hours to spend playing games with people in the community. It was as much about the social aspect as it was to win. While it is always nice to get a bingo win, the socialising and causal nature of the game made it so bingo just fits into a busy homemaker's life.
In the early years of bingo, there weren't mobile phones to keep people in touch with each other so quickly; socialisation relied on being face to face.
What's more important is that bingo doesn't require skill and is ideal for players who just want to have some time to relax with friends.
Nowadays, online bingo websites offer the option to communicate with people in chat rooms. When you go to the same games and websites often, it's not long before you become part of the community.
Online bingo providers attract players to their site by offering chat rooms for players to socialise just like they would in a land based bingo hall.
Bonuses
Not everyone has a lot of spare cash to spend on entertainment, and bingo websites know that. Catering for people who don't have a lot to spend by giving them free cash, free bonus games, and other promotions means they get more from their money.
Bingo is unlike other casino games
Poker, roulette and blackjack can be stressful games that you have to pay full attention to and typically take some time to get to the end of the game. But bingo can fit around busy lifestyles, and you can have your game running automatically in the background if you need to do other things.
And unlike many other casino games, bingo doesn't require extra learning or a big-budget because there are free games and tickets that only cost 1p.
Bingo also has a huge benefit that the players can all communicate and congratulate either other as they are playing. Making it feel more like a community game than many other casino games.
Marketing
Bingo websites know that the largest amount of their audience is female players, so they use language that communicates directly with them. Often bingo websites will use purples and pinks, which are most commonly associated with being feminine colours.
While there has been some backlash about using the colour pink when marketing to women, it is still shown to work.
The language used when marketing bingo games are typically light-hearted and enthusiastic - which can be a stark contrast to the amount of other more serious types of language people will come across each day.
Bingo websites will lean heavily into this marketing style because aside from speaking to their target audience, it is a more relaxed atmosphere - it immediately shows that it is fun, non-taxing and enjoyable.
It is worth keeping in mind that with the language and the graphics catering to their main audience, there is still a large percentage of men that play bingo too. So bingo is a game for everyone regardless of the marketing materials that are used.
Is online bingo becoming more popular with men?
Some of the main attractions to playing online bingo is that it is soft gambling, and there isn't much risk involved. These two factors aren't just appealing to women; they are also appealing to men too.
Although you'd see husbands and wives in a land-based bingo hall, you'd rarely see a group of men playing together. However, with the shift online, more men have played bingo too.
Many bingo websites are toning back the pinks, and 'feminine' language in favour of colours and styles that could (and do) appeal to a wider audience. Online bingo providers will often have a range of other games like scratch cards and slots too, and the themes of the slots will be broad - from music themes to adventure and action themes.
While many poker players will make this a full-time role and be looking to win a lot of cash - bingo is a more relaxing form of entertainment and fits in around busy work schedules for everyone. The convenience of playing online is something that everyone can benefit from, and these factors have helped shift bingo from a women's game to an everybody's game.
As bingo evolved online, its audience has evolved too - and while it is still predominantly women, men are enjoying playing bingo online too.
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