The Scottish cleaner that won the biggest bingo jackpot in history is now facing bankruptcy. Former cleaner Soraya Lowell is struggling with a massive debt load less than four years after she won a £1.2 million ($1,848,391.80 USD) National Bingo Game jackpot. The jackpot is the largest bingo win on record. In the past Lowell has been extremely lucky. She won a £43,000 ($67.1416 USD) when she was a member of a lottery syndicate.  Earlier this year news reports indicated that Lowell had been evicted from her £150,000 ($234,274.13 USD) home and moved back to her old residence, a £35,000 ($54,735.70 USD) council house.  The Bank of Scotland seized her home.

Now Lowell and her husband Frankie are being taken to court by the South Lanarkshire Council over unpaid bills. According to the council the couple owes debts of £13,214. ($ 20,356.46 USD) Lawyers for the council are demanding payment putting Lowell in a very bad financial position. The council claims that Soraya owes £6526 ($10,056.70 USD) and Frankie £6688. ($10,306.64 USD)They also want the couple to pay £381 ($587.28 USD) each for legal expenses. A sheriff delayed the case until February after he heard that the couple is trying to find a solution to the crisis. The couple did not appear at a court hearing.

Soraya, of Hamilton, Lanarkshire, made national bingo news after she scooped the massive bingo jackpot in 2008 when she won the National Bingo game jackpot at the Club 3000 bingo hall in Coatbridge. Lowell had a long standing agreement with neighbor, bingo buddy and friend Agnes O’Neill to split any bingo winnings evenly. Lowell made good on her promise after her big win. At the time Lowell told reporters “A deal’s a deal. I’d never go back on it.” O’Neill also talked to reporters and said “There wouldn’t have been any malice from me if Soraya had decided to keep the money, but she insisted. She’s just brilliant. I don’t keep (house) well and she does absolutely everything for me.” Unfortunately O’Neill died two months after her windfall.

O’Neill’s widower, John, said he was sorry to hear of Lowell’s plight. O’Neill stated “It’s sad. I’d heard rumours they had money troubles but they never spoke to me about it.” At the bankruptcy hearing at Hamilton Sheriff Court it was revealed that Soraya and Frankie had applied to join a debt settlement agreement. The National bingo game is available as an online bingo game and the jackpots are still huge. Hopefully the next big winner will have better money management skills.

Winter arrived somewhat early in the UK and storms with wind speeds up to 65mph were reported. Flights were canceled, motorists found themselves stranded and train traffic was halted in some places. Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland experienced the worst weather and 87 people were stranded on a ferry off Aberdeen Scotland. Many meteorologists are predicting even more severe weather throughout the winter of 2010-11. Bingo clubs were hard hit by the severe weather and many bingo halls reported that attendance was down as much as 80%. A survey taken by the bingo portal Bingo Supermarket showed that about one in ten bingo halls had closed for at least one day during the storms.

Bingo clubs in Scotland were the hardest hit and most bingo clubs reported empty halls as people stayed home. In Yorkshire the storms caused public transportation issues making it difficult for bingo players to attend their regular bingo games. A recent survey showed that out of 50 bingo halls at least 7 had closed their doors during the inclement weather. Bingo giant Gala closed its Castleford and the closure of a Gala bingo club is a rare event. Some club managers said that Health and Safety issues were adding to the problems caused by the storm. In years past it was common for bingo club employees to clear the snow and ice from sidewalks and entrances but these days the fear of frivolous lawsuits has caused most bingo clubs to have a strict policy of not touching the ice and snow making it even more difficult for players.

While land based bingo clubs were suffering from the effects of the storms online bingo game providers were smiling. The storms sent many bingo players online to play at one of the many bingo sites serving the UK market. During the winter of 2009 a severe snowstorm caused a rapid increase in traffic to online bingo sites. During the recent storms many bingo sites are reporting a similar increase in traffic. The huge increase in revenue will also please investors and thanks to the storms bingo providers expect good fourth quarter profits. Bingo fans can play their favorite game and stay warm and comfortable at internet bingo sites and do not have to venture out to attend bingo games. Best of all people who play internet bingo games can win some serious cash which is sure to add to holiday cheer!

Since the internet is international in scope most people are likely to encounter various foreign currencies. Online bingo players are likely to encounter three major currencies; the British Pound, the Euro and the US dollar. Although there are many bingo sites catering to American audiences some US players prefer to play at British or European bingo sites because of the security and regulation of bingo sites in the UK and Europe. In the UK bingo sites are regulated by the Gaming Commission and in Europe bingo sites must follow strict regulations set by the European Union. US citizens playing at these sites are likely to see jackpots and prizes denominated in Pounds or Euros which may cause a little confusion.

There is no need to worry. There are several free currency converters that will instantly convert any currency using up to the minute data on current currency exchange rates. One of the best free online currency converters is the XE Universal Currency Converter. This free tool will instantly convert any currency. Many online bingo sites offer players the option to use several currencies to play games. Keep in mind that some bingo sites will add a slight charge for the convenience. In addition some of the exchange rates used by some bingo sites may not be up to date. Since most bingo jackpots do not involve large amounts of money an unfavorable exchange rate will not cause any significant loss for the player.

Online bingo games are incredibly popular throughout the UK and British bingo providers have turned online bingo into a fine art. There are now over 400 bingo sites serving the needs of British and Irish players. In contrast Americans have a somewhat limited selection thanks to ridiculous federal laws against online gaming. To attract these US based players several bingo sites now offer a selection of currencies and instant conversion. Many bingo sites make it a point to advertise their multi currency games.

Thanks to the proliferation of new bingo sites in the UK bingo providers are spending massive amounts on Holiday bingo promotions, special games and great prizes. Jackpots of thousands of pounds or dollars are now common and online bingo recently produced its first bingo millionaire! Fortunately there are still many UK bingo sites that welcome American players. Most of these sites now offer games in dollars making the use of a currency converter unnecessary.

Many players at online bingo sites have experienced connectivity issues from time to time. During storms the internet can go out in the middle of a game or an internet service provider may experience technical issues causing an internet connection to be lost. Losing an internet connection in the middle of a game can be frustrating especially if the player is one number away from a bingo. Wireless connections can be particularly annoying and are relatively common. Accidentally kicking the power cord can be another cause of lost connectivity.

Fortunately for online bingo players most bingo sites have a feature that will recognize a lost connection even if a player does not have the auto save feature turned on. The auto daub feature will keep working even if the player has lost their internet connection. If the game is won while the internet connection is interrupted the player will still be credited with the win and winnings will be automatically deposited into the player’s account. Keep in mind that there are some internet bingo sites that do not offer this feature making it extremely important for the player to check to make sure their chosen bingo site offers this important feature. Just make sure your bingo site supports auto play in case of a disconnection.

The system employed by most bingo sites will record both wins and losses in case of lost service. Players who intentionally pull the plug on a game they are losing will find the loss recorded. Most bingo sites require players to purchase cards in advance of games. The auto same and auto daub features allow players to multi task while playing. Busy mothers can attend to their children’s needs and will find their bingo cards correctly marked and any wins or losses recorded. Both of these features make bingo popular with busy moms.

Most bingo sites like BingoBoat use software that will allow the card to be marked without interruption. Players who wish to discontinue playing are generally required to log out. Logging out tells the site’s software that the discontinuation is intentional and not accidental. In addition most bingo sites use state of the art security software to prevent fraud and theft. Sensitive banking information is encrypted and is on a secure server for the player’s protection. So the next time an internet connection is lost in the middle of a game don’t freak out; rest assured the site is still playing your game and any winnings will not be lost!

There are a large number of bingo review sites online but just how reliable are they? How does a potential internet bingo player find an independent source of information with unbiased bingo reviews? Bingo site reviews can be a very helpful source of information for novice online bingo players and can help new players to avoid some very unpleasant experiences. The good news is that there are many reputable sources of information but the bad news is that players may have to sift through several pages during a search to find these independent websites.

Many online bingo providers have set up blogs and bingo review sites to promote their games and for SEO (search engine optimization) purposes. Without getting too technical SEO is a process of improving a website’s visibility using techniques that will make a particular site rank high in search results. Most of these review sites and blogs are easy to recognize by their obvious promotion of a particular bingo site or sites.  Most sites owned by bingo providers will have several ads promoting a specific site and will usually contain articles and content promoting the various bingo bonuses and promotions of that provider’s website.

In contrast to promotional websites are the truly independent bingo review sites. Generally these sites will contain reviews of websites owned by many bingo providers and will contain unbiased bingo reviews. Many independent bingo review sites have forums where players discuss their experiences, good and bad, that they have had at the many bingo sites online. Forums are one of the best sources of information for new players. If a player has been defrauded by a bingo site or has had deposit and withdrawal issues they will post their experiences for all to see. There are people who post in forums promoting specific websites pretending to be players but most webmasters are pretty proactive about removing these kinds of comments and posts.

Many bingo review sites will rate sites using a grading system of some sort and the better bingo review sites will give a thorough explanation for their grades. Reviews written by real players are probably the most accurate reviews. Players should try to avoid blatant testimonials and read bingo reviews written by those who have actually played the games at a particular bingo site. Players should be sure to check reviews dealing with bonuses offered by most bingo sites. Most of these bonuses come with very specific terms and conditions and a well written review can help new players avoid unpleasant experiences associated with misunderstanding the terms and conditions of bingo bonuses. There are many reputable independent bingo review sites online and new players can find out just about anything they need to know about any bingo site.

Baseball is commonly referred to as America’s ‘national pastime.’ There is hardly one American who has not played baseball at one time or another. Professional baseball teams have attracted passionate followers who show up en masse to cheer their favorite teams. In the UK some believe a new national pastime has emerged-bingo. Since the end of World War Two, bingo has been one of the most popular games in the UK and recent reports indicate that bingo is now the most popular and played game online in the UK. Bingo giants such as Mecca and Gala are well established bingo brands in the UK and most urban centres have large bingo halls with well attended games.

More than three million people play bingo every week in the UK. Despite setbacks like the national smoking ban and the double taxation of bingo halls the game is holding its own and the internet bingo industry is constantly expanding in the UK. The online bingo game industry now brings in over a billion dollars a year and that figure is expected to double before 2012. For women in the UK between the ages of 20-25 bingo, both land based and online, is the most popular leisure activity destroying once and for all the perception that bingo is a game for pensioners and little old ladies.  Recent estimates say that 85% of all online bingo players are women.  This has not gone unnoticed by the bingo industry and most marketing campaign are aimed at women.

Worldwide there are about 100 million bingo players but the UK remains the world’s largest bingo market. UK bingo players seem to prefer 90 ball bingo over the traditional 75 ball version of the game. Land based bingo giants Gala and Mecca have gone online to take advantage of the rapidly growing online bingo market. The UK is the only country with a national bingo game and is also the only country that has produced bingo millionaires thanks to the national bingo game. The UK is also the only country with celebrity sponsored bingo games. Two years ago experts predicted that online bingo would be a billion dollar a year business and the industry has exceeded expectations and poised for even more growth and expansion. In fact statistics show that revenues of online bingo sites are doubling every two years and most experts say the trend will continue. Bingo is truly a ‘national pastime’ in the UK.

Playing bingo online is a popular form of leisure and entertainment.  There’s simply no question that the number bingo sites and game rooms has drastically increased over the past couple of years.  There are a number of reasons for this.  For one thing, people are trying to save on gas money and therefore seek entertainment at home.  Some love the game of bingo but don’t have the time to go out and play it. Many players are shy and prefer to play in the comfort of their own homes.

If you want to give bingo online sites a try, you need to consider a few things.  The most obvious thing you should do is research, to ensure that the sites you’re interested in are properly regulated and licensed.  Check out bingo directories to read bingo reviews on various sites to find out which ones are the best.

Another thing you should check into is the game selection of a site.  Are there at least a dozen or so games to choose from?  The best sites, such as Bingo Boat, offer not just a variety of bingo games, but slots, video poker, etc. as well.  This is important because, if you want to invest a lot of time in a good site, you need to do so without worrying about boredom!

If you’re worried about going broke over playing bingo online, you’ll be glad to know that many sites give out free bonuses points that can be used for playing.  It’s only considered to be a form of soft gambling, in which most people don’t become addicted.  Plus, most bingo cards/tickets are cheap, usually only costing a few cents each.

Many people base their decision on the size of the bonus a bingo site offers.  While this is certainly an important aspect, it’s not the most important.  Don’t sign up for a site solely because it offers a huge welcome bonus, or else you may find yourself trapped into a wagering requirement if you win a prize.  Make sure you carefully read over a site before signing up to play an online bingo game.

These are just a few things to keep in mind when deciding which bingo site is right for you.