European online gaming companies, including a few who no doubt offer an online bingo option, are not passing up the opportunity to stick it to the US over that country’s ungainly attempts to withdraw itself from its WTO online gambling obligations.

What started out as an attempt by the small island nation of Antigua to get some fair play from the US over its controversial implementation of its draconian UIGEA laws has now morphed into a possible $100 billion compensation claim by EU member states.

At the forefront of this campaign are those European online gaming companies that took a beating over being shut out from the US market late last year.  And fair enough!  The US got itself into this mess and now it’s going to have to get itself out of it. Those of us in the free online bingo industry can fully appreciate the ironic justice facing the US over this issue.

My question though is, if the US stumps up $100 billion, then who gets it? Will any of us in the bingo online industry be a party to this pay out?

Written by John Witherspoon – Need the best online bingo games? BingoStreet.com collected the best online bingo promotions and free bingo games online.

So, the new Osbournes game has finally been revealed to the world!  But where’s the bingo?

I ask this because, unlike the claims by some, this is not the first time the Osbournes have entered into the world of online gambling – no, some of us remember when Sharon Osbourne was the smiling face of Gala Bingo, one of the better online bingo halls to be found on Bingo Street.

This new “Osbournes� game is the latest offering by games developer Microgaming and is a video slots-style affair.  Oh well, I guess it was too much to ask for a full-on Osbournes online bingo game.  At least we now know what Sharon left Gala for.

Written by John Witherspoon – Interested in free online bingo? Our great online bingo portal gives all the info you need.

A rather disturbing piece of news coming out of the US has come to my attention today, something all online bingo operators should take note of in my opinion.

In the US, the Mississippi Gaming Commission have reportedly been staging raids on Internet cafes in the state and confiscating computers without having to inform the owners why.  This is an astonishing development and must send a chill down the spine of those who still consider the US to be the ‘Land of the Free’.

Local speculation about the raids has linked the activity to a crackdown on Internet gambling.  As of writing, there is no official confirmation of this, though it goes without saying you would not want to be running an online bingo hall in the Mississippi at this time.

While I do keep an eye on developments in the US relating to bingo online and the online bingo community as a whole, I am starting to wonder just where the US is going with these draconian policies. How long before online bingo and the online gambling industry is linked to terrorism as justification for destroying a person’s business?  It’s times like this that I’m glad to be elsewhere.

Written by John Witherspoon – Come and read all about the online bingo world. BingoStreet’s online bingo news section serves the freshest info of the industry.

So, the US is so keen to maintain its UIGEA legislation that it’s willing to horsetrade itself out of it WTO obligations to the tune of possibly billions of dollars. Why am I not surprised?

Challenged under its WTO obligations to allow foreign companies access to its online gambling markets, the US has simply decided to withdraw from its obligations and buy itself out by compensating any claimants. Online bingo halls and operators of free online bingo games in Europe will be permanently shut out of the US market if this goes ahead.

But here’s my question: If the EU and the US come to an agreement on how much the US is going to pay to withdraw from its WTO obligations, do the affected industries, such as the online bingo industry get a cut of that money?

This is, quite obviously, highly unlikely. But who does get the loot?

Also, one has to hope that at least Europe doesn’t allow itself to get stiffed by taking payment in increasingly worthless US dollars.

Written by John Witherspoon – Become a part of a great online bingo community. Play online bingo chat games at BingoStreet.com

Does online bingo constitute a threat to the land-based bingo industry as a whole?  Indications are that the powers-that-be in land-based bingo are having trouble dealing with the emergence andimplications of online bingo in the UK’s bingo market.

The UK’s Bingo Association runs a magazine called Bingo Link which it provides in PDF format from its website.  The magazine does not really cover online bingo except to comment on its effects on the overall land-based bingo industry – occasionally.

In the latest edition, an article with the headline “Online sector offers a little encouragement at AGM�, is the sole coverage offered regarding online bingo’s effects.  Statistics relating to online bingo in the artical show:

“… around 31 million Britons are online each month – spending a significant amount of time using internet applications or surfing web pages. Out of those surfers, 84 per cent visit some form of entertainment site and 21 per cent visit a gambling or sweepstakes site.�

These stats were provided by Tom Aquaviva of Nielsen /Netratings, and internet research firm. They show a definite trend in people moving towards online options for their entertainment.  Mr Aquaviva is quoted in the article as saying:

“Aquaviva summed up the current mood among operators in relation to the online sector. He told the conference: ‘There’s a certain amount of angst about the online space and what it’s going to mean for your businesses and that’s a question that I deal with in every conference I go to, whether you’re in bingo, consumer electronics or grocery. The internet is something that every business has to deal with. It’s something that is a double-edged sword. It’s a big risk but it’s a big opportunity.’

The unfortunate thing is that people looking for the opportunities offered by the online version of this very popular form of entertainment will find precious little in the Bingo Association’s output.  Bingo is undergoing a change, similar to the change in telecommunications that saw the emergence of the mobile phone as a viable alternative to land-line phones.  Land-line phones are unlikely to go away, but mobile phone technology is here to stay.

Free online bingo operators and online bingo halls will take customers away from land-based bingo – this is undoubted.  But it’s time for the industry to look for the advantages in this and not try to find ways to fight it.  After all, it’s still all about bingo, whichever way you look at it.

Written by John Witherspoon – Visit the best UK online bingo site. Bingostreet.com is your ultimate source for the best bingo games online.

It’s been a fairly interesting week for those of us taking an interest in all thing’s online bingo.  However, for the online gambling industry as a whole, the release of the UK Gambling Commission’s Prevalence report proved to be the most interesting development affecting bingo online.

Like any other form of online gaming, free online bingo has its share of players who get themselves into trouble by gambling more than they can afford.  The release of the Gambling Commission’s report was widely believed to hold figures proving that problem gambling in the UK had increased since 1998, due in large part to the emergence of online gaming options like online bingo.

In fact, the report offered no such evidence and instead concluded that problem gambling has remained static since 1998 with no discernable increase since then.

While it’s hard to resist a certain amount of smugness in the results given the alarming predictions by certain anti-online gambling lobby groups, operators of online bingo halls and free online bingo games need to maintain their vigilance in the area of promoting responsible bingo.  We cannot afford to relax our vigilance in this regard and possibly boost future recrimination against our fledgling industry.

Written by John Witherspoon – Come and read all about the online bingo world. BingoStreet’s online bingo news section serves the freshest info of the industry.

Today’s publication of the UK’s Gambling Commission’s  Prevalence Survey has revealed that there has been no increase in problem gambling since 1998.  This, despite the upsurge of online gambling and sectors like online bingo since 1998.

The survey’s findings must come as somewhat of a shock to those who had confidently predicted epidemic proportions of increase in problem gambling thanks to the arrival of online gaming.
However, that has not stopped some anti-gambling outfits from putting their own spin on the findings.

“We are delighted to see that the combined efforts of GamCare and the gaming industry, with its heightened commitment to the practices of social responsibility, has led to no increase in the number of problem gamblers in the UK. Operators have made, and have indicated that they will continue to make, concerted efforts to raise the awareness of the services provided by GamCare for those individuals who get into difficulty from gambling, including the decision to carry the GamCare HelpLine number in their advertising,� said an upbeat statement from gambling charity GamCare.

While I personally have sympathy for any individual who develops a gambling problem, and I know that the people at Bingo Street make every effort to ensure a responsible approach to the playing of free online bingo is represented by all in the industry, I feel online bingo can take heart that its phenomenal growth has not contributed to a rise in problem gambling.

I agree with Coinslot editor Chris Murphy when he wrote: “The national press have clearly been fed some erroneous information judging by all the pre-publication hype surrounding the 2007 Prevalence Survey. That the final document actually shows there has been no increase in problem gambling is hard evidence that the coin-op business is working vigorously on its social responsibility ethic. Stakeholders have every right to feel vindicated by these findings.�

Written by John Witherspoon – Come and play online bingo at its best! The best bingo games online are one click away.

Bingo Street is running two oddly related news stories today – one about the upcoming release of a UK government report that focuses on the issue of problem gambling in the country, and the other on an Australian media report showing a link between anti-smoking laws and a reduction in problem gambling.

While the land-based and online bingo industries in the UK may find themselves under pressure to address the issue of problem gambling, Britain’s recent implementation of anti-smoking laws may turn out to be a major factor in reducing the overall effect of problem gambling itself.

Such a conclusion must send a collective shiver down the land-based bingo industry’s spine since they have been actively opposing smoking bans in the name of their own profit margins.  They must be horrified at how a government report that seeks solutions for problem gambling dovetails nicely with the findings of an Australian report on a smoking ban’s positive effect on problem gambling.

You can read the two articles here.

So, fellow denizens of the ‘we-don’t-care-if-you-smoke’ online bingo community, will the new smoking bans in the UK become the online gaming industry’s unwritten response to curbing problem gambling?  I think the unanswered answer to that is land-based bingo’s worst nightmare.

Written by John Witherspoon – Play bingo online at http://bingostreet.com/ and read bingo news.

It’s possible some of our online bingo industry professionals and not-so-professionals may have heard of Pamela Anderson’s claims to have paid her way out of a $250,000 poker debt by offering sexual favours. (see today’s Bingo Street celebrity gossip section for the details)

From the relatively neutral stance of a male online bingo enthusiast, I find this news,… interesting. . .

However, the questionable moral issues surrounding this case are not what I bring to your attention.  Rather, the more important question here is whether or not Pamela Anderson will be encouraged to now try her hand at free online bingo?

If so, we may get to the bottom of the age-old question that has silently dogged online gaming for many a year:  ‘Do online bingo players make better lovers than online poker players?’

This entry is written by John Witherspoon. Come and play bingo online and make sure to check the best free bingo games online.

Veridigm, a provider of progressive gaming software, is adding an online bingo option to its new suite of games. The company has reportedly signed an agreement with Cannes Games to give its customers access to new games including bingo.

This is a company which is experiencing rapid growth due to a branding strategy which includes this licensing agreement with Cannes Games. Also, Veridigm is relocating from the US to Ireland, possibly as a result of the introduction of the US’ Unlawful Internet Gambling Act (UIGEA) last year.

Veridigm – I quite like the name. Time will tell if this is an outfit to watch, especially since it is getting involved in bingo online products.

This entry is written by John Witherspoon. Play bingo online at its best! The best UK online bingo portal is your best bet to play at.