The United Kingdom is the home of bingo. In decades gone by, there was a packed bingo hall in every town. These days, those bingo halls are a little less clamorous and many have been turned into casinos, restaurants, and residential accommodation.
The game isn’t dead though. In fact, it has never been more alive, it has just found a new home on the internet.
This digital transition has made bingo more accessible than ever before. It’s no longer considered to be a game for grandparents to catch up with friends and parents to get away from their kids. It has been embraced by all demographics and can be enjoyed from the comfort of home laptops, desktops, and mobile devices.
Whether you’re an old-school bingo player yearning for some nostalgia or a new player finding their passion for the game, the following article will help.
In this guide, we’ll highlight the best bingo sites in the UK right now and talk about all of the things that make them so unique.
How Do Bingo Sites Work?
If you know how to play bingo, you’ll adapt to online bingo sites. If not, you’ll learn pretty quickly. There are usually practice games to help you if you want to test the waters. You can also just join a game and then watch without buying any tickets.
Bingo sites give you a variety of different games to choose from. These games include 30-ball, 75-ball, 80-ball, and 90-ball bingo, as well as a few other variants. Some games are very simple and play just like the ones you’re used to. Others are a little more elaborate and include bonus features and jackpots.
Most features and jackpots are unlocked when you land a full house, some are triggered at random.
How Do Bingo Sites Differ from Land-Based Bingo?
Everyone knows how to play bingo. Just get your card, wait for the numbers to be called, mark them on your card, and then collect a prize when you get one line, two lines, and a full house.
Online bingo is even easier, and there are a few different ways in which it varies from traditional bingo games:
No Need to Mark Your Cards
Traditional bingo is a little less luck-based than online bingo, as you need to hear the numbers and mark your card. If you mishear one of the numbers or forget to mark it, you could miss out.
With online bingo, everything happens automatically. If your number appears, it will instantly register on your bingo card/ticket. It means there is less panic and it gives you more time to relax and chat. Speaking of which…
Live Chat is Available Throughout
All online bingo games have a chat feature. This stays active throughout the game and you can join in at any time. This is one of the things that makes online bingo so fun, as it’s a great chance to chat with other players and make some friends.
You can use the chat box to share your frustrations or excitement. Talk about your day and listen to some gaming recommendations.
Of course, if you’re not the chatty type and prefer to play alone and in silence, you don’t have to use it at all. Your username will still be mentioned if you win, and you may see a welcome from the moderator on occasion, but chatting is purely optional.
Buy Lots of Tickets
With traditional bingo games, you’re limited to how many tickets you buy as you simply can’t mark them all at the same time. In games of online bingo, you don’t have the same issue and can buy as many as you want.
You’ll see a list of all your tickets. As the numbers are drawn and marked, the tickets with the highest chance of success will be moved to the top, allowing you to focus on the most important ones.
All games have a limit on how many tickets you can buy. Just remember, while buying extra tickets will increase your chances of success, you only need one of them to win the big prize.
Everything Moves Quickly
Online bingo moves at a rapid pace. The numbers are called and marked every few seconds, and there’s very little time to relax. But of course, you don’t need time to relax, as everything happens automatically!
At the end of every game, players are given a couple of minutes to purchase tickets, and then the next game begins. This constant cycle of gaming means you don’t need to wait for more than a couple of minutes, even if you’re late to the party.
More Bonus Rounds and Features
The online environment gives bingo developers more freedom and creative license. They include jackpots, bonus features, side games, and more.
For instance, in a game of Deal or No Deal, a standard game of bingo takes place and the winner then plays the traditional box opening game.
What Makes a Good Online Bingo Site?
Bingo sites all have bonuses and they all offer bingo games, but there are huge differences from one site to the next.
Some of the things to look out for when searching for a new bingo site include:
- Welcome Bonuses: Is the site offering you a bonus to sign up? Most of them do but some of them don’t. When looking for a good welcome bonus, don’t get too lost in the size of the promotion, and remember to check the terms as well, including the minimum deposit and the wagering requirement.
- Loyalty Bonuses: A loyalty bonus is one that gives you bonus credits or free bingo tickets in return for staying loyal. These bonuses can be offered in the form of a reload bonus or as a loyalty scheme, the latter of which gives you points to collect every time you make a real money wager. When you have enough of them, these points can be swapped for prizes, rewards, perks, and bingo tickets.
- Game Variety: A good site offers a variety of games, including ones based on TV shows, game shows, board games, and more. Original games are also a sign of a good bingo site.
- Game Size: The more players there are, the higher the prizes will be. Big sites with lots of players are also more likely to have huge jackpots, guaranteed prizes, and other promotions.
- Banking Options: You want a site that offers your chosen banking method, as well as one that doesn’t charge a fee for deposits and withdrawals and processes payments very quickly.
- Customer Support: You don’t always need to contact the bingo site, but you’ll be glad for good customer support when you do. Look for a site with phone support or live chat, as well as one with a reputation for speedy and helpful responses.
- Other Games: If you enjoy playing slots, table games, or live casino games every now and then, look for an online casino that has a variety of other games.
Where Can I Find the Best Bingo Sites?
We have reviewed all of the best bingo sites, so if you’re looking for a new place to play this classic numbers game, look no further! Check the bonuses, read the reviews, and start playing some games of bingo!
FAQs about Online Bingo Sites
Yes, online bingo is legal in the United Kingdom if the operator holds a remote gambling license. However, UK players are not allowed to play on sites that are regulated by other authorities, such as those in Malta and Curacao.
For a bingo site to operate legally in the UK, it must be regulated by the Gambling Commission of Great Britain. If a site is not licensed, you should stay clear. It means that it hasn’t passed the necessary checks, hasn’t been vetted, and likely isn’t using games that have been certified.
It also means you don’t have any recourse for action if anything goes wrong.
Bingo sites need players, and that should create a bit of a catch-22 for brand-new and small-time operators. But these sites work on established networks, so that’s rarely a problem. In other words, the games tap into an existing bingo network, so the player numbers are there from day one.
Bingo is a game of chance, so no amount of strategy and patience will help you here. The only thing you can do is collect whatever bonuses are available and make sure you stick to a budget.
You only need one ticket to play a game of online bingo. The cost of that ticket varies from game to game, but there are often tickets available for as little as £0.01, with the average being around £0.10. You can buy more tickets if you want, but you don’t need to, as it only takes one ticket to win.
