You can easily see how popular online bingo has become by the number of new online bingo sites opening recently.  The latest is called Play2Win Bingo and it has some very attractive features to entice players to try out their site.  With huge bonuses, free bingo, £10 to start you off and access to progressive games, this site is going all out to make it’s mark in the industry.

There is no deposit required to get your free £10 for signing up but if you do make deposits they will give you 200% on each of your first three so that’s a lot of extra bingo play.    Play2Win even has a free bingo room where you can play free all the time.  You do have to register your credit card details to be able to play in the free bingo room, however.

The site offers all three popular forms of bingo with rooms offering 75 ball bingo, 80 ball bingo and the ever popular 90 ball bingo.  Each type of bingo also has a progressive jackpot and those are always fun to watch the jackpot build up and hope for our chance to win it.  The site even has a loyalty program so you’ll be able to earn points for various activities on site and use the points to get free bingo games.

We just got word that a new play will be opening in the famous Royal Exchange Theatre in Manchester on July 3.  The interesting factor in this particular play is that it’s setting is a bingo hall.  The play called “Everybody Loves a Winner” was written and will be directed by Neil Bartlett with musical scores by Simon Deacon.

The play will star television actress Sally Lindsay, formerly of Coronation Street as well as Ian Puleston-Davies, star of the BBC produced version of Tess of the D’Ubervilles, who will play the bingo caller in the production.

The play is part of the Manchester International Festival and the entire theatre has become a set in order to give it the feel and atmosphere of a genuine bingo hall.  They are even putting slot machines in the foyer!

“Everybody Loves a Winner combines drama, comedy, music and choreography to take a searching and sideways look at a much loved pastime,” said Alex Poots, director of the festival.

Sally Lindsay told the Manchester Evening News that she’s become a bingo fan as she has been playing in order to be able to get into the character she will play.

“It’s unbelievable when you watch these women filling in a half a dozen cards at a time.  What astonishing coordination that needs!  I’ve never been interested in bingo before either and now I love it, “ she said in the release.

For the entire month of July, Bingo Day has ways for you to earn entries into a special pampering package prize draw.  All you ladies who love the spa treatments are really going to want to get your entries to win a wonderful spa package to any of several of the top luxury spas across the UK.  Perfect way to have a bikini ready body with a massage, pedicure, manicure and a facial.

There are several ways to earn your entries to the drawing.  One is to deposit 10 pounds – each time you do so, you will gain another entry.  There will also be entries given to those who bingo in the Cloud Nine room with the “SPA” pattern.  You can even earn extra entries by hanging out and participating in one of several chat rooms, such as the Royal Room, Barmy and Velvet Room.

There isn’t just one winner in the month-long promotion, either, although only one fabulous spa package.  There will also be cash prizes to the 2nd and 3rd names drawn, as well as bingo bonus money for the 4th through 10th players drawn.

If you are new to Bingo Day, you will also get a 200% bonus on your first deposit and a 25% bonus on every deposit after that.  You just have to love an online bingo site that lets us earn entries into such a great prize drawing just for doing what we love to do – play bingo and chat!

Crown Bingo has announced there July promotion will be Retro Month.  Starting Monday, July 6, they will be giving awesome nostalgic prizes all through the month.  Retro candy confections, Space Hoppers and Slinkies will be among the way cool oldies prizes.  Don’t forget to check for pre-buy options like the one for July 1.  That prize will be for a holiday package to Butlins which is a fitting way to start off Retro Month.

Chili Gaming has announced that they are about to launch a brand new online bingo website for your entertainment pleasure called (what else?) Chili Bingo.  The site will run on Parlay bingo software and will feature unique side games and a social networking application.  There will be multi-language and currency support so should have a widespread appeal.  Chili Gaming has long been a player in the online gaming industry and are expanding into bingo due to it being the fastest growing segment of the online gaming arena.

ThinkBingoCosy is getting a complete new look as they rebrand as a separate entity from their sister site, Think Bingo.  The site launches on July 6 and should be seamless to those who are already members.  One thing that should appeal to all online bingo players is that they’ve promised their tickets will all be 5p or less and they are adding some guaranteed jackpot bingo games.  The site will be known as Little Big Bingo as it relaunches.

Yet another online bingo site is getting in on the Wimbledon action.  Littlewoods Bingo is having a prize draw after the final on July 5.  The tennis themed prize package will have a Nintendo Wii Game console with a Wii Sports package, Virtua Tennis 2009 and an extra controller to help with the competitive nature of the winner.  To top it off, they’re throwing in a 28 in 1 Sport Accessories Pack to turn the Wii into a way to really get into the game.  All you have to do is play bingo for cash between now and July 5 to have a shot at this sporty prize.

Our last bit of the night is a note to all to get over and play at Ladbrokes Bingo.  Their Clover Rollover Jackpot has surpassed a million pounds.  To have a chance at winning the giant jackpot, you must place a max bet on all five lines and watch them all stop on shamrocks.  The only way to win it is to be in it so Ladbrokes would be a fantastic place to play this weekend.

Back on June 20, we reported that Virtue Fusion had been named Bingo Software of the Year at the recent Online Bingo Summit.  The company is certainly not resting on its laurels since winning the award.  BetFred Bingo has just released the news that it will be moving to Virtue Fusion from it’s Playtech platform.

BetFred Bingo has said that they will be able to offer an even greater assortment of bingo games with the new platform.  The new partnership would allow BetFred to be a part of one of the largest networks for progressive bingo and other games which should prove to be good news for customers.

Bill McCulloch of Virtue Fusion does not seem surprised at all by BetFred’s change in software.

“Operators will increasingly evaluate their system suppliers to identify and replace those that are not up to scratch.  At Virtue Fusion Alderney we stick to providing products which appeal to the bingo player and suit the needs of the bingo operator, and our continued sales success and increasing market share is tribute to this.  We have an exemplary product offering and our strategy and business model has proved perfectly viable in spite of the current economic downturn.”

While McCulloch certainly doesn’t believe in false modesty, perhaps he is right to be so confident in the Virtue Fusion platform.  BetFred is, after all, just the latest in quite a long line of online bingo sites to transfer over to the new platform.  The company has also attracted William Hill Bingo, Paddy Power Bingo, Virgin Bingo, Mecca Bingo, Gala Bingo and Ladbrokes Bingo – all leaders in the UK online bingo industry.

The tagline on the Virtue Fusion website reads “Word’s Biggest Online Bingo Provider” – at the rate they are going, if this statement isn’t a hundred percent true yet, it will be soon.

Gala Bingo has begun a great new promotion with their Big Brother scratch card offering.  From now until July17, you can spend £25 on the BB10 scratch card and give the bonus code “BB10” in order to be entered into a prize draw for two tickets to a Live Eviction Night.

They also have a great Big Brother package that included a pair of VIP tickets, two seats for BBLB and a visit to the Big Brother house camera runs and another pair of tickets to Live Eviction Night.  For that draw, you must email the folks at Gala.Life@galabingo.co.uk with a paragraph written about why you deserve the VIP experience.  Make it good because the best story will win the package.

Offline, Gala Bingo has experienced a bit of a boxing match lately.  A 96 year old bingo player got angry when someone was sitting in her usual seat at a Gala Bingo land based club.  She threatened the other player in order to get her to switch seats.  Hearing the commotion, the hall’s assistant manager came over to try to smooth things out and ended up being punched by the 96 year old woman – who turned out to be a retired boxer!

Apparently, this was not the first trouble they have had from the elderly former boxer and they decided they have had enough.  The woman has been banned permanently from any Gala Bingo hall.  Would that mean that Gala won by TKO?

Party Bingo has enacted a policy that not only makes online bingo players unhappy, it is worrisome that this idea will spread to other online bingo providers.  They are now instituting an inactivity fee on online bingo accounts that haven’t been used for 180 days (just under six months).  The fee would be ￡5 then and an additional ￡5 fee every thirty days after that until the account is empty or the player returns it to an active status.

As far as we know, Party Bingo is the only online bingo provider to institute any sort of policy that penalizes a member for inactivity but our concern is that this may catch on in the marketplace.  It makes sense in a way for the site not to keep an account alive forever when it becomes clear that a player has disappeared but 180 days really isn’t long enough.  Even banks wait two years before they can touch the funds in your account.

This ridiculous policy is just another reason that we caution you to always read all the terms and conditions of any online bingo site so that you know what you are getting into.  Periodically, check to be sure that these terms haven’t changed.  Most online bingo sites will notify you that changes have been made to the policies but emails are easily lost or filtered to the spam folder.  It is your responsibility to be aware of any policies when you play or make a deposit.

For once we are hearing about new online bingo promotions a little bit ahead of time.  We found out today that Bunny Bingo will be introducing some great new promotions as well as some exciting new games at their online bingo site.  Looks like we’ll be putting Bunny Bingo on our short list of places to be sure to play at next month.

For the entire month of July, Bunny Bingo will be having a Monday Cash Back deal.  Each Monday that you play,  while there is no guarantee that you win a jackpot, Bunny Bingo will give you back 20% on any losses that day.  That means that your bingo money will go further each week for the entire month of July.  By giving you back 20%, that could very well enable you to win a jackpot later in the week so this could be one of the best promotions ever.  It certainly is a creative idea.

Another July promotion that should prove quite enticing is the prize draw for two tickets to Lion King and Sister Act, The Musical.  To be in the drawing, you need to be one of the top twenty players that play the most bingo games over the month of July.  Out of those twenty names, two lucky people will be drawn to win the tickets.

Bunny Bingo is also introducing three new side games to the site.  Thors Thunder, Beach Bonanza and Beat the Banker are all coming in   As a celebration of the new games, the players who bet the most each day from the 15th through the 17th on each of the three new games will win ￡25 bingo bonus.

If you’re not already a member of Bunny Bingo, sounds like now would be a great time to get over there and sign up.  They also give you a 125% deposit bonus with your first deposit so that’s a nice addition.  This means that if you deposit ￡20, they are going to give you an additional ￡25 so you will have more than doubled your bingo money right off the bat.

Not sure what part of the world honors Father’s Day but I know that they do in the US so we would like to say happy Father’s Day to all of our American readers tonight.    We think you should all win a prize this week!

Ladies, have you heard about the latest promotion over at 888 Ladies Bingo?  They’re given out not one, but two VIP cruise cabins for the fabulous 21st Annual World Bingo Championship Tournament & Gaming Cruise, set to sail in the fall.    This year’s championship cruise will be sailing on the brand new Carnival Splendor with luxurious amenities and appointments.  The cruise will run through the Mexican Riviera with various ports of call along the way.  Of course, the highlight is the bingo and casino game play on board.

The promotion for the first cabin is already up on site with full details of how to earn Sombrero points.  The 75 highest point leaders will be invited to a special 75 ball bingo game on Sunday, August23rd, the winner of which will win the first of the VIP cabins.  The second promotion is being kept a secret for now.  We could only find out that it will take place after the first cabin is won.  Keep your eyes on the 888 Ladies Bingo website and right here to find out more in August.

Just a heads up to everyone to clear the decks this Wednesday, June 24th for six hours of free online bingo at Love Bingo.  Each game will have a real cash prize so this is a fantastic opportunity to win while not spending a penny on tickets.

The free bingo fun starts in the Bingo Ballroom from 10 am to noon.  Then come back to the Bingo Cafe from 4 pm to 6 pm that afternoon for more free bingo games.  Later, from 10 pm to midnight, all the night owls can play free online bingo games in the Bingo Lounge.  For the most chance to win real cash prizes without a starting stake, you can always hit every single slot during this awesome free bingo day.

Virtue Fusion creates online bingo and other networked gaming solutions specifically designed for the industry of online gaming, mainly collaborating with thriving media companies, land-based operators, and online gaming operators. They continue to be the globe’s top developer of internet bingo games and other related products, giving some of the largest bingo prizes available because of its widespread network of key operators with a peak traffic exceeding 6,000 simultaneous players.

They specialize in offering online bingo, scratch cards, slots, and networked games to some of the globe’s best known brands, including Gala, Bet365, Sky, William Hill, and Ladbrokes.  Virtue Fusion is confident that their dynamic, dedicated and exuberant workforce guided by their customer-centered business approach is the foundation for the development  of its success in the online gaming industry. This is the reason for their continued attraction of the industry’s best firms. They definitely take pride in their famous  bingo software which has reproduced the online bingo hall experience to remarkable effect.

Virtue Fusion has been attracting more and more of the online bingo companies and they seem to be switching software in droves this year.  With their huge, growing network of sites, online bingo sites that use Virtue Fusion software are able to offer a variety of high jackpot progressive games because there are so many sites within the network.  It doesn’t hurt that they also have some of the best multi-currency, multi-language options available today.

The company won the award for Best Bingo Software 2009 at the Online Bingo Summit last week which says a lot about their reputation within the industry.  CEO Bob McCulloch said that he felt a major reason of the company’s success is that they are “continually evaluating our customers’ needs” while at the same time enabling the individual sites within the network to “retain their own identity”.

McCulloch went on, “We are absolutely thrilled with this vision of the company, its dedicated team of people and our focus on core activities.  We look forward to Virtue Fusion striving for even higher excellence in the next year.”

This certainly bodes well of the future for online bingo sites and of course, for online bingo players.  With the boom in online bingo, we have seen hundreds of online bingo sites pop up seemingly overnight.  The operators of these sites need to distinguish themselves from the pack in order to compete and it sounds like Virtue Fusion will enable them to stay ahead of the game.