Bingo Love - Finding romance over a game of bingo

Online bingo is not only a great way to while away the hours - and one that could potentially win you a fortune if you are luck enough to land a progressive jackpot - it is also being viewed by many as an excellent way to meet a romantic partner.

 In this article we take a look at the main advantages of meeting that special someone at an online bingo site. We also provide advice on how to stay safe should you decide to explore the romance potential of online bingo yourself.

Let's start by identifying the main advantages of online bingo from the perspective of forming romantic relationships:

• Online bingo is anonymous. This means that any romantic friendships that are formed are far more likely to be based on personality and rapport then they are on your dress size or the colour of your hair. Of course, if the romance blossoms then physical attraction may play a part in your relationship later, but initially a bingo relationship is all about friendship and communication.
  
   
• If you meet someone special when playing online bingo then you already know that you have at least one thing in common - your love of the bingo game itself.
  
   
• People who chat online tend to be a lot more honest and a lot less guarded than they would be in a real-world setting. This is probably because people aren’t nearly as shy or reserved when talking to people online.
  
   
• Online bingo chat rooms are public places that are carefully monitored. This, and the fact that you are always in control of the pace at which you pursue an online romance, makes forming friendships at online bingo sites safer then they might be at sites that are specifically geared up for dating.

Having identified the advantages of online bingo for those players who are looking for love, we will now present a few guidelines on how to pursue romance safely and without annoying the other online bingo players who are there purely for the game.

• Don't focus on romance, because anyone who thinks that you are desperate to get a date will run a mile. Ironically, you stand the best chance of attracting someone if you don’t try too hard. Focus on being friendly and outgoing to everyone in the chat room. Not only will this make you more appealing, it will also increase your enjoyment of the bingo game itself.
  
   
• Recognise that romance grows from friendship. You aren’t likely to meet a new player called Soul Mate just after lunch and be arranging to marry by teatime, so relax and take your time. Make friendships with a wide variety of people and chat with these friends regularly at the bingo site for a period of days or weeks. Initially, aim to keep all of your chat in the public rooms, as this will prevent you from revealing any specific information about yourself and will keep everything at the level of friendly flirting.
  
   
• If the bingo site you use allows you to exchange Instant Messages with other players than you can use that feature to have private conversations whilst continuing to play bingo. As stated previously, however, you shouldn’t converse privately until you have already established a strong friendship. Even at this stage, you should only give out information that can’t be used to identify you directly. Saying your name is Sarah is one thing, but saying that your name is Sarah Smith and that you live at 123 Daffodil Road is quite another.
  
   
• If you decide to exchange e-mail addresses with someone you meet online, use an anonymous e-mail address with a service provider such as Hotmail or Yahoo.
  
   
• Should things go swimmingly and you both decide that you want to meet up, be careful to do so in a public place for the first few times. Arrange to take a friend along with you for safety and support. One of the best venues for an online bingo romance to make the leap into the real world is probably at a traditional bingo club, because there will be plenty of other people around and you can both play the game that brought you together in the first place.
   

It should go without saying that there are always risks involved in online dating of any type, but when you meet someone playing online bingo and you are careful to adhere to the guidelines presented here, these risks will be minimised.

So there you have it - your very own guide to finding romance (or at least a few dozen good friendships) when playing online bingo. Enjoy!

12th September 2007