Is bingo related to gambling?
The game of bingo can be found on many online casino sites like Umbingo. It takes its place alongside other games such as poker, slots blackjack, and roulette. These are all prolific casino games, ones most associated with gambling.
Does this mean that bingo is a form of gambling? Well, let’s take a look at what gambling actually is to find out.
What is gambling?
The act of gambling is putting forward money in the hopes to win a larger multiplication of this amount. A variety of odds are presented so the gambler is aware of how likely it is for them to win the multiplication of the money they have put forward.
The money put forward is called a stake or bet. This stake is put down whenever players gamble.
In short, gambling is an act where players take part in a luck-based monetary exchange.
Let’s look at some casino games to see how this works.
When playing roulette, the player puts a bet on what number they think the ball will land once the wheel has stopped. They have a one in thirty-six chance of guessing right or fifty/fifty if they bet on red or black. If the ball lands on the correct number, the player wins. If it does not, then the player forfeits the money they put forth as a bet.
This brings me to the most important criteria in deciding what is gambling.
Gambling with money
The law states that a person needs to put money down or be at risk of losing real money, for the act to be considered as gambling. Therefore, if a player puts down real money to play a casino game they are gambling.
There are ways around this. Cryptocurrency is not considered a legal form of money so it is not considered gambling when players use this as a bet or stake.
With all of this in mind, can bingo be considered gambling?
Bingo games as a form of gambling
To play online bingo (Paddy Power Bingo), players put down a stake for each line or card they want to play with. If this stake is made with real money that means, in the eyes of the law you are taking part in the act of gambling.
It does not matter how little the amount put forward is for a game of bingo. So long as you pay real money for a bingo card for the chance to win a prize, you are gambling.
Conclusion
Now that we can see how bingo can be considered a form of gambling, should we stop? The simple answer is, no. Not if you enjoy it. It does not change the game at all and the act of gambling is legal.
If this fact bothers you there is no need to worry. You can still play bingo, you will just need to find a form of bingo that does not require you to play with money. If you do play bingo with money, you are in fact gambling.
