Online bingo is the game of bingo played on the Internet. Global Betting and Gaming Consultants estimates the global gross gaming yield of bingo was $0.5 billion USD in 2006; they forecast it will grow to $1.0 billion USD by 2010. Playing bingo online, players can make use of optional features which make playing the game easier, such as auto-daub. Auto-daub automatically marks off the numbers on cards as they are called, so players don’t have to. Most software providers support other gaming features as “Best Card Sorting” and “Best Card Highlighting” where players’ cards are sorted and highlighted by closest to bingo. Some of these features are designed to free players to enjoy the communal pleasantries of the chat features.

There are two types of bingo played around the world. North America plays 75-ball bingo on a 5×5 card with the centre square usually marked ‘free’. In the UK, parts of Europe, Australia and parts of South America they play a 90-ball game, marked on a 9×3 card. Both types of bingo are prominent online.

The desired pattern which players aim to achieve in 75 ball can vary dramatically, from a simple single line to more complicated themed patterns. The aim of the game, however, is always the same: to mark off the numbers to achieve the desired pattern. Speed Bingo is a variation played exactly the same, but numbers are simply called much quicker. In 90-ball bingo, each card has three horizontal lines and nine columns. Each line contains five numbers, meaning each card has 15 numbers. The first column contains numbers from 1-10, the second column contains numbers from 11-20, the third column contains numbers from 21-30, all the way through to the final column which contains numbers from 81-90. A game of 90 ball bingo will normally be played in three stages: one line, two lines and Full House. In a “one line” game players need to mark a complete horizontal line across one card (i.e., 5 numbers marked). The aim of a ‘two lines’ game is to complete any two marked lines horizontally across one card (i.e., 10 numbers marked). Finally, a “Full House” means all the numbers marked off on one card (all 15 numbers), as in a regular coverall game. The prize split differs for each stage of the game. The Full House is always the largest prize in any one game.