The range of online bingo players is increasing, day by day, not least because the game of bingo, itself, is easy to understand, learn and play. Online bingo sites now offer not only the opportunity of substantial cash prizes, but also the chance to socialise, make new friends, and catch up on the latest gossip, in specially designed bingo chat rooms.

All you will need to do to start, is to locate the site that suits you best, in terms of the bingo games, and prize money, available, and register for an account. You will then need to make an initial deposit. This deposit may, the truth is, be matched through the similar site, itself. The specific funding of your account can be achieved via a debit, or credit, card or via a number of secure transaction options recommended by the website in question.

Once registered, you may choose a bingo game through which to participate, and also the range of individual bingo cards that you wish to play in that game. When play begins, the bingo balls drawn, or "called", will be displayed on the screen, as well as the game pattern for the current game. Watch this pattern closely, as it may change from game to game, and only by completing the present game pattern can you hope to win a prize.

Many online bingo sites allow players to chat whilst playing bingo, play chat games, and share in each other's success. This brings a substantial feeling of community, among the factors which are making online bingo so popular. Players get to understand one other, share tips and have a generally entertaining time, discussing bingo, or anything else that takes their fancy.

Players will be able to pick from single player games, where the size of the cash prize is determined by how rapidly the player fills in their card, or multiplayer games, in which the players compete against each other to accomplish set patterns on their cards.

Progressive jackpot bingo adds a whole new dimension to the excitement of the game, and, as always, the possibility of winning a substantial cash prize. Progressive jackpot games feature constantly growing prize fund, where money rolls over from one game to the next, until it really is won. The larger the number of players playing a particular game the larger the jackpot prize fund that's up for grabs.

The progressive jackpot can only be won under certain conditions, imposed by the online promoter. A progressive jackpot game may require, for instance, that a winning pattern is completed in advance of certain range of bingo balls being drawn, or called. The number of balls may be, say, 45, or 40, or 35, and, fairly obviously, the lower the number the more difficult the game is to win. If no player completes his, or her, bingo card within the requisite number of calls, the prize money for that games "rolls over" to the next qualifying game; repeated "rollovers" mean that, like the national Lottery, progressive jackpot prizes can reach substantial sums, before they are eventually won.

Players are now able to download bingo gaming software from many online bingo sites. Downloads are popular because they allow bingo to be lifelike, with realistic sound and enhanced graphics. Online bingo, at one time, perhaps, considered an American phenomenon, has arrived in the UK, and looks to be here to stay.