The online bingo boom has begun – will you join the party?
This page will teach you everything you’ll ever need to know about the new version of this classic game of chance – including the best online bingo sites, how we choose our featured sites, the rules of bingo, the most popular variants, the most lucrative bonuses, and more. Keep reading to access the top online bingo platforms for punters in the UK today.
Picking the right bingo site for your needs is just as important as the bingo strategy itself. The right platform can earn you tons of real money; the wrong one could bring a significant hit to your account. Here are a few essential components to review your potential bingo site on to determine if it’s a good fit for your gaming needs.
Bonuses: Your bonus selection should be used as an insurance policy against any of your perceived weaknesses in the game. Free play (normally £5-50) is a solid offer for players who want to get to playing immediately and limit the stipulations they must meet in order to cash out any winnings they earn.
Matching bonuses (100% up to £100): Great for players trying to get the most bang for their buck, but be aware; many of these promotions require you to fulfill hefty wagering requirements (betting any winnings made from matching funds) from 30 to 60 times over a finite period of time. If you’re ready to play bingo steadily for the next few weeks and are willing to meet these requirements to receive an extra 100 or 200 to play with, then this bonus is likely worth your investment.
Reviews: There are plenty of reviews for sites that have online bingo games, so be sure to read these reviews before you decide on a permanent bingo site to play on. We have in-depth reviews written for platforms like Jackpot Village, Bet365, and 888 Casino that have plenty of solid bingo games in their catalogue, and any of these sites should be considered a strong contender for your bingo gaming future.
Mobile compatibility: Some sites have bingo games that are either difficult to play or are not accessible at all through your iPhone or Android, so checking for mobile compatibility on your bingo game is a necessary step in your selection process. In reality, the majority of the larger, more popular platforms have this feature built-in automatically, but there are a few who are weak in this department. You don’t want to register for a brand-new site, deposit your pounds in the cashier page and then find out their mobile-version is slow and choppy, so make this a priority before you kick off your bingo frenzy.
For online bingo, the rules are just as simple as the classic version. Each player starts with one (or multiple) bingo cards that feature a grid with a list of random numbers. The game begins with the host drawing a series of numbered balls, marking off the numbers on your bingo card if there’s a match. A winner is decided once the player in question has marked all the numbers on their card. In some versions, players are given 3X3 cards, while others are given 4X4 or 5X5 cards to play with. With the larger cards, a winner may be decided if just one row of the card has been marked. We don’t see an inherent advantage to playing with either card size, so we recommend trying a few different sizes to experiment.
The most common online bingo variants in 2020 are European and American Bingo.
In the European version, the standard card will have 3 rows and 9 columns, with the host choosing from a set of 90 numbered balls. For most games in this style, the maximum bet allowed per game is £50. Many experts say that compared to the American style, this version is the fairer of the two.
The American variant picks from a set of 75 balls and uses a card with 5 rows and 5 columns. The key difference between this version and the European one is its emphasis on players winning by creating various patterns with their cards instead of filling one, two, or three lines.
Online bingo has never been safer, with any approved sites being required to attain licenses from regulatory authorities like the UK Gambling Commission and the Malta Gaming Authority. Industry regulator eCogra also vets each platform in operation to ensure their data is fully encrypted and they are following all the necessary protocol in protecting you and your information.
Online bingo uses RNG (random number generator) software to pick each numbered ball, so the chance of winning is slightly smaller than a traditional host-driven game; however, each online game leaves enough room for players to have a significant chance of winning each round.
Online bingo is run digitally, so there’s no limit to the number of cards you can hold at once. The numbers are also software-generated, so winners are born much more quickly than in a traditional game.
