| Editorial Comment Coming from a family steeped in all forms of gambling, from betting shops to investment banking - yes I do regard banking as gambling. I have held a long term fascination and affection with the bingo industry.
Bingo as we know is one of the oldest forms of what I define as socially acceptable gambling, next to lotteries that is. What do I mean in terms of 'socially acceptable'? Well it's an activity that the doyens in our industry such as regulators, governments, media and the church view as being on the softer side of the gambling product spectrum as against perhaps more addictive forms of gambling.
I was very much a bingo virgin until coming of age (18), when my late Gran, said one rainy Saturday in Glasgow (it always rains). Do you fancy a game of bingo at our local club Mark? With intrepidation and not wishing to offend the matriarch of our family, I of course said I would be delighted. On entering my Grans local (she was teetotal) - 'the bingo hall' - I was pleasantly surprised by the number of females as a young man entering his prime would be if they were only 30 years' younger. Of course being in the company of my Gran, I was the centre of attention with her bingo buddies. Even though I failed miserably in the game play and bingo etiquette by sitting in old Jeannie's' favourite seat -'if looks could kill' - I would have been 'dabbered' - but lucky for me, her dabber was just as sacred! So no bodily harm ensued, but the tongue lashing was enough to provide a lasting experience of my 'first time' in a bingo club.
My Gran was still playing bingo at the age of 91. Her and friends played bingo together for the best part of forty years. That's an amazing feat in terms of reoccurring loyalty and purchase behaviour that any gambling brands such as operators say in the field of fixed odds sports betting would cut their right arm off for such customers that exhibited that life-time value for a gambling activity. The industry has witnessed ups and downs of course like many sectors. With the advent of the internet and emergence of online bingo, it has flourished not only in terms of broadening its appeal to the male demographic, buts its embrace of new technology such a tablets, has further reinvented and reinvigorated the sector. Bingo and online bingo really are the true manifestation of the current ?ber genre of the industry - social gaming. It's just at the time we didn't know we were social!
Bingo therefore as one well known entrepreneur said to me, is an ever-green industry. From my first introduction to bingo all these years' ago, I couldn't agree more with that statement. Over the next few months Bingo Life shall be bringing you, our readers the latest news and innovation for the industry's leading afficandos and pioneers. So do get in touch with our team, we'd love to hear from you.
Mark McGuinness, Online Bingo Editor Mark@ace123.com
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