Operating License Issued by a Reputable Regulator

An online bingo room has to be licensed in order to operate and you’ll find that most of them are. However, not all licenses guarantee the same level of safety and fairness.

The UK Gambling Commission and the Malta Gaming Authority, for example, are extremely strict when considering a new licensee. Conditions an operator has to meet in order to get their blessing have been designed to ensure maximum player protection.

However, many bingo sites operate with a Curacao license which leaves room for dishonest operators to engage in all kinds of rogue behavior.

That doesn’t necessarily mean they will, as demonstrated by a large number of reputable bingo sites regulated by the Government of Curacao, but it is advisable to check the operator’s credentials and reputation as well as players’ feed-back prior to transferring any money.

Provable Fair Play

Doubts about the fairness of outcomes can easily put you off any online game, bingo included.

That’s why developers use Random Number Generators – algorithms that generate arbitrary numbers that correspond to symbols on the reels of a slot machine, cards in a game of blackjack, and numbers used in a game of bingo.

These RNGs are independently and regularly tested to make sure everything is fair and square.

Some operators are happy to state that all games featured on their websites use RNGs and are therefore fair.

Those that understand our concerns better (or simply care more), specify the name of the auditor and provide links to their reports.

They also publish information about actual paybacks during different time periods.

Transparency builds trust, marketing jargon doesn’t.

Large & Varied Collection of Bingo Games

The basic offering of online bingo games consists of 90-ball bingo which is particularly popular in the UK and other European markets, and 75-ball bingo favored by US players.

Some fans may be happy with only these two options but many value variety and look for venues willing to also offer fast-paced 80-ball and 30-ball bingo and perhaps even 5 Line bingo or progressive games.

Free bingo, once restricted to new players that were yet to register and deposit, has since become a standard part of the offering. Free games may not be super-generous in terms of prizes but they can buy you entry into those which pay far bigger amounts.

Variety also applies to ticket prices. The best sites make sure everyone can give bingo a go regardless of the amount of money in their pockets. Even if you’ve got a tiny budget, they’ll make it possible to buy multiple tickets without breaking the bank.

Opportunity to Win Massive Progressive Jackpots

Why should slots fans be the only players able to collect a massive progressive jackpot?  Some bingo sites are happy to offer the same opportunity to bingo enthusiasts via progressive bingo games.

They do so by holding a small portion of the ticket price and adding it to the jackpot amount. The latter is usually won by landing a full house with a pre-set number of balls drawn. If nobody gets lucky, the jackpot rolls over to the next game, continuing to grow until someone eventually wins, at which point it will reset to its base amount.

Progressive bingo has a higher win potential than other bingo games but is, understandably, much more difficult to win. Some players find jackpots tempting enough not be discouraged by numerous failed attempts while others prefer to chase smaller but attainable rewards.

Online Bingo Promotions

The online gambling world is filled with promotional offers of different kinds. They most often come in the form of deposit bonuses where the house matches your deposit by a certain percentage and up to a certain value.

Bingo players may also be offered an opportunity to participate in raffles and win rewards such as a week of free bingo, or collect loyalty points for each bingo ticket purchased.

Having accumulated a certain number of points, they can convert them to bonus funds and use to buy more bingo tickets.

Some sites additionally host bingo tournaments in different formats though they may require players to buy multiple tickets in each game and could, therefore, be out of reach for some.

Promotional offers always come with a set of T&C. They often require a deposit of a certain minimum value and there may be restrictions in terms of eligible countries and/or deposit methods.

Bonus money is always subject to wagering requirements which are sometimes realistic and in other cases nearly impossible to meet.

An ideal bingo site will offer multiple ways to play more than your budget would allow while being completely transparent with terms and fair with play-through and other conditions.

Fast & Convenient Withdrawals

It’s not uncommon to find players complaining that a bingo site was fast enough to take their money but took ages to pay out the winnings.

The delay is usually caused by long and seemingly over complex validation procedures and/or (real or alleged) issues with the chosen payment method.

To make matters worse, support agents are either impossible to reach or unable to help.

No one should have to put up with this kind of aggro. Fair operators do whatever they can to make the withdrawal process as easy and as quick as possible, starting with a large and diverse choice of payment options.

They won’t hold on to your money longer than it takes to meet various regulatory requirements.

One can nowadays find bingo sites willing to release the money a few hours after the request has been made so it’s hard to justify pending periods which last more than one day.

Some sites additionally allow clients to lock their withdrawals and thus make it unnecessary to deal with a tempting option to reinvest the winnings instead of collecting them.

Easy to Reach & Knowledgeable Customer Support

The quality of customer support isn’t important only when you’re struggling to make a withdrawal. New players often have questions that content available on the gaming site can’t answer.

Returning visitors occasionally encounter an issue that prevents them from enjoying their favorite bingo games.

Since the need for direct assistance can appear at any time, the best bingo sites make sure there’s always someone to help out.

In addition to 24/7 availability, they offer multiple contact options and allow clients to choose their preferred communication channel, be it Live Chat, email, or phone.

But none of the above will matter if the person you’re talking to doesn’t have a clue.

Only well-trained representatives are able to promptly answer questions and know who to turn to in case the issue surpasses their abilities or is out of their scope.

An interaction with a polite, friendly, and knowledgeable individual will not only result in the successful resolution of the particular issue bit also leave you feeling appreciated.

90-ball Bingo

In the UK, Australia, and some parts of CADpe and South America, 90-ball is the prevalent version of the game. When playing 90-ball you must first buy a ticket that contains 15 numbers scattered in three rows and nine columns.

Each row contains five numbers and four blank spaces. Numbers from 1 to 9 (or 10) can only be seen in the first column, 10 (or 11) to 20 in the second, 20 (or 21) to 30 in the third and so on. Tickets are usually sold as strips of 6, with all numbers from 1 to 90 appearing once across all 6 tickets.

Bingo is then run by a caller who calls out the numbers drawn by system, one at a time and players mark off or “daub” the numbers on their tickets.

Winning combinations may differ slightly, depending on the provider, but most commonly players are awarded for Line (matching all numbers on any horizontal line), Two Lines (covering any two lines on the same ticket), and Full House (covering all 15 numbers). Sometimes prizes are also given to players that cover the leftmost and the rightmost numbers on the top and bottom lines.

Additionally, in some games, players who fail to cover any number on their tickets are given consolation prizes. When a player covers a line he shouts “Bingo”, “Yes” or “Line” and the game is stopped for a short time. Players can also shout “House” for any win, including “Two Lines” and “Full House”.

Payouts usually depend on the number of tickets purchased, with Full House bringing the biggest prize. If more than one player claim the same prize, it is split equally among them.

75-ball Bingo

A dominant version of the bingo game in North America is the 75-ball version. Unlike the 90-ball game that includes marking off lines, the goal in this version is to mark off shapes. Tickets in 75-ball bingo are called bingo cards and contain 25 fields arranged in five columns and five rows. Above each row a letter of the game is written, therefore the first line is labeled “B”, the second “I”, the third “N”, the fourth “G” and the fifth “O”.

One of the fields (usually the center of the bingo card) does not contain any number and is labeled “Free”. Numbers from 1 to 75 are written in all other fields as follows: numbers from 1 to 15 within a column B, numbers from 16 to 30 – column I, numbers from 31 to 45 – column N, numbers from 46 to 60 – column G and numbers from 61 to 75 – column O.

The center “Free” field is considered automatically filled and other fields are covered according to the numbers announced by a caller. The first player that covers any row, any column or a diagonal, is the winner. However, instead of straight lines, many 75-ball games include covering different patterns or shapes in order to claim a prize.

While 90-ball bingo comes with three separate prizes, in 75-ball bingo there is only one prize awarded to the player that covers the pattern first.