I wonder how many of us, raised going to land based bingo halls, still sit in our living rooms and shout bingo when we win online?  Come on, now, don’t be shy – I see you raising your hand back there.  Phew, now I don’t feel alone anymore!  I think it’s an instinct to holler bingo even when no one is there to hear us.

I had to go buy a new cleaner for my computer monitor screen.  The purple dauber I was using playing online bingo didn’t wash off as well as the pink one I used last week.

Now that I play online bingo, I never have a reason to get all dressed up anymore.  Perhaps the next online bingo session that I have, I’ll put a spot of makeup on and fix up my hair a bit, just to stay in practice.

I will say one thing for online bingo.  My shoulder feels ever so much better now that I don’t have to carry my heavy bingo tote bag anymore.  Of course, my fingers ache and the other night it took hours for the keyboard imprint to fade from where I fell asleep on it.

I told all my friends to meet me at the online bingo hall the other night.  We were chatting away when we all noticed something was a bit off with Gladys.  Turned out she had her husband play for while she was tucking in the kiddies.  He didn’t seem to appreciate our chat about him at all.

There are some people who will try any new online bingo site that they find, just to use the sign-up bonus that most bingo sites give out to new customers.  Most of us have a favorite site, however, or even two or three that we always play at.  If you have just been skipping around, you might want to consider some things before choosing a site to be more faithful to.

Sign-up bonuses are great but most online bingo sites have so much more to offer.  As you are flitting from site to site, you may want to make note of some of these characteristics so that you can compare the sites before choosing one or two to focus on.  Most sites reward loyal players but some have higher rewards than others.

Often an online bingo site will give you a bonus when you make your first deposit.  Some will even give you a bonus every time you deposit for as long as you’re a member.  Compare the bonuses to see which site will give you the most ongoing value for your money before depositing.

See if the site offers any kind of loyalty program such as free bingo tickets or points that can be turned in for prizes or free bingo.  While these aren’t quite as good as cash, of course, the points will enable you to play bingo when you want without worrying about whether your budget will allow it.

Many sites will give you a bonus when you send them more customers.  That means that just telling your friends about your favorite online bingo site, you could get free bingo or even cash in some cases.  I don’t know about you, but I tell my friends when I like something all the time.  I certainly don’t mind being rewarded for it.

You should also be comparing the friendliness of the chats and how responsive the support is at each site.  Most of us find the social aspects just as enjoyable as the game itself so this is very important.  When you find a few sites that feel right, compare all the things mentioned above so you can get the most for your money.

There have been more and more online bingo sites offering completely free bingo games lately.  These aren’t just for fun, either, but offer real cash prizes.  Granted, the prizes are relatively small but who doesn’t like getting something for nothing?  Have you been wondering what’s in it for the online bingo sites?

Well, for one thing, offering completely free bingo is one way to attract new customers.  Often they will come in to play the free bingo and as they participate in chat, they come to know the other players and feel comfortable at a site.  As they make friends and feel at home, those players are more than likely to turn into loyal members who play there much of the time.

Of course, the online bingo sites know that most people will be attracted by the cash games with their much higher prizes amounts.  The longer the free bingo player is on the site, the more likely that they will eventually make a deposit to get their chance at the big money prizes.

In the end, the online bingo site will gain depositing customers far more than they are spending on the small free online bingo prizes.  But for you, it just means there is a place to play for free and maybe win a few pounds.  Even if you never make a deposit, you’re still helping to draw more people to the site because it’s natural to want to be where there is a lot of other players.

No matter what online bingo site you like to play at, there are some things that you can do to make sure that you get the most out of your membership that you possibly can.  We all know to take full advantage of any bonuses available and to participate in chat for great side games, free bingo and other great prizes but there are other things that many forget about.

One of those things is always making sure that you have the latest version of the online bingo software.  While there are many sites that offer a flash version of their games, it will never be the same as their downloadable software.  Once you know that you really like and trust a site, you should download the full software so that you can enjoy the complete experience.  Graphics, audio and even aspects of play are so much more detailed and realistic in the downloaded version.  Some even offer you the ability to create an avatar and interact with other players in a virtual world of 3D.

When you have signed up with a site, make sure that you are signed up to get any emails or newsletters.  These will often give you advance notice of upcoming promotions, special games and sometimes even codes for bonus bingo money.  You will have to be sure to whitelist the newsletters so that they don’t end up in the spam folder.  All that means is to add the site to your list of emails that are allowed to go to your inbox.

Keep your profile updated, especially if they offer a photo option.  This will help you make friends easier on the site and help you to be more memorable to others.  An added bonus is that some sites will actually reward you for updating your profile, adding pictures and participating more.  Some have been known to give points towards a prize draw or bonus bingo money or free bingo tickets.  It never hurts to keep your player profile updated.

One way to get a good idea of which online bingo site might be the best one for you to join is to see what other players say.  It can take some time to scour the internet looking for unbiased reviews, however.  Most of the review sites are trying to get people to join so they can make a commission for the referral and so are anything but unbiased.  One of the leading online bingo portals in the UK, however, surveys players constantly through the year to keep their fingers on the pulse of the online bingo market.

The results of all that surveying is BingoPort.co.uk Players Choice Awards where the nominees and winners are decided by actual players.  The first ever awards ceremony was held at the end of January in London.  The awards are based on the entire previous year through data gathered with polls, surveys as well as financial information from the online bingo sites.  If you aren’t sure where to play, choosing one of the sites from the winner’s list may not be a bad idea.

BingoPort.co.uk has the largest independent membership base for any site focusing on UK online bingo.  They have members from all of the online bingo sites, many of whom have accounts with several different sites.  The players themselves are the best gauge of what works and what doesn’t in the online bingo industry and the Players Choice Awards is the results of that data.

This is the prize roster for the best sites of 2008:
Best Overall Online Bingo Operator – Foxy Bingo
Most Popular Online Bingo Website – Gala Bingo
Best New Online Bingo Site – Wink Bingo
Best Online Bingo Game Innovation – Gala Bingo for their All Day Free Bingo
Fastest Growing Online Bingo Website – Ladbrokes Bingo
Best Online Bingo Promotion – Foxy Bingo for the Foxy Bingo Cruise
Best Online Bingo Commercial – Foxy Bingo
Best Online Bingo Chat Team – Tombola
Most Online Bingo Prizes Won – Tombola

According to Scott Logan, Director of BingoPort.co.uk, “Our membership base represents a broad cross-section of the UK market with our players choosing a wide variety of bingo sites to spend their time. And our rigid voting registration process allows us to target all online bingo players in the UK. This thorough methodology means the BingoPort Players Choice Awards will provide the industry with a very accurate reflection of who is doing the right things in this market.”

Gamesys Group is the registered owner of www.jackpotjoy.com – which is UK’s top online Bingo entertainment and Instant Win brand – and www.botemania.com – their player and Spanish language branded site. Integrated in UK, the Gamesys Group is one of the most rapidly developing businesses in the industry of the egaming sector including online bingo or internet bingo as well as online bingo games. Gamesys Ltd is the technical support and software development services business.

Gamesys Group was established by Noel Hayden in April 2001 together with a small team of developers. The goal was to build a luxurious and lucrative online business for entertainment giving casino games, bingo, and instant win to a global audience utilizing gaming software which is proprietary.

Gamesys Group’s top brand Jackpotjoy.com has developed an audience in excess of 2,400,000 members and pays out over ￡90 million every month.

The tremendous success of Jackpotjoy.com has given Gamesys Group the number one spot for UK’s finest online gaming enterprises. they were named number 1 in the Microsoft/Sunday Times Tech Track 100 League Table in 2006. This manifestation shows both the firm’s capability for sustained development and its outstanding flexibility even at the times of economic uncertainties.

Gamesys Group’s registered community of players is one of the biggest affiliated groups of individuals in the UK. More than 90% of their cash gamers originates from the UK.

Gamesys Group’s dedication to robust corporate management principles was proven well ahead of time by means of the appointment of an independent Non Executive in November 2002.  Roger Devlin, Gamesys Group’s Executive Chairman, is also the Chairman of the Audit and Remuneration Committees. Two of the firm’s establishing investors are also members of each Committee and regularly attend board meetings. Gamesys Group is yet to have a Nominations Committee.

Gamesys Group has licensed gaming applications for Littlewoods. Littlewoods Promotions Limited selected Gamesys to offer a gaming software service to deliver a suite of games pleasurable to gamers and commercially viable for Littlewoods Leisure Limited after an exhaustive review of all gaming software providers. Gamesys purpose is to go on to innovate world class, multi-platform player software together with high quality reporting and promotional devices to allow licensees to optimize opportunities accessible to them in fast-developing multinational digital gaming sales.

The online bingo sites are always coming up with new ideas to offer innovative products that enhance your gaming experience.  One of these recent developments is a concept called team bingo.  There are variations from site to site but we are going to explore the basic premise of team bingo and how it works.

Some bingo rooms choose team based on random assignment by the room’s software.  Others will allow the players to form their own teams – ideal for those who want to play as a group such as a family team or group of offline friends.

When it comes to who gets what in the case of a win, this will also vary.  Some teams will split all pots won by the members of the team evenly.  Others will let the actual bingo winner keep half the pot while dividing the other half amongst the rest of the team.  Either way, when one member wins, the entire team wins.

To find an online bingo site that offers team bingo options, you can just do a search for “team bingo”.   That should turn up quite a few places that you could play.  You could also ask around in bingo forums or ask the others that you play bingo with in chat.

Team bingo is a way to take bingo from a solitary pursuit to one that takes the social aspect of online bingo a step above the live chat options.  It’s a great way to get to know your fellow players on another level, too.

St. Minver (formerly St Enodoc) was established in 2003 after the buying of Gala Interactive from the Gala Group Plc. Constituted in Gibraltar, their registered office is in Portland House, Glacis Road, Gibraltar. The firm’s name was modified to St Minver in the summer of 2005. It was licensed by the Gibraltar Government under the auspices of the Gibraltar Gaming Ordinance provisions in running online gaming services.

St Minver Limited believes in responsible gambling. In certain people, gambling can become an obsession, although gambling is just an exciting diversion for the huge majority of individuals. St. Minver is dedicated to having every justified measure to do away with troublesome gambling. They have put forward the following safety steps to guarantee that their gaming offers is as secure and pleasurable as much as practicable:

Being empowered to watch your own gaming and playing  history as well as your daily loss/win
Real time stats are always displayed on the screen
Policy of strict age verification
A single debit/credit card permitted to be utilized at any given time
Limitations on amount which can be wagered per single game
Limitations to deposits that can be made in any single month/week/day
All client service support personnel are extensively trained to pinpoint and help problem gamblers

The company’s total online bingo network is the biggest platform of online bingo gamers and bingo software in Europe, empowering linked jackpots, high liquidity and huge prizes. Employing software from the number 1 developer of bingo, Parlay Entertainment, the firm’s network has made capable several high-profile applications to deliver 90-ball online bingo for their clients.

Their bingo game, designed for gamers to have a taste of the buzz and excitement of their bingo hall while being online, gives high grades of client service and copious entertainment. Clients are allowed access to chat monitors in-game, round-the-clock client support and a choice of varied games, inclusive of slots and Keno.

Their line of bingo products also consists of the famous UK Bingo Caller of Year. St. Minver concentrated on chat, community and entertainment. Bingo can be utilized as an excellent device for client retention and acquisition too.

Many newcomers to the world of online bingo begin to get confused by all the terminology spawned by the online bingo industry.  One of the major sources of confusion at first is the difference between online bingo website and online bingo room.  Novice online bingo players often think the two terms are interchangeable at first and it can take a bit before they realize the difference.

The online bingo site is simply the website of the bingo company, based on the software and design the owners choose.  An online bingo room is simply a section of an online bingo site.  Most bingo sites have several online bingo rooms to choose from with each room having distinct features over the other.

Generally, each room will be dedicated a particular type of bingo, such as 75 ball or 90 ball, and ticket prices will usually vary along with jackpot amounts.  Obviously, it usually works out that higher ticket prices equal higher value jackpots.  Features can also vary from room to room.

Each online bingo room will have its own chat moderators and that tends to create a different style to the chat found in each room.  That’s why we have always recommended trying different bingo rooms on a site.  You may find one online bingo room where the crowd tends to be older or younger.  Other times, you’ll find some rooms that are more serious about their bingo games while others enjoy the fun of interacting with other players as much or more than the bingo games they play

That would have to be just about the coolest job ever, wouldn’t it?  Although, it wouldn’t be all fun, I suppose.  The CM not only gets to interact with all the players and run chat games, they would also have to deal with the occasional rowdy or downright rude player, as well.  Overall, though, it would be a great job since you work from home, meet lots of great people and get to have fun while at work.

I did a bit of research into this idea over the past week or so as this is something that really would be ideal for me.  Skills you need in order to do the job include people skills – being able to be friendly yet professional, but at the same time be able to effectively handle less than friendly situations, as well.  Being able to type reasonably well and have decent computer skills is pretty much a necessity as you’ll need to handle multiple windows at once quite often.  Familiarity with online bingo would be a huge asset, of course.

From what I’ve been able to gather, there are basically three ways to find potential chat moderator jobs.  First, you can check the individual bingo sites and see if they have an employment opportunity link – this could say exactly that or it may say jobs or something similar.  If it does, then send your resume and a cover letter to where they tell you.  Another way if there isn’t a jobs link is to simply email support and ask.  You could even include your resume and cover letter with the email.

The third way that may help you land a chat moderator job is to visit cmoftheyear.com – this website has been around since 2000 and is a great resource.  You can browse ads that bingo sites have placed looking for new moderators or you can post your own online resume for employers who come looking.  You can read the profiles of featured chat moderators and learn more about the skills you need or even ask questions in the forum there.

There are four jobs posted at the site right this moment.  One thing really popped out at me – 3 out of the 4 sites are looking for moderators who speak languages other than English.  I’m not bilingual but this looks like the perfect time for people who are to find a chat moderator job if they’re interested.  With online bingo growing by leaps and bounds around the world, the demand for those who can speak other languages is only going to grow.