The Bingo Association represents land based bingo clubs. There is no official association that represents the online bingo industry at this time, no doubt in the near future the online bingo industry will have its own 'body' to represent its views and protects its interests, however this is unlikely to be the Bingo Association in its current form.

While the rules of bingo remain similar in both online and land based bingo, the two industries couldn't be further apart in terms of taxation, marketing and promotional strategies, and governing legislation. Most operators in either industry don't understand how the other operates and the challenges they face. Any joint association would therefore find themselves dealing with conflicting goals.

Land based bingo clubs are highly taxed and have to conform to strict legislation. They have evolved slowly over the years and most bingo clubs don't face strict competition from other clubs; it is the legislation and taxes that are the problem. On the other hand online operators are mostly based oversees, with low levels of governing legislation and taxes. They have to evolve quickly in what has become a highly competitive market in order just to survive. Software and platform providers would also have to be part of any online association as they form a critical part of the output.

Clearly there is a need to legislate online gaming to some degree as we have a number of operators that should be ashamed of the way they operate. Over the last 12 months we have reported numerous stories that support this. The 900% bonus scam, where operators market misleading information to attract customers was a common practice amongst a number of operators. Another area where customers are constantly taken advantage of is the withdrawal constraints at some sites. Some of the ridiculous multiples are 20-30 times the amount of bonus and deposit. As we have said at the time, this makes any money a player deposits the equivalent of monopoly money – worthless!

It seems there is much talk of an Online Bingo Association at the moment and it will be interesting to which parties instigate the process. Bingosupermarket would be keen to hear from any parties within the online bingo industry that have ideas and views in relation to forming a common association. Email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it