Gone are the days when people had to go to Las Vegas or Atlantic City to gamble. Thanks to modern technology players today can carry a whole casino in their pockets. When smart phones first hit markets they gathered a loyal following very quickly and the industry has experienced astounding growth during the past two years. Apple led the pack with its highly innovative iPhone. The devices have become so popular that when a new product is released people will line up for blocks and even camp out all night in front of stores selling the latest devices. For the online bingo industry mobile technology has been a real blessing and has enabled bingo operators to reach a whole new player base.

Smart phones are used for a wide variety of activities. In addition to sending and receiving calls users can access social networking sites, play online bingo games, do their banking, purchase products, send text messages, get the latest stock quotes and news and play games. The only requirements are an internet connection and a signal. Users have hundreds of entertainment options at their finger tips. The mobile gaming industry now has its own trade organizations and awards. This year the mobile gaming awards will be held in Barcelona, Spain at the 2012 Mobile World Congress.

Nominees were selected in six categories. The categories include best casual game, best real world game, best sports game, best mobile social game, excellence in game play and most innovative game. The mobile industry professionals charged with selecting the nominees have already met in Marseille, France. The group included professionals from the game development sector, writers and journalists from mobile gaming blogs and sites and the mobile gaming hardware sector. Winners in each category will be awarded $130,000 worth of free publicity.

Maarten Noyons, CEO and founder International Mobile Gaming Awards is optimistic about the future of mobile gaming and told reporters “We have had an unprecedented response for this year’s awards. We see a trend of very high quality, big productions coming to the mobile platform, and on the other hand, a lot of fresh, innovative, casual games. The eighth IMGA shows a wealth of new ideas and ground-breaking quality coming from studios all over the world. I would like to congratulate each of the developers that have games nominated and thank everyone who submitted games to the awards.” A dozen jurors will met in Barcelona to play the nominated games. No doubt the online bingo industry will be represented at the awards ceremony.

Last week the world of social gaming was in turmoil after two game developers accused Zynga of copying their games. This is not the first time the well known social gaming company has been accused of copying the games of other developers. Buffalo Studios, founded in 2010, accused Zynga of copying its popular ‘Bingo Blitz’ game. Salim Mith, Buffalo Studios’ vice president of product marketing and operations told internet gambling magazine VentureBeat “We wanted to alert you to the striking similarities between Zynga’s recently announced game to our game Bingo Blitz.” Mith explained that Zynga copies several aspects of the game, including, themed bingo rooms cities, and “powerups.”

Mark Pincus, chief executive officer at Zynga, was quick to respond to the accusations and denied that Zynga had copied Buffalo Studio’s popular online bingo game. Pincus turned the accusation around and said that Buffalo Studios actually borrowed ideas from Zynga. Zynga alleges that Bingo Blitz is copied from one of Zynga’s earlier games. Pincus told interviewers “It was a little ironic to look at Bingo Blitz. Pull that lens back. Look at our game Poker Blitz (comparisons below), and then Bingo Blitz, you see striking similarities in those pictures.” Pincus added “You can go back to (Zynga’s) FarmVille. Look at Farm Town and say, ‘Those pictures are troubling. They look too similar.’ But you pull the lens back again, and you see Farm Town next to My Farm, and next to Happy Farm, and next to (Zynga’s) YoVille. What you see is a series of games innovating on top of each other. You see Farm Town had a very similar avatar to YoVille.” Buffalo Studios launched their online bingo game ‘Bingo Blitz about a year ago. Currently it is the number 1 bingo game on Facebook and has over 1 million daily players.

It seems that lately there has been an epidemic of copycat charges in the social gaming world. Earlier in the week game developer Spry Fox announced that it was going to sue 6waves Lolapps for copyright infringement. Spry Fox alleges that 6waves Lolapps copied the company’s popular game Triple Town by creating Yeti Town. Pincus pointed out that game developers routinely ‘reimagine’ current games. Pincus stated “We think there is a massive body of work in the video game industry that is going to be reimagined for decades to come in a way that is free, accessible and social. That’s what we’re doing. I don’t think anyone should be surprised when they see us come out with games that they’ve seen before, a decade or more ago. I don’t think there are a lot of totally new games that are invented. We always try. But to us, they are like the crew mechanic in our games. They give you a new way to interact with your friends.”

Bingo is a popular game on both sides of the Atlantic and attracts millions of players each year. For many new players a first visit to a bingo hall of an online bingo site can be intimidating. Many new players ask themselves; what are the rules? How should I act? What are the standards of bingo etiquette? That first visit does not have to be unnerving if you follow a few simple rules. Leaning bingo rules and etiquette is probably the most steps any player can take on their way to being a well liked and respected bingo player. Although no two bingo halls operate the same way there are some standard rules applicable to all bingo halls. Some players get annoyed by new players and their actions; how they react to winning, sitting in the ‘wrong’ chairs and any disruptive behavior. ‘False bingos’ are probably the most annoying mistakes made by new players but fortunately this usually happens only once.

New players at land based bingo halls should be aware that some players consider certain seats ‘lucky.’ If you are sitting in another player’s regular spot it is best to move to another chair. Fortunately most bingo players are very friendly and welcoming but there are certain riles that should not be broken. Some of these rules also apply to online bingo.

1.    Before playing familiarize yourself with the rules of the bingo hall or online bingo site. Knowing the rules and etiquette can make your bingo experience more enjoyable for you and everyone else.

2.    Do not say or do anything that could get you banned from the hall or bingo site. Obnoxious comments and intentionally distracting other players is unacceptable. Never disrupt the conversation at online bingo chat rooms. Never try to alter a bingo card at a live bingo hall. Your reputation as a player is up to you to establish.

3.    As has been mentioned watch out for ‘lucky’ seats in live bingo halls. Many players are very particular about where they sit during games. If you are asked to move do so gracefully.

4.    Bingo is a social game and most players will be happy to help new players learn the ropes and bingo lingo. In live bingo halls it is considered bad form to talk during games.

5.    Never parrot the numbers called in live bingo halls. It is annoying to everyone around you and you will be asked to quiet down.

6.    Don’t play when you are in a bad mood. If you are tired and angry you will make mistakes and be bad company for the other players.

7.    Be a good loser. Chances are you will win at another time. 96% of all bingo players say they have won at least one game. Do not take out your frustrations on the game’s caller.

8.    Try not to call any false bingos. It disrupts the game and the other players will be annoyed.

In a move that could change the face of the British casino industry gaming giant Rank, who own several Mecca bingo halls and Grosvenor casinos in the UK, announced a takeover bid for Gala Coral casino operations. If the deal is successful Gala will focus in its land based and online bingo operations.  Currently Gala Coral is run by creditors led by Apollo Global Management LLC. Rank is offering Gala 250 million pounds ($393 million USD at current exchange rates) for Gala’s 24 casino outlets. A report in the venerable Sunday Times indicated that the talks were at an advanced stage. The acquisition will accelerate Rank’s plans to have 45 Grosvenor casinos in operation by the end of 2015. Rank plans to roll out the company’s G Casino format which is designed to attract younger, less formal gamblers.

The sale will allow Gala Coral to concentrate in the firm’s bingo and bookmaking operations in the UK. Some say Rank’s new venture is risky and may be blocked by government regulators. Rank will become the UK’s largest casino operator but the deal will have to pass muster by the Competition Commission. If the deal is successful 105 of Britain’s 140 casinos will be run by one company. The Office of Fair Trading investigated all deals where the takeover target has an annual turnover of £70 million pounds or more. The Fair Trading Office refers cases to the Competition Commission. Last year Gala’s casinos took in £134.4 million and Rank’s Grosvenor casinos were even more profitable and made £238.6 million last year. The Office of Fair Trade said they will make no moves until a deal is announced.

Not everyone is pleased about the takeover. Analyst Daniel Stewart told reporters “If you have two operators controlling the market for the land-based casinos, that doesn’t make for a healthy market.” The first reports indicated that the deal may be done by February 9th but insiders say that most likely the deal will not be finished until the end of the month. Many analysts say that Gala has been ripe for a takeover since a debt restructuring deal in 2010 saw lenders left with Gala shares. At the time the deal fueled speculation that Rank would make a takeover move on Gala. Currently the Mecca bingo hall owner is backed by Malaysian billionaire Quek Leng Chan. Malaysian-owned Genting is the market leader and operates 46 gaming sites. The company was formerly known as Stanley Leisure.

Last week gaming giant Zynga launched their new Facebook bingo application. The company is hoping to cash in on the popularity of online bingo which generates millions in revenue annually. The launch of Zynga’s bingo game was well publicized. It is hard to imagine a controversial bingo game but this week another company has accused Zynga of copying its popular Facebook game Bingo Blitz. This is not the only time Zynga has been accused of copying. According to an article in PC Mag Zynga’s latest game, Dream Heights bears a close resemblance to 2011’s iPhone game of the year.

A three person team at NimbleBit, which makes Tiny Tower, says that Zynga has copied the popular game. IPhone game developer Ian Marsh who works at NimbleBit posted an open letter to Zynga on Twitter. The letter read “Dear Zynga (all 2,789 of you),” the letter reads. “We noticed you are about to launch a new iPhone game called Dream Heights! Congratulations! We wanted to thank you guys for being such big fans of our iPhone game of the year Tiny Tower. Good luck with your game, we are looking forward to inspiring you with our future games! Sincerely, (all three of us) NimbleBit.”

Another game developer has also accused Zynga of copying their game. Buffalo Studios is the developer of the popular Facebook game Bingo Blitz. The game has over 1 million daily users on Facebook. The company created a side by side comparison with Zynga’s new online bingo game and claims that Zynga has “obviously played” Bingo Blitz. As part of Buffalo’s comparison the company said it was inspired by Ian Marsh’s Twitter post. In a letter Buffalo Studios stated “Hello Zynga. We are moved that your new game was so inspired by our innovative product, Bingo Blitz. You’ve obviously played our game Bingo Blitz a lot,” it continues. “Please tell your thousands of employees and shareholders that we hope they enjoy playing the games we’re cooking up next!”

Recently several accusations of ‘cloning’ have been made by other companies. Spry Fox, the developer of Triple Town, has filed a copyright infringement suit against game developer 6Waves Lolapps. Spry Fox claims that 6Waves Lolapps game Yeti Town is a “blatant copy of Triple Town.’ A spokesperson for Zynga did not immediately respond to inquiries by PC Mag. The accusations have created quite a stir in the internet gambling world and blog posts are full of accusations and counter accusations.

Because of the way modern slots work they are a perfect fit for the internet gambling industry. Unlike the old classic ‘one armed bandits’ of yesteryear online slots do not need levers or gears. A random number generator determines winning combinations every millisecond. Even better online slots now have larger jackpots than ever. Online slots have several advantages over their counterparts at land based casinos. Online bingo sites and casinos do not have to maintain a team of specialists to fix broken slot machines and do not have to spend millions purchasing rows of slots. Online casinos only need a single employee to program the games. The money saved is passed along to the player in the form of bigger jackpots, bonuses and other player perks.

At some land based casinos slots generate about 70% of all revenues and are the most popular games on most casino floors. At some online bingo sites slots account for over half of all revenues. For those in rural areas with no local access to a casino online slots are a perfect solution and provide the same excitement as land based slots. In the past slot jackpots were small but this is no longer the case. Today online slots can be networked producing some amazing jackpots. Most networked slots feature progressive jackpots that grow with each spin.

Today slots can offer some substantial jackpots. Recently a player at a popular UK online bingo sites scored a £21,336.78 ($33,570.22 USD at current exchange rates) win playing slots. For many online bingo players slots, scratch cards, roulette and other casino games provide a pleasant diversion from online bingo games. Over the years there have been some amazing slot wins. At one online casino a $6 bet produced an astounding $8,500,000 jackpot. The jackpot was won by a player known as Giorgios M playing Mega Moolah.  Another lucky Mega Moolah player from Finland scored a $5,000,000jackpot. Even more amazing is the $300,000 jackpot won by a Canadian player just six minutes after signing up at an online casino!

Online bingo sites offer classic three reel slots and modern five reel multi payline slots with various themes. There are several online bingo sites that offer Mega Moolah and other mega jackpot progressive slot games. Most online bingo players will take a break every so often and will play slots and other side games for a change of pace. Players have won astounding sums of money and because of the random nature of slot games the next big winner could be you!

For months social gaming company Zynga said that a bingo game was in the works. On January 26th Zynga released their long awaited bingo game in beta to a small group of players. Eventually the game will be available on Facebook to millions of users. The new game is similar to other online bingo games and features great graphics and unique features. The Zynga game is a traditional 75 ball bingo game. Players can earn cards, coins and keys to move up levels and unlock other bingo rooms in the game. The bingo rooms include “Vegas Lights,” “FarmVille Bounty,” and “Pirates Paradise.” In a statement Zynga said “Right now, we’re only letting a limited number of people into the game to make sure our players are getting a primo, Zynga Bingo experience, before officially open the floodgates.”

Players can play a maximum of six cards simultaneously and there is no limit on how many people players can play against. Facebook friends can help players by giving them tiles on the “friends boost meter” and their Facebook picture will then be used as a chip on the bingo board. Other game features include real time chat, themed rooms and a Zynga Casino navigation bar that allows players to move easily from Zynga bingo to other Zynga games such as Texas HoldEm Poker or other Zynga Casino games. At a press conference a Zynga spokesman declined to discuss any future additional related to the Zynga Casino interface. Zynga bingo was created by a team led by Senior Producer Nicole Opas.

Zynga has added some features not common to typical online bingo games. The games were designed for younger players and have options and features not common at most online bingo sites. Players will be able to see what bingo rooms their Facebook friends are in. As has been mentioned the games will take place in themed bingo rooms. In the Vegas Lights room bingo balls shoot out of a classic Cadillac. The Pirate’s Paradise room features include a pirate map, golden coins, and a treasure chest. In the Farmville Bounty room players will be able to play inside scenes from Zynga’s wildly popular FarmVille.

Recently it was revealed that Zynga may enter the real money internet gambling industry. Late last year a spokesman for the company said that Zynga was not interested in real money gaming. Since Facebook has over 800 million users the potential for Zynga can easily be seen.

The holiday season has come and gone and during the Christmas and New Year’s holidays most online bingo sites roll out their best promotions of the year. There are special holiday themes bingo games, generous bonus offers, bingo tournaments, new holiday slot games and special prizes and jackpots. At most online bingo sites the New Year’s promotions last through the month of January. The next big holiday is Valentine’s Day and bingo operators are getting ready for this yearly day of romance.

For most people Valentine’s Day is about Love, Flowers, Romance, Chocolates, jewelry, special gifts and pampering your significant other. Every year online bingo sites join in the spirit of this romantic holiday. Although many people see no connection between online bingo and romance nothing could be further from the truth. There have been marriage proposals in chat rooms and several there have been several cases of an online bingo flirtation leading to a full blown romance resulting in a wedding.

In 2010 Suzanne Latta, 28, and her groom Matt Brown, 37, won £5000 towards the cost of their wedding after entering a competition sponsored by an online bingo site. The bingo site had offered the cash prize to any couple willing to feature the site’s logo on the bride’s wedding dress. The online bingo operator also wanted the groom to put a small logo on his suit and on the bottom of his shoes so it would be visible as he knelt at the church’s altar. Unfortunately they ran into a vicar who was a bit of a fuddy duddy.

Rev Tony Watts banned the logo from the wedding saying it encouraged gambling. When the contest was announced the Church of England said that couples should think twice about sponsored weddings. A spokesman for the church said “It seems like the latest in a long line of themed weddings. Presumably at the end someone shouts ‘House! But it might not be the best way to start out in what should be a permanent relationship.” The move by the vicar generated a lot of controversy and a majority said they thought the wedding should be allowed to take place.

Other online bingo romances have had happier results. At one popular UK online bingo site players Tracey and Chris met in a chat room. The couple started chatting and eventually exchanged phone numbers. After several conversations the couple decided to meet in person. Both described their meeting as love at first site. They courted for two years and finally Chris proposed and Tracy said yes. The couple has been happily married since 2011.

Last night all eyes were on Obama during his annual State of the Union address before congress. The state of the union address is a longstanding tradition in the United States and the first address was delivered by George Washington in 1790. During the speech the president reports on the condition of the country and also allows the president to outline his legislative agenda for the coming year. Since this is a presidential election year Mr. Obama’s speech attracted more attention than usual. While watching the speech many viewers engaged in an annual tradition; State if the Union bingo games.

In Westchester County New York Republicans met at the Horse & Hound restaurant in South Salem to watch Mr. Obama deliver his address. They also had a little fun at the President’s expense. This is the second year the GOP has held this event in Westchester County. The game was organized by Luke Vander Linden, vice chair of the Bedford Republican Committee. Vander Linden told local reporters “It’s an opportunity to get everyone to come together and have a little fun. This is our second one and we’d like to make it a tradition.” Vander Linden went on to say that the game is a chance for like minded people to get together. Vander Linden stated “We respect the office. We want to see what he has to say.”

One of the highlights of the event was a game of ‘Obama bingo.’ Players were given a card with various catch phrases such as “Economy,” “Green Jobs,” “Fair Share,” and others commonly used by the president. If Obama used one of the phrases players marked their cards. State of the Union bingo games are not the sole domain of the opposition party. There are State of the Union bingo games available for those of varying political beliefs. Many people in both political camps attended State of the Union parties where the special bingo games were played. Bingo cards could be downloaded from several political websites and a few online bingo sites also got in on the action.

One thing is for sure in Washington; political rhetoric is never in short supply. One newspaper asked readers to supply buzzwords and catch phrases to be used in their State of the Union bingo game. Some bars and clubs held bipartisan events which offered state of the union bingo games as part of the evening’s entertainment.

Weeks ago a spokesman for Zynga indicated that the social media gaming company was not interested in real money gaming. Recent news reports indicate that the company has reversed course and is  exploring the possibilities of real money online gaming. Zynga already has a popular poker game and 7 million people play poker using Zynga’s app daily. Zynga has also announced that they will launch an online bingo application in the near future. For those unfamiliar with the company Zynga is a San Francisco based social network based game developer. Zynga develops browser based games that are available on social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace. In November 2-011 it was reported that Zynga’s games on Facebook have about 200 million active users. Facebook has an estimated 800 million users so the potential for real money gaming can easily be seen.

The online gambling market has been volatile since the United States passed draconian anti internet gambling legislation in 2006. The legality of online bingo and poker has shifted several times over the past two years. In December the US department of justice gave the online gambling industry an early Christmas in the form of a decision that may clear the way for states to offer online games such as online bingo games and poker. The DOJ’s decision was the result of a query from New York and Illinois about the legality of online lottery ticket sales. The DOJ sand that the 1961 wire act only bans sports betting and that other games are legal.

Zynga is a relatively new company and since their initial IPO went nowhere the company wants to enter the world of real money gaming. Zynga poker is a big hit and could allow them to transition to real money gaming easily. A Zynga spokesman stated “We build games and experiences that our players want and love. Zynga Poker is the world’s largest online poker game with more than 7 million people playing every day and over 30 million each month. We know from listening to our players that there’s an interest in the real money gambling market. We’re in active conversations with potential partners to better understand and explore this new opportunity.”

Zynga could use the new revenue stream. According to an article in Forbes Zynga is losing $150 on each customer. Sterne Agee interactive media analyst Arvind Bhatia said that Zynga has to spend $300 on every new player they acquire but currently Zynga is only spending $150 . Although some analysts say that the company is unstable and the new venture is risky Zynga could use the extra cash. Zynga is planning to combing Zynga poker and bingo into a Zynga Casino which will offer several betting games. Zynga also faces stiff competition from established online gaming sites. The move carries additional risk because, as several analysts have pointed out, the department of justice could reverse course if a new administration takes over in Washington.