For years physicians and health care professionals have known that playing bingo has significant benefits, especially for seniors. Donald H. Kausler and Barry C. Kausler stated in the preface of the 2001 edition of The Graying of America: An Encyclopedia of Aging, Health, Mind and Behavior that; “playing bingo, long considered to be simply a recreational pastime for senior citizens, may actually train elderly players to improve their attentional skills”. Other studies have borne this out and recently the British Medical Association recommended that National Health Service hospitals in the UK offer patients bingo games as a respite from boredom and depression.

In 2002 Julie Winstone from the Centre for Visual Cognition at Southampton University’s Psychology Department conducted a study of bingo’s effects and concluded that bingo can help the speed and precision of short-term memory and aids in countering several aging effects. The study showed that people who played bingo regularly had better concentration abilities and better short term memory than those who did crossword puzzles or played chess, backgammon or card games like bridge. One researcher actually developed a bingo game designed to slow the effects of dementia and many doctors believe playing bingo can slow or delay the onset of Alzheimer’s disease. Many bingo news sites covered these studies thoroughly.

Online games at bingo sites have the same benefits as live bingo games. Online bingo requires the same set of skills as the live version and the games available at bingo sites are perfect for those with limited mobility. According to one bingo news site the main benefits provided by live and online bingo include;
The maintenance of memory skills
The improvement of concentration
The opportunity for social interaction

The online bingo and live bingo industries have made sure the benefits of bingo have been well publicized. Bingo news sites routinely publish new studies as they happen. The recent recommendation by the British Medical Association has received extensive coverage by bingo news websites. It has been demonstrated time and time again that bingo helps seniors to stay mentally and intellectually active providing seniors with a better overall quality of life. For seniors on a fixed income and those with limited mobility internet bingo is a good solution. No special computer skills are required and most seniors can learn the online version of the game in minutes. Who knew that seniors could stay healthy while having fun at the same time!

At most online bingo sites there is usually some sort of free bingo offer. Free online bingo has been a successful marketing strategy for online bingo sites especially during the global recession. The recession has actually been somewhat beneficial for online bingo sites as more people with less discretionary income are looking for inexpensive entertainment. Online bingo is certainly inexpensive and affordable to most and free bingo promotions have helped bingo sites attract new players. There are some differences in the types of prizes offered at free games at bingo sites.

While there are a few sites that offer totally free bingo most free bingo offers are found at pay bingo sites. Many free bingo sites give players virtual currency and will then award weekly and monthly prizes. For example a player at a free bingo site may be awarded a certain amount of virtual currency that can be used to purchase bingo cards. Any winnings will be added to the player’s account balance. At the end of a set time period, usually once a month, players may exchange the virtual winnings for an entry into a drawing for a prize. The player’s balance will then be reset to the original amount and the monthly cycle starts over again. Many of these bingo sites are supported solely by advertising and affiliate marketing.

There are some sites that actually do offer free bingo for real cash prizes. Most sites offering free bingo for cash require a player to register and establish an account. At most bingo sites the prizes in the free bingo rooms are small and the winnings cannot be withdrawn but can be used to play games in the many paid bingo rooms provided by bingo sites. Some sites that have free bingo promotional offers require new players to make a deposit before the free bingo games can be accessed. At these sited players should take advantage of the many bonuses that most online bingo sites provide to new players.

There are many free bingo offers and it is up to the player to find the best deal. Fortunately find credible information is easy and a quick Google search will reveal many website that provide online bingo reviews of the various websites and the player incentives and bonuses they provide. It really is possible to play free bingo for cash. All it takes is a little research and very little time.

Education Bingo

Ostensibly it is a game of chance that players play for the chance to win money – and sometimes these prizes can be huge. Yet playing an online bingo game, as stated in many bingo news articles, can have health benefits too, such as improved reaction-time and memory capacity. It is small wonder, then, that when bingo made its way from Italy to Germany in the mid-18th century, they recognized bingo’s potential to aid learning. Immediately it was used for educational purposes, particularly for younger children in all manner of subjects. The multi-benefits of bingo are clear, and have survived in the educational system until this very day in various guises.

Languages

Playing games is an excellent way to help young people learn different languages, and with bingo the obvious thing is numbers. In a French lesson, for example, numbers are called in French by the teacher and pupils have to recognize the numbers in order to mark them off their cards. The more French they understand the more numbers they daub and the more prizes (usually in the form of gold stars or merit marks) they will earn.

History

Rather than numbers, each bingo card is marked with dates relevant to whichever module or era is the focus of study. When a date is called, all players that have that date raise their hands, and each must name a different fact about the events on or attached to that date. This places added pressure on the pupils as answering one incorrectly or not being able to remember a fact will effectively mean that they are out of the game.

Maths

There are two popular versions of bingo in maths class. The first uses what appear to be regular numbers, but which are effectively “special” numbers such as integers or routes. When these are called pupils must name the relevance of the number in its correct capacity.

The second chief version of bingo employed in maths is to have theorems on the cards rather than numbers. However, the principal is the same as pupils must instead provide a relevant fact regarding the theory.

English Literature

For each book studied – particularly at higher levels – pupils are required to recall quotes in exam conditions. Ergo, replacing bingo numbers with explored themes or names of characters will require all students to provide a quote relevant to that theme or character.

Bingo is such an adaptable game that it can really be utilized to aid learning in any subject, including those like literature which may seems at odds with a game of numbers. The only thing upon which it relies is creativity – not only that of the students but also the teachers.

The online bingo industry is one of the few growth industries left in a dismal global economy. While the ongoing recession has hit most industries hard, online bingo is thriving and some online bingo game providers are actually adding employees to their payrolls. In the UK bingo revenues are estimated at 600 million Pounds ($864,378,655 USD). Online bingo is a close second to poker in popularity and is becoming extremely popular in continental Europe.

The 4th annual Online Bingo Summit will take place this June and is expected to draw representatives from the online bingo industry from around the globe. Attendees are expected to benefit from several discussions of topics related to online bingo sites. Guest speakers will include Simon Collins of Foxy Bingo, Santiago Asensi of Spanish firm Asensi Abogados, a law firm specializing in online gaming and betting legislation in Europe, Steve Cook Head of Sales and Marketing at Nyx Interactive, and many other top experts in the online gaming field.

The future of the online gambling industry will be discussed along with problems encountered by the industry due to the ongoing recession. Despite the recession, or perhaps because of it, online gaming grew 11% between October 2007 and November 2008. New European opportunities will also be discussed. Thanks to the ill thought out Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act passed in the US opportunities in US markets will probably not be a topic of discussion at the summit.

There will also be a question and answer session with some of the industry’s top experts and the 2nd Annual Online Bingo Industry Awards will also be presented to the lucky winners. What happens at the 4th annual summit could very well affect the future of the online bingo industry. We will be giving extensive coverage of this conference on June 16th and 17th.