Initially, as we would say, Facebook was a place that we could meet people, share some funny stories, and chat with friends. But the company being an industry leader keeps revolving with the needs of the market. How many businesses are advertised on Facebook today? People are using it to their advantage. But still, Facebook has a lot to offer to an individual. For the one looking for fun, there are a wide variety of games that they can enjoy on the platform. Did you know that you can play bingo on Facebook? If you did not know, then here is a guideline that enlightens you on playing bingo games on Facebook. Besides, you will learn about the legality of bingo games in the United States.

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When did playing games on Facebook start?

Statute 47.01(1) makes it illegal to participate in any game solely or partially decided by chance other than any that may be state-sanctioned. The result of illegal gambling is a Class C Misdemeanor. Rank: Patently Illegal. Utah law outlaws any form of gambling and was even amended to specifically include online gambling. Facebook has publicly released its most complete community guidelines to date after many years keeping the specific rules its moderators used to govern the platform secret. The update tacked over.

The idea of games on Facebook started in 2012. The first game that was being introduced on the platform was bingo. Bingo friendzy app was the first app for playing the game in the platform developed by a London company known as Gamesys, which had partnered with Zynga. This app only allowed people over the age of 18 to play games for cash. At first, bingo Friendzy was only allowed to the residents of the UK but soon got allowed to other parts of the world. Now numerous games can be played on Facebook.

What do you need to play bingo on Facebook?

The signup system for the game on Facebook was different from Facebook now. Therefore, a new user was required to fill their physical email address to play bingo on Facebook. Things have now changed, and the user can play the game by simply logging in on Facebook using their credential. Simply said, you need a Facebook account to play the game. More so, they can win higher profits by playing free games and paying to play games. Facebook uses its age-gating technology to restrict those under the age of 18 from playing the game.

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Play bingo for fun on Facebook

Bingo Friendzy was just but an experiment that was supposed to test the ability to play bingo on Facebook for cash. However, it did not succeed. This did not put a stop to Facebook gaming. Search on Facebook’ bingo,’ and many games will appear on the search results. Some of them include Bingo pop, bingo bash, bingo Showdown, and bingo holiday. Most of them are free to play, but some require the player to pay extra credits.

Is it illegal to play bingo on Facebook?

Around the world, there are some countries where online gambling is illegal. We do not need to go far. In the United States, online gambling is very illegal. The question that we would ask ourselves here is, bingo gambling? In most states, bingo is considered gambling.

Bingo can be played both in a social setting and in an online platform. If the game is played in a social setting, most states consider it a legal form of gambling. In the US, to be particular, bingo has been used in so many social events to raise money. Still, there is a chance that the organizers can still violate federal laws. Ensure that the ordinances and guidelines provided by a local government are adhered to. There is a huge potential that a game that is being played online can turn out to be illegal. Bingo games played online can be legal if the website owner is not an American or lives in the United States. Such games have to provide another country’s citizenship and the potential of the game being played while the owner does not reside in the country. There are certain states that any form of online gambling is illegal even though the federal government has legalized it. Such states include Nevada, New York, Washington, and South Dakota.

The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (Pagcor) has issued a warnings to citizens about the dangers of illegal gambling, after receiving reports about illegal online bingo games being organised in the country.

The regulator warned that these games, which were being promoted through Facebook, were exploiting uncertainty caused by the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic to steal players’ money, financial information and commit identity theft.

Furthermore, Pagcor pointed out, playing these illegal products is also a crime.

“Pacgor is committed to the prosecution of persons involved in such illegal activities, because of the strong link between illegal gambling and organised crime who are also engaged in credit card fraud, identity theft, money laundering, among others,” it explained.

The regulator’s warning comes after the Philippines Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) saw operations significantly disrupted by Covid-19. These operators were ordered to temporarily cease activities from 18 March, but it was announced on 1 May that they would be permitted to resume operations, provided their tax affairs were in order.

This meant that they had to have paid all franchise tax owed to Pagcor, as well as additional taxes to the Bureau of Internal Revenue, and regulatory fees for April. However, with many operators in arrears, this has led to significant delays in their return to business.

According to local media, a number of POGOs have either confirmed or are planning to pull out of the market as a result of the disruption, with a number of service providers also thought to be shutting down.

While POGOs have long been controversial, to the point that China has demanded the industry be shut down because of targeting of Chinese nationals, they are a significant contributor to the Philippines economy, providing more than 31,556 jobs as well as tax revenue.

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The industry is also a major source of funding for the real estate industry, which has earned an estimated PHP25bn from leaseholds and rent payments, according to Pagcor.

For the three months to 31 March 2020, gambling revenue from Pacgor’s sector fell 5.7% year-on-year to PHP17.22bn, with land-based casinos shuttered from 15 March. Facilities in certain parts of the country began to reopen from 8 June, though were limited to 50% capacity, with larger facilities unlikely to follow until July.