 |
| Photo: Pedro Sala |
We already know that online bingo is geekishly very popular. But do we know just how many people play the game – and who these people are in terms of their socio-demographic profile?
Well – yes we do, to a certain extent anyway, but the numbers and profiles are shifting all the time – particularly with the explosion in the use of tablets and other mobile devices.
The UK has one of the most developed and best-analysed online bingo markets in the world. Just six years ago, market research by Mintel showed that approximately 50,000 people were playing online bingo regularly in the country. Today, the equivalent figure is over three million. So there’s been a huge surge in demand for online bingo – a fact not lost on the major providers who jockey continually for position with ever-more creative advertising and, of course, ever-more generous introductory bonuses, free games, and myriad other promotions to lure punters in to get their “eyes down”.
One of the most successful sites in this regard of late has been Landmark Bingo. Landmark Bingo offers online bingo and over 35 games on this website
which can be played for free or real cash. Get 1150% bonus on first
three deposits to play bingo, slots, casino and scratch cards to win
exciting prizes.
Landmark Bingo offers ongoing promotions with different games more or less daily – along with loyalty bonuses for players staying with the site. Play fast to multiply your jackpot winnings up to £5,000 every week. This kind of promotion is replicated throughout the industry – though it has to be said – not usually quite as generously as this.
In short – the competition is fierce.
But who are these three million players socio-demographically speaking? Well the Mintel research shows that the number of online bingo in the UK in the under 45s age bracket has seen the most rapid increase in recent years. This is down to its online status and the fact that younger people are generally more web, tech and mobile-savvy. In other words, it seems likely that a survey of traditional “physical” bingo halls would reveal the average age of bingo players to be greater – though no such data exist.
The under 45s now make up 66% of all online players. But the tradition of bingo being generally more popular with women than men still holds true; the research data show that over three-quarters of online bingo players are female. But even that figure will surprise many people on the downside in a world which is traditionally seen to be dominated by women. Data also show that male players are generally slightly older than their female counterparts on average.
Furthermore, research data from one of the UK’s main online bingo providers show that the current generation of players are made up of around 50% working professionals. The same data reveal that 9% of players are now aged 60 or over.
But even these data will quickly become dated in a world which is becoming increasingly dominated by the ubiquitous tablet and smartphone devices. Recent estimates put tablet usage in the UK at around the 20 million mark; an amazing one in three people in the country (though these data include those with regular access to a tablet via a family member etc.). And that figure is expected to reach around 50% by the year 2017.
The online bingo stats generally reflect the wider gaming UK industry figures in all areas bar sex; there is a more or less even gender split in online gaming as a whole.
According to one recent market research report, there are 20 million active mobile gamer players in the UK playing once a month or more. And there are over six million people playing some kind of game on their tablets and/or smartphones virtually every day. The report shows that the number of daily mobile gamers almost doubled during just a two-year period between 2011 and 2013- with a broadly even gender split of 52% female and 48% male.
Also – the same report revealed that most UK “mobile” gamers are actually playing at home – with almost two-thirds of mobile gaming occurring in living rooms, 45% in bedrooms and 23% in bathrooms, whilst a third pay whilst commuting to and from work.
So there we have it – the archetypal online bingo player is a 40-year old professional female playing mainly in her living room! So, what are you waiting for? Try out and play Bingo here!
1 Comment