Bingo and slots have their unique gameplay and features. Casino patrons tend to question whether bingo or slots are worth their time and money based on the payouts, pace of the game, and other factors. To help you decide, this article will cover the major difference between bingo vs slots.
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Slots Require Little Attention
Traditional slot gameplay involves setting your bet amount, coin value, and active pay lines before spinning the reels. There is little to no action required once your wager is set for a single spin apart from hitting the “play” button. Players can keep on spinning the reels without adjusting their bet until they reach their payout goals or their bankroll is empty.
Traditional bingo requires your attention way more than slots. Each time a host calls a number, you need to check your cards or tickets and mark the square if it matches the number. As the game progress, you are constantly going through your cards to see which one is closer to the goal of creating a line, pattern, or full house.
Digital online bingo does not require as much attention as traditional ones. There are several bingo platforms with tickets that mark themselves when the appropriate number is called. Despite this feature, you still need to click on the completed ticket to win a game. In addition, you need to buy your tickets manually for each session. Overall, any form of bingo requires more attention than slots.
Slots Can Be Played On Autopilot, Literally
In the battle between automation for bingo vs slots, slots have a slight advantage in this category. When you set the slots to auto-play with a specific bet amount, you can let the gameplay itself for hours as long as you have the bankroll for it.
Digital bingo also has its auto-play feature where the game marks the squares on your tickets when a corresponding number becomes active. While you can leave the bingo session alone until it is done, you need to come back and buy a fresh set of tickets for the next session.
Bingo Sessions Last Longer
Common bingo games, including 75-ball and 90-ball bingo, usually takes minutes to decide on the winner. Your goal in 75-ball bingo is to form a line or pattern on your card by marking specific squares, which involves marking 10 to 20 squares. Most players assume a game would be over when 20 balls are called since this is the minimum number required to form a winning pattern. However, the average number of balls called before a player can get a winning ticket is around 30 to 50 balls.
90-ball bingo is somewhat longer than 75-ball bingo since there are three possible winners or prizes for each session. In this bingo variant, a 90-ball bingo ticket has 15 numbered squares with five numbers among three rows. Your goal is to get five squares in one to three rows first. If a lucky player gets one row, the game continues until someone gets one or two of the remaining rows. Overall, you need at least 15 balls to complete a game of 90-ball bingo. In terms of probability, the average number of balls to complete all three rows in a 90-ball game is around 25 to 50.
On the other hand, slots take only a minute or two to determine if you win a spin or not. You also do not need to wait longer to get a big payout. Lucky winners of progressive slot machines were able to get the highest possible jackpot with just a few spins.
Bingo Wins Are Slower
Slot payouts are instantly rewarded after each spin, which takes only a couple of minutes. On the other hand, a regular physical and digital bingo game requires you to wait for several minutes before anyone is declared the winner. In a bingo vs slot topic on which game to play within a short amount of time, the slot is your best choice.
Slot Developers Bet On Audio & Visual Effects
When you take away the lights and sounds of a slot machine, you remove half of the experienced players expect from the game. Various slots expanded that experience over the years through the digital age such as exciting animations, sounds, and music during each big payout. This kind of experience is an adrenaline rush for online slot players and is the driving factor to keep spinning the reels.
Another way of enhancing the audio/visual aspect of slots is to add scenes, music, voice clips, and sounds from popular media. You could be running away from dinosaurs during a Jurassic Park slot mini-game or bring down the Death Star when you win a jackpot payout of a Star Wars slot. Pulling you into your favorite TV series, movies, games, or concerts will likely entice you to keep spinning the reels.
Of course, slots cannot keep players glued to their sits with upbeat music or bright animations. One way to make patrons spend their money on slots is to give them the notion that they are going to win massive payouts, which is when slot bonus features come in. Features such as free spins, jackpots, and mini-games are part of the audio/visual experience.
When talking about bingo vs slots in regards to audio/visual experience, slots is ahead by a mile. This is not to say that bingo is lacking in this department. Calling a number and the shouts of bingo within the hall is always an audio/visual treat for the players. You can experience this with online bingo sites as well.
To recap our bingo vs slots argument, slots have the advantage over bingo in terms of gameplay speed, pacing, and attention required. This is not to say bingo is not worth your money since it still has its advantage in terms of high rewards for low stakes and social opportunities. Overall, slots are great for those short-burst sessions while bingo is for those who need to kill time without spending a lot.