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.”

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.

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.

It would appear that the US Department of Justice has reversed course when it comes to online gambling. A memo released in December said that only sports betting on the internet is prohibited by the 1961 Wire Act. Earlier in the year the DOJ seized the domains and assets of several major poker sites and one popular online bingo site. Last August players that logged onto Funtime Bingo were greeted with a DOJ logo and text that informed that the domain had been seized. The seizure was responsible for the voluntary closure of the World Bingo Network. Many other online bingo sites announced that they would no longer accept players from the United States.

The recent interpretation of the wire act opens the door to legal online bingo in the US. For years American online bingo players have been plagued by limited deposit and withdrawal options. Currently banks and credit card companies are prohibited from processing transactions related to gambling but the recent change in policy could change all that. Cooler heads at the Justice Department have prevailed and most experts say it is only a matter of time before American players will have access to major online bingo sites and casinos.

Bingo is considered to be a ‘soft’ form of gambling that carries little social stigma. The technology is already in place to address the concerns of regulators thanks to the huge online bingo community in the United Kingdom. UK policies and regulations could easily serve as a template for US regulators and the UK has had a highly successful online gaming market for years with very little trouble. Britain enjoys a thriving online bingo market and there is no reason that the success cannot be duplicated in the United States. There are several UK bingo sites that are poised to enter the US market as soon as policies regarding online bingo and gambling are clarified.

Some experts remain concerned because the DOJ is subject to changing politics as administrations change. The Attorney General of the United States is appointed by the sitting president and any administration change could bring different policies and interpretations of the online gambling laws and regulations. This could lead to another cycle of site seizures and criminal prosecutions. In the meantime American players can take comfort in the fact that there are many online bingo sites perfectly willing to provide American players with their favorite online bingo game.

Online bingo is easily one of the most affordable games on the internet. Bingo bonus codes can make the game even more inexpensive and affordable. Since there is such intense competition in the online bingo industry bingo sites often offer players special promotions that can only be accessed by bingo bonus codes. Bingo bonus codes are also used to attract new players. One of the best features of bingo bonus codes is that players get to increase the size of their bonus without having to make any extra deposits.

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Not all bingo bonus codes are the same. The most common kind of bonus code is the bingo deposit code. When players register at a bingo site they must enter the bonus code to access the bonus. Many bingo sites publish bingo bonus codes on bingo blogs and forums. Some sites will email bonus codes to their entire player database. Once the code is entered the bonus is usually deposited into the player’s account.

No deposit bonus codes can provide players with some great deals. Players using no deposit bonus codes can play free bingo games without having to make a deposit. For beginners no deposit bonus codes are a great deal enabling them to try out the site’s games and software with no risk. Games are funded with virtual cash and players can win some cool prizes. Usually there are terms and conditions associated with bongo bonus codes and these will vary from site to site. Players should always read and understand all terms and conditions associated with bingo bonus codes.

BingoHouse is well known for their generous bonuses and special deposit bonuses that can be accessed with a bonus code. Once players sign up they will receive regular bingo bonus codes that will enable them to stretch their bingo dollars.

Bingo is one of the most affordable and entertaining games online. Bingo is no longer the low states game it used to be and online bingo bears little resemblance to grandma’s bingo. Players can win tons of cash playing online bingo and even better most bingo sites offer special games, free bingo, generous deposit bonuses, tournaments and extensive selections of side games. Deposit bonuses enable players to double, triple and even quadruple their money. Loyalty schemes can put real cash into player’s accounts and in recent years most bingo operators have revamped their loyalty programs.

Loyalty programs usually award players a specific amount of loyalty points every time they play a bingo game. Every bingo game is worth a specified amount of loyalty points. Special games and tournaments may award more loyalty points than regular bingo games.  Once the loyalty points are earned they are deposited in the player’s account and may be used to purchase bingo cards and can usually be converted into cash. Some sites will award loyalty points as soon as a player signs up and creates an account. Some online bingo sites will award as many as 1,000 loyalty points to new players. Loyalty points are a way for online bingo operators to show appreciation to loyal players and thanks to intense industry competition bingo operators are awarding more loyalty points than ever. At many bingo sites players can earn large amounts of loyalty points by referring a friend. At some sites refer a friend programs are separate from loyalty points programs while at other the programs are combined.

As has been mentioned loyalty points may be converted into cash at most online bingo sites. Once enough loyalty points have been earned players can access their accounts and convert the points into cash. At some sites it takes 1,000 loyalty points to earn $1. While this may seem like a lot loyalty points are quickly earned once the player starts playing regular bingo games and participates in online bingo tournaments.

The most common use of loyalty points is to purchase free bingo cards. Players using loyalty points to purchase cards have more free chances to win money playing bingo. At most bingo sites players can enter tournaments using loyalty points. Many tournaments have huge progressive jackpots and players can win life changing amounts of cash. At some online bingo sites loyalty points can be exchanged for other prizes like electronics, jewelry and many other unique prizes. Loyalty programs are just one of many ways operators make online bingo one of the most affordable games on the net.

Bingo players use all kinds of good luck charms at bingo games. Go to just about any bingo halls and you will likely see a collection of trinkets, teddy bears, custom daubers and other objects in front of players as they busily mark their cards during games. Lucky charms are also used by online bingo players when they log on to their favorite online bingo site. Good luck charms have been a long standing tradition at bingo halls around the world. Bingo is a random game of chance and so far there has been no scientific explanation for ‘luck.’

At most bingo halls regular players have ‘lucky seats’ and get quite miffed if they find another player sitting in ‘their’ regular seat. One bingo player in Rochester New Hampshire had a very unusual good luck charm; her mother’s ashes. Diane Bozzi had played bingo games with her mother for years. Before her mother died in 2002 she suggested that her ashes may give Diane some luck at their regular bingo games. Diane promised her mother that she would take some of her ashes with her when she attended bingo games.

One night a thief was targeting parked cars and was breaking in and stealing whatever he could find. Diane’s car was broken into and the thief stole her bingo bag which contained her mother’s ashes. Diane was justifiably distraught and made an emotional plea for the thief to return her mother’s ashes. Police are also investigating the numerous thefts from cars in the area.

Diane’s heart filled plea must have had an effect on the unnamed thief. Police reported that sometime between Monday (December 12th) night and Tuesday morning (December 13th) the urn containing her mother’s ashes was returned. When Bozzi pleaded for the return of the urn containing the ashes she said that said that her mother was a bingo fan and that by taking the ashes to bingo games she was fulfilling a promise she made to her mother. Although the thief remains unknown Bozzi is grateful for the return of her mother’s ashes. Police are still investigating the thefts and hopefully the thief will be brought to justice.

If Ms. Bozzi wants to avoid future thefts she should try playing online bingo. She would not have to leave her house and the ashes would be safe.

In January of this year one popular bingo blog made predictions for online bingo in 2011. 75 and 90 ball bingo games continue to dominate at most online bingo sites. 75 ball games are popular in the US and 90 ball games are popular in the UK and Europe. Several trends were noted such as customized daubers, customized bingo callers and customized bingo cards. While all of these may not be available at all bingo sites several major bingo operators are now providing these new services that add to the fun of the game.

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Here are the top five predictions made in January 2-011. It will be interesting to see just how many of these predictions came true. The first prediction was that buzzword bingo would become more popular this year. Players take cards with catch phrases and words to business meetings and mark their cards everytime they hear one of the words or phrases. Unfortunately no one has done any real research into the popularity of the game so it is impossible to know whether this prediction came true.

The writer predicted that charity bingo games would increase in number. This prediction came true and many online bingo sites host games where the proceeds go to a chosen charity. Charity bingo games have been popular at land based bingo halls for years and the online bingo industry has jumped on the charity bingo bandwagon.

The writer predicted that the US market would open in 2-011. Unfortunately this did not happen and the US government has actually seized one major online bingo sites. Many analysts predict that no federal legislation will be forthcoming until 2013 and say that because of the presidential elections next year bingo will or any other internet gambling will be a taboo topic for politicians.

The author predicted that social networking sites like Facebook would play a greater part in the online bingo industry. Facebook recently announced plans to launch gaming applications for bingo, poker and casino games. A pilot program will be launched during the first quarter of 2012.

The author predicted that mobile bingo would be a big hit in 2011. This time he was right on the money. In fact experts say that mobile bingo will be the main driving force for growth in the bingo sector. Most major bingo operators have already launched mobile applications for iphones and Androids.

Gaming technology has evolved rapidly and online bingo and gaming operators are constantly investing in new technologies. In the not so distant past players had to download software before they were able to access online games. In most cases the software was free but downloading software from the internet carried certain risks especially at peer to peer file sharing sites. Gaming downloads enabled players to enjoy high quality graphics and sound. Today flashy and java based games have replaced most of the older downloadable games. Industry experts report that most players have a marked preference for flash based games.

Flash and java powered games give players instant access. All that is needed is an internet6 connection and a compatible browser. In recent years flash and java games have dominated the online bingo and gaming industry. The main reason for the popularity of flash and java games is their ease of use and convenience for players. Online players want instant access and the demand is filled by browser based games. Today almost 100% of all internet gambling sites use flash games. As with any technology things change and some are predicting the death of flash games.

A rise in the use of smart phones and other internet capable mobile devices are paving the way for new technologies to take over the world of online bingo and gaming. The originators of flash, Adobe, recently announced that they will no longer be developing new flash programs. Adobe said they will continue to provide bug and security updates for flash programs. Online bingo and gaming operators are concerned that current flash programs will become obsolete soon. A new version of an old technology is emerging; HTML5. HTML5 is a more universal platform and is very good news for mobile gaming operators and users.

Experts believe that HTML5 will offer a better software solution for the delivery and development of browser based gaming content. HTML5 offers advanced security features which should be of special interest to online gamblers since they make many financial transactions online. Adobe’s vice president Danny Winokur stated “HTML5 is now universally supported on major mobile devices, in some cases exclusively. This makes HTML5 the best solution for creating and deploying content in the browser across mobile platforms. We are excited about this, and will continue our work with key players in the HTML community, including Google, Apple, Microsoft and RIM, to drive HTML5 innovation they can use to advance their mobile browsers.”