Bingo Business

Playing bingo is big business in the United States and Canada, but due to the promulgation of the Unlawful Internet Gaming Enforcement Act, better known perhaps as UIGEA in 2006, the number of online bingo sites operating from the US was slashed. Online bingo operations were decimated and many forced into bankruptcy, people were made redundant and a great deal of money was lost all around.

Although not all online bingo sites affected by the UIGEA became defunct, and many went on to relocate, offer their services to other countries marketplaces such as the lucrative UK, and some even did so well that they were able to launch themselves onto the London Stock Exchange. In the US however things changed and they actually appear to have gone a little backwards in time.

Bingo is still big business in the US however and there it has taken the direction of people playing in land based clubs. There are also bingo halls in many of the casinos and as is the US tradition, bingo is played in community centres and churches, although these are mainly operated for the benefit of fundraising. It is interesting to note that in the UK, bingo is played for fun, while in the US and Canada, people play bingo for the money.