A new report suggests the boom in online bingo has HIT THE SKIDS as a result of the  recession and market saturation.

Community site BingoPort says player figures for the last three months of 2008 show a measly 1 per cent rise in real money players on the previous quarter, as compared to a healthy 10 per cent jump on period before that.

And it claims the stall signals the beginning of  a period of mergers and acquisitions across the industry.

The news is even worse for the first few weeks of 2009 with the latest data showing an unprecedented DROP in the overall value of  jackpots. The news hints that the number of new players is FALLING,  and that existing players are spending less.

Drifting

The online bingo UK industry is estimated to be worth about £600 million annually, and the past year has seen an ongoing battle between industry big boys in the fight for a share of the online bingo market in the UK.

BingoPort boss Scott Logan said new sites such as newly-launched Smart Live Bingo will find it hard to make an impression as existing sites “fight dirty” to stop players drifting to competitors.