In the last few years the UK has undergone a pastime revolution.  What started out a few years ago with the relaunching of bingo halls as trendy places for a fun night out on the high street has now sweeped across the country with more and more people wanting to play gambling games for fun. Despite this demand the UK has failed to capitalise on it, with plans for the first Las Vegas-style super casino in Manchester being shelved and the plan for the Millennium Dome to play host to a super casino being turned down in favour of a live music venue.

With so many people wanting to play these games in Britain, but with a distinct lack of venues to host them, punters are increasingly turning to the web to play.  With online games customers typically register with a specific gaming site, upload funds using a debit card, and cash winnings directly back to the card.  Although the ‘live experience’ is lost in online gaming customers are able to communicate with each other and specific chat rooms exist for players of each particular game.

Of all the online gambling games bingo has been the most successful.  Particularly targeted at women, it is now thought to be the most popular leisure activity for women in their early twenties.  The UK Online Bingo market has seen massive growth with big brands like Mecca Bingo (the company that introduced bingo to Britain in the 1960’s) launching games online.  Players are drawn to the fact that they can win large amounts of money and make friends with people from all over the world.  Multi-player bingo allows both play and chat between customers, with the latter specifically targeted at female customer.  Free bingo games are also available offering players a way to win small amounts of money with no risk of gambling.

The popularity of Online Casino websites offering games like poker, slot machines and roulette has also increased massively.  Of these, online poker has proved the most popular and has been responsible for a dramatic increase in the number of players worldwide.  Online poker tables normally offer Texas hold ‘em, Omaha, Seven-card stud, razz and various other tournament games.  Like with bingo, customers play against each other from around the world.

There are of course dangers associated with this increase in online gambling.  As gaming numbers swell the risk that people will play to excess and become addicted increases.   Concerns over the limited amount of support available to problem gamblers was one of the reasons cited for the postponement of the Manchester super casino, and on the Internet it would be even harder to control.  However, gambling networks insist that they have facilities in place to monitor customers gambling habits and suspend accounts that are deemed to be excessive.  The majority of customers play these games for the thrill of an online flutter rather than the prize money itself.