In its online form, Bingo is not about raising money for charity. It\'s about being available to anyone to play 24/7. Unfortunately one of the most popular activities online is gambling. And even though bingo enjoys a reputation of being an old ladies game and it is not a casino game, it can be every bit as addicting as any other form of gambling.

In the Internet version of Bingo, players can play anytime they want to in the comfort of their own home. Many sites offer the player an option to start out playing for free or even give them a small deposit to start out with and then entice the player to continue. A typical bingo website will be filled with banners advertising bonuses and recent large sums awarded to random winners. Little, if any emphasis is about the social aspects of playing bingo. It is not about getting out on a Sunday night and enjoying the opportunity to see others. Online bingo players sit at home alone hoping they will be the lucky winner. Some will lose and not be persuaded to return –although once the site has their personal info they will be relentless in trying to get the potential gambler to return. Others will be easily persuaded to keep on trying. Bonuses, occasional wins, all sorts of enticements are built into the system so that once they do succeed to get someone in, it will be very tempting to try playing just \"one more time\".

Bingo sites are more of a problem than traditional bingo halls and casinos because of several factors:

• A person may not feel they are actually playing with real money because they are using a credit card.
• It is available around the clock and you can risk much large amounts.
  No one knows the person is gambling – they may look like they are working, playing, studying . . .
• Online bingo sites require visitors to be over 18, but have no real way of checking a visitor\'s age.

So what is the solution?

Well, the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) made most forms of Internet gambling illegal in the US. However, there are still online bingo sites available and Americans still have access to many betting websites.
If you are addicted to Internet bingo or have loved ones playing bingo online, consider installing a filter to block bingo sites from all home computers. By blocking bingo sites, the temptation is removed. Further, if children do not have any access to begin with, they don\'t even become aware of the opportunity to play bingo online for money until they are older and better decision makers.