Bingo – Is it an addiction or fun?

Online gambling legislation is in place to protect those who have gambling problems, and bingo online is no exception. Players now see warnings about the problems addiction can cause plastered all over bingo sites.
For many people, bingo is for fun and doesn’t really feel like online gambling. This isn’t the view that the government take on it, even though bingo is a national pastime in the UK. Yearly, gambling addiction in the UK costs millions of pounds and legislation keeps becoming harsher to combat the perils.

Bingo is more like a hobby for many players, especially if they enjoy playing for free or with social bingo apps. This facet of bingo is more concerned with plain old fun at no expense, not online gambling. Becoming addicted to bingo would be near impossible when playing for free and it wouldn’t have many real life consequences.

With licencing so strict and advertisements bearing warnings, bingo can feel like something dangerous. The percentage of players that develop problems with gambling is relatively small compared to the general population. With bingo, this percentage is even smaller than gambling as a whole – so it appears to be less of an issue than casino and sports betting.

Any form of online or offline gambling does carry a risk of addiction but playing free games means that it’s less prevalent. There are a number of things that each player can do to ensure that bingo stays fun and doesn’t become a problem. Playing in cheap or free games is one of them, as it’s more about the fun of playing rather than the jackpot at the end.

Playing with bonuses is another way to reduce the impact of bingo on your wallet too. Self-exclusion limits can also be used to ensure that you’re not topping up your account too much or too often. Bingo is a great game to play and the risks associated with it are minimal for players who are conscious about their spending.

For evidence on the hobby aspect of the game, players need only look at the popularity of games like Bingo Blitz. These ones are played for free and focus on the social aspect of the game, rather than the jackpot at the end. Bingo can be a great social experience and offers players the chance to chat and play so we’d say it’s much more on the fun side.