Industry experts are suggesting that in the future online bingo players could get a worse deal as the market consolidates and governments look at new taxing legislation.

Over the last few years the number of bingo sites has increased phenomenally and with it the level of competition has increased also, meaning that players have seen greater incentives to play. Initially a lot of the big names tried to avoid offering massive new player bonuses and concentrated on developing the number of bingo rooms and prize money that was available to regular players. However over the last 12 months we have seen nearly all online bingo operators offering significant bonuses to new players and this has become the norm. Term and Conditions associated with free money have also become more stringent which as mentioned previously means on many of the online sites even when you deposit your own money the conditions associated with bonuses means that you have to wager your funds so many times before you can make a withdrawal that it becomes worthless.

Because of the lack of regulation for offshore based operators, the returns are much lower than in traditional land based bingo clubs. Online operators seldom, if ever display the number of tickets sold for a game and as such players are unable to identify the money staked against the prizes paid. Online bingo operators are likely to further to take advantage of this in the future as times become tougher for the operator.

As governments around the world struggle with their own finances, it is only matter of times before most of them legalise online gaming with a stringent tax system the industry has avoided to date. Going from around a 1% tax rate to 15% percent plus will mean that many operators will no longer be able to make a profit. Consolidation in the industry has already started and is likely to increase meaning lower levels of competition between operators. Bingo operators will also have to work within strict guidelines as they become regulated, which while a benefit for the players, will mean that the costs associated with running online bingo operations increases. In addition most operators pay a fixed monthly fee for the software provider and percentage of the revenues. With fewer operators using the same platform the monthly fees are also expected to increase.

Over the last 12 months we have also seen an increasing number of online bingo operators using TV advertising to promote their brands. TV advertising comes with a significant cost and is likely to increase significantly in the future. In the middle of a recession it is no secret that many other industries have cut back on advertising and as a result online bingo companies have no doubt been able to negotiate favourable deals on advertising campaigns. As the economy improves and other industries return to advertising campaigns bingo brands are likely to see the costs increase.

Online bingo has also benefitted from more people being at home in the last couple of years. Many people have made cut backs in travelling with the increase cost of petrol, reduced the number of holiday and trips they go on and have therefore spent more time at home. Others have lost their jobs and naturally had more time to play bingo. Again as the economy improves these benefits to the bingo operators are likely to be eroded leaving fewer revenues.

With increased costs, higher taxation and regulation, reduced competition and lower revenues, online bingo players are likely to be worse off.