| Online Bingo Sites Need to Play Catch Up in Social Interaction |
| Written by Mark Bennett |
| Wednesday, 12 January 2011 23:22 |
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Online bingo sites have recognised that the biggest problem they have in comparison to the traditional bingo club is the lack of social interaction. Although many online bingo sites use a variety of chat features and some sites go as far as to use live callers they are leagues behind in comparison to bingo halls. It is reported the average bingo player spends 26 days a year playing their favourite game and if there is a good social interaction on the site then players are unlikely to look elsewhere. Reports suggest that it is not just about the numbers, but more about the communication and relationship between players, something that bingo club managers have been capitalising on for decades. Richard Preen, a betting journalist, describes that talking to players and having a certain level of communication helps to attract players to bingo.
Preen suggests that obviously the first thing that attracts new players is the starting offer but the social element that comes when they talk to fellow players is just as important in getting the player to stay.
Online bingo sites are somewhat limited in how much social interaction they are able to provide players and in 2011 as many sites target the mobile market, smart phones may provide some of the answers. "The big push is smartphone technology now. The whole of the betting industry, including bingo, is trying to get their products working successfully on smartphones," Preen added Only this week we have seen Ask Jeeves launch its own online bingo brand and although company has its own search engine this is unlikely to be a pre-requisite for a successful site. Many critics have pointed to the lack of success of Yahoo games which given that it has its own search engine and messenger software it is surprising that is has been unable to top the charts in the UK online bingo industry. In a competitive market online bingo sites need to concentrate their strategies in away that will retain customers with a balance between great offers and cutting edge technology to boost the social interaction.
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