Welcome To BingoTalks™
BingoTalks™ is your leading source for UK bingo site reviews, bingo offers and promotions, bonuses, tips, and strategies, as well as wider bingo industry news. In the UK, Bingo is a cultural pillar alongside other common forms of gambling (lotteries, horse racing, sports betting, slots, poker, and casino games in general) so it was about time you got the trustworthy bingo blog you deserved!
Whether you favour 90-ball bingo, American bingo, or a more modern bingo slot game, we try to provide as much unbiased information as possible. In the end, we want you to choose the right bingo app and spend a great time playing in a friendly bingo room. Of course, we’re all in it to win it but having a good time is what brings us all together in our love of all bingo variations.
When it comes to online bingo jackpots, there are so many available that it gets tricky to choose the right game. We’ve reviewed each UK bingo site’s jackpot offering (fixed, progressive, escalator) so you and other UK bingo players can hopefully win big.
From informative bingo guides to the most common questions asked about the game, we’ve got you covered with our blogs!
What Are The Odds Of Winning Online Bingo
How Long Does a Bingo Game Last
How Do Bingo Sites Make Money
Can I Open Multiple Accounts At a Single Bingo Site
Can You Become a Millionaire By Playing Bingo
Can You Open Accounts At Multiple Bingo Sites
Do Bingo Sites Use Bots
How Much Money Can You Make Playing Bingo
How To Choose a Trusted Bingo Site
At BingoTalks™, we are an experienced team going beyond listing your average online bingo sites. Our content goes deep and is for passionate bingo players in the UK. We spend hours crafting each review, breaking down what each site or app offers in a way that’s easy to understand for you, our valuable reader.
Below are the key features, aspects, and characteristics, that our entire team studies when researching and rating legit bingo sites.
Licensing
In the United Kingdom, all and-based and online bingo sites must display their UKGC license number. The UK Gambling Commission is the official authority sanctioning and overseeing the licensing of remote bingo operators. You generally find the operator’s license number in the website’s footer. You can then check its validity yourself with a quick and easy UKGC license check.
The UKGC ensures bingo site operators have set up strong security measures, as well as contingency plans in place. The commission also requires operators to have anti-money laundering (AML) and “Know Your Customer” (KYC) checks fully working.
Generally, one gambling company will operate multiple brands. Each brand has its own website and app, as well as its own bingo variations and promotions. The main reason why online bingo companies run multiple brands is to avoid putting all their eggs in a single brand (it’s a futureproofing strategy).
Reputation
The reputation of a bingo site takes years to build and a few incidents to destroy. Now, we must remain realistic and fair. In the UK, bingo is a cultural institution and there are millions of players. Every single website will have dissatisfied players – it’s just what happens when you reach a certain scale in the iGaming industry! And unhappy players are very vocal.
So should we just ignore bad reviews? Of course not! But have you ever written a positive review about a gambling site online? Probably not. Remember that incidents happen to players, and it’s annoying when it does.m Yet, it doesn’t mean it happens to every single player.
When we talk about trusted UK bingo sites that are legit, we talk about customer support, excellent privacy policies, enhanced protection of personally identifiable information, and overall trustworthy behaviour with respect to their own players and the community.
Safety & Security
Alongside banking apps and online casinos, bingo sites are doing their utmost to keep their players safe. First, they segregate players’ funds with their operating capital. Then, they have in-house IT security teams, external penetration testers, and third-party auditors constantly trying to improve on their multiple firewalls and security measures.
And because oftentimes the danger doesn’t come from the outside world, such bingo apps and platforms have strict company policies in place to prevent a bad actor or bad employee rigging games or crafting malicious attacks against any bingo room they operate. In the background, the best UK bingo apps have machine learning algorithms monitoring performing fraudulent pattern detections in realtime to ensure
Offers & Promotions
Gambling sites really want bingo players to join them so they throw the best bingo welcome offers, sign-up bonuses, and no deposit promotions. Whilst the headline offers are appealing, be careful to read the full terms and conditions of each bingo promotion you decide to use.
If you could, you would only join online bingo sites with no wagering requirements, and then UK bingo sites with a no deposit bonus. This is because, with such offers, you can go ahead and benefit from the money the site gives you upon signup, or upon your first deposit. With most promotions, you cannot withdraw earnings coming from bonus money until you wager multiple times the amount credited to you by the website.
As a general rule of thumb, you should always make use of a bingo deposit bonus when it’s available, as long as the site you are using it on is safe, licensed, and to your liking. Don’t just chase UK bingo offers blindly!
Customer Support
A bingo site is as good as its customer service is because you will need to speak with a live chat representative or call up the bingo site’s phone support. Maybe it’s because a withdrawal is taking longer than expected, or to ask a question about some obscure 90-ball bingo rule.
Some basic customer support boxes you want to be sure a good online bingo app ticks include 24/7 customer support via live chat, phone, or email, and a large searchable help section. Wondering how long it takes to deposit money into your bingo account via PayPal? Search the docs, the answer is most likely there (that’s if they do have a help docs area).
In our experience, UK bingo customer service is amazing as a whole. And that’s key since we know that a bad experience will spoil all the fun for any player.
Deposit & Withdrawal Process
Once you find a great UK-licensed bingo site, you then need to be aware of their deposit payment methods as well as their withdrawal options. Each payment or cash-out method may have different processing times and different levels of convenience and required verification steps.
On 14 April 2020, the Gambling Commission imposed a strict ban on taking credit card payments on gambling websites. You can still use your debit card, though more and more banks enable a gambling block by default (e.g., HSBC, Monzo, Barclays, NatWest). Meaning, unless you actively disable the gambling block feature, gambling transactions will be declined and fail by default. Bear in mind that most banks have a “cooling off” period of at least 24 hours before the block gets lifted (some banks go as far as 72 hours).
Game Selection
When you join one of the top bingo sites, you want a wide selection of bingo variations such as 90-ball, 75-ball, speedy, and even mini bingo games. Stakes are important too: you want bingo cards to range from £0.10 to £2 per ticket. And finally, jackpots are extremely valuable to get that boosts in income every now and then. Gambling and casino sites tend to offer three types of bingo jackpots: fixed, progressive, and escalator.
Eventually, you want to look beyond bingo. And most of us, bingo players, also have a weak spot for online slots so it’s always a plus if your favorite bingo sites also offer a wide variety of cool slot games with massive jackpots!
Mobile-Friendliness
Most online bingo players in the UK prefer to play on desktop, understandably. A larger screen helps make the experience more immersive, and you can easily play in multiple bingo rooms, too. However, we’re a smartphone generation so make sure you do like the iOS bingo app or Android bingo app.
A few legit and popular bingo sites tend to pour all their ingenuity and engineering hours into a great desktop experience but end up with an awfully clunky bingo mobile gaming experience. Lastly consider how the tablet bingo game runs if you are a big iPad user.
Technology
Bingo site operators, just like casino site operators, tend to not build and run their own software (the one you interact with to play). Instead, they create and invest in branding, some in-house tools, and use slot development studios and bingo game suppliers to set up the game technology.
The most popular bingo game providers include Dragonfish, Jumpman Gaming, Gamesys, Playtech, and Electraworks. On the other hand, Microgaming which is one of the largest iGaming software suppliers ceased its bingo operations in 2020, as reported by Gaming Intelligence.
As a UK player, important technological considerations include cross-platform availability so you can play on your computer’s browser, but also on your mobile phone, smartphone, or tablet. And generally, nobody likes a slow-loading game but today, most online bingo software tend to be snappy and with a good user experience.
UK Online Bingo: FAQ
Our answers to the most common questions about playing bingo in the UK.
Is online bingo legal in the UK?
Yes, online bingo is legal in the United Kingdom. The UK Gambling Commission licenses and regulates land-based and remote operators offering real money bingo. Therefore, if you are playing through a licensed UK bingo site, you are not doing anything that is illegal in the UK.
In fact, it is mandatory for bingo players to check the license status of the site in which they are planning to play the game. As for the game itself, there is no legal definition of bingo but it has to follow all the standard set of rules that establish it as an equal chance gaming experience.
How much can you make playing bingo?
Whilst very few people play online bingo professionally, some passionate players are earning a full-time living by playing bingo games daily.
The prize money of bingo in most of the popular clubs in Great Britain ranges between £4,000 and £8,000 and can go up to £10,000 and £21,000 on weekend nights. There is no certain upper limit to how much you can make by playing bingo. One 65-year old gentleman, John Orchard, has a record for having won £5,883,044.43 in 2012 from a 30p bet while playing a wheel of fortune-style bingo game.
What are the most popular bingo games in the UK?
The most popular bingo game in the UK is the 90-ball bingo variation. British bingo uses 90 balls as well as cards having 15 squares divided into 3 rows of 5 numbers. The first person to complete a row is the big winner while the second winner is the one who completes two rows. A full house is when a player has all the 15 numbers on the cards scratched off.
The next most popular variant is the 75-ball bingo and it is widely played in the US and Canada. This has bingo cards with 25 squares organized in 5 rows of 5 numbers. The numbers on the cards are organized by the letters B-I-N-G-O.
At what age can you play bingo in the UK?
In the UK, the legal age to play real money bingo is 18. Anyone under the age of 18 is not allowed to enter gambling premises where bingo is being played or participate in online bingo because the game is considered a form of gambling.
How can you block all bingo sites?
If you wish to self-exclude yourself from playing bingo or any other form of gambling, please register on GAMSTOP. Such self-exclusion schemes are offered by offline bingo venues as well. You can also contact your UK bank to request them to enable the “gambling block” feature which blocks payments to gaming businesses, including bingo sites.
Is gambling causing problems in your personal, professional, or even medical life? Speak immediately with your GP or start the process of diagnosis for problem gambling in order to receive free help and support from trusted institutions.
How to know if an online bingo site is legitimate?
The most important requirement for UK bingo sites is to be licensed by the UK Gambling Commission as this gives you practical recourse in case of serious disagreement.
Other factors to look out for would include the availability of 24/7 customer service, easy and quick deposit/cash out methods, reviews, reputation, years of operation, and finally, their AML/KYC checks. Checking for the legitimacy and authenticity of both the brand and the operator behind the brand is essential.
Why shouldn’t you trust online reviews of bingo sites?
As a rule of thumb, online reviews of bingo sites shouldn’t be trusted because most reviewers receive affiliate commissions. Bingo sites pay those reviewers a commission based on how much a player deposits, or how much a player wagers. Therefore, reviewers are generally incentivised to promote any and every legal bingo site so the reader signs up and deposits money.
Other sites, like BingoTalks™, have less of a short-sighted vision and publish honest bingo site reviews to build a relationship based on trust with their audience. The strategy here is that the reader will sign up to multiple good sites rather than just a single bad one.
Who is behind BingoTalks™?
BingoTalks™ is run by a team comprising bingo experts and gambling specialists who teach bingo players how to win at bingo, as well as review the best and worst online bingo sites for UK players. BingoTalks™ is not operated by a gambling operator, this is why the reviews can be unbiased and fair.
How many numbers are there in a British bingo game?
British bingo, or 90-ball bingo, is played with ninety balls, and tickets containing 27 squares across 3 rows and 9 columns, with 15 numbers.
In standard British bingo, the cards, also called tickets, contain 3 rows and 9 columns. Each row contains 5 numbers and 4 blank spaces randomly distributed along the row. The numbers are distributed by columns such as 1–9, 10–19, 20–29, 30–39, 40–49, 50–59, 60–69, 70–79, and 80–90.
How many people play bingo in the UK?
More than 3.5 million people in the UK play bingo today. The game is extremely popular in the UK in both bingo halls as well as online bingo sites.
Bingo is believed to have its roots in medieval Italy and it arrived in the UK and other parts of Europe back in the 18th century, mostly in the form of lotto. The social success of the game in the UK can be largely attributed to the practice of people meeting friends in the bingo halls.
The Story Behind BingoTalks™
Being gamblers ourselves, finding new online licensed casinos and UK bingo sites was an impossible mission for far too long. Too many fake reviews. Too much fluffy content that is paraphrased from other portals. Not enough transparent, say-it-like-it-is reviews.
So we had to build this ourselves.
Mission
To help bing players choose the best online bingo sites through impartial and merciless reviews and enticing content. Work tirelessly at the service of players rather than site operators.
Core Values
Authenticity, because it’s lacking on most iGaming sites. Integrity, because we owe players honesty and transparency. Thoroughness, because the web is already filled with superficial content.
Team
Our staff is composed of ladies and gentlemen who are, themselves, passionate bingo players. It helps us understand what you want, and how you want to consume it.