How To Play Online Bingo
Bingo is definitely easy to play compared to other games, especially since there isn’t really much thinking involved in order to play this game. However, you will find that bingo can still be tough to learn. In this article, you are going to learn how to play bingo even if you have no idea how the game works exactly.
If you are new to the online bingo world, it can seem quite daunting – thanks to the endless amount of bingo sites on offer and the variants of bingo games that can be played. But, it doesn’t have to be a scary experience, because once you get the hang of it – it’s an enjoyable experience that you’ll want to relive time and time again.
The way to play bingo online is to first join a website that offers online bingo. Online casinos that offer online slot machines and video poker will offer online bingo for sure, so there is always big chances of getting access to online bingo games. The process of playing bingo online is definitely very different than if you were to play offline.
Insight into online bingo
So, what makes online bingo so popular? Gone are the days where you needed to venture out to enjoy a game of bingo, because thanks to the online bingo community, you can enjoy thrilling bingo action from the comfort of your own home. You could be sat in your best clothes or lunging around in your slippers – it doesn’t matter.
Originally, to play bingo you had to visit land based bingo venues but thanks to the ingenuous invention of the internet, more and more companies opted to offer a virtual bingo community opposed to the land based version. As online bingo grew with popularity, land based venues decided to close their doors – which resulted in the loss of over 90% of high street bingo halls. Whilst this could be seen as a dark day in the bingo industry, it’s quite the opposite in fact because you can get access to 24/7 bingo games whenever you like – no session times to follow and no dress code to follow.
The reason why people chose to play online bingo was obvious, aside from the fact that you could play whenever you wanted, wherever you are – the smoking ban that came into effect was a big nail in the land based bingo coffin. Many players couldn’t enjoy bingo and smoke at the same time, so they resorted to staying at home to play where they could smoke and play without breaking the law.
Get started
Before you can dive straight into playing online bingo, you need to find a bingo site that appeals to you. There are thousands to choose from, so we would recommend opting for a popular site that offers a no deposit welcome bonus. Once you’ve signed up and confirmed your details, any free bingo bonus funds will be credited automatically – these are yours to test the site to see if you like it, before putting your hand in your own pocket.
Different games
You can play many variants of bingo online – this is what makes it so much fun. To start with you have the traditional 90 ball bingo game so let’s take a look at what it offers;
- 90 ball bingo: this game offers three prizes in every game. You will be supplied with a 3×9 bingo ticket with 15 numbers ranging from 1 through to 90. This is a typical example of what you can expect;
The first column offers numbers 1 to 9, second offers 10 to 19, third offers 20 to 29, then 30 to 39, 40 to 49, 50 to 59, 60 to 69, 70 to 79 and finally 80 to 90. When the game begins, players will be looking for a single line. Get a row of 5 numbers anywhere on the ticket before anyone else to win. Next up is the 2 line prize, again you need to match two lines on the same ticket to win. Finally, the bigger prize is reserved for the full house prize – all 15 numbers need to marked off in order to win.
- 80 ball bingo – this is also known as a coverall bingo game, purely because you need to cover all the numbers to win. There are two prizes offered in each game – any line and the full house. There are 80 numbers to this game with four columns, these are typically displayed as red, yellow, blue and white.
Match any vertical or diagonal line to win the first prize. Once the line has been won, you will go onto the full house. Mark all 16 numbers off the board to win the bigger house prize.
- 75 ball bingo: this is a patterned bingo game that requires you to match the pattern displayed on your ticket to win the one prize on offer. There are 5 columns and 5 rows with the numbers 1 through to 75. The centre square is free. Here is a typical 75 ball bingo ticket;
Depending on the bingo site you choose to play at, there could be even more types of bingo to play;
- 50 ball
- 30 ball
Speed bingo is also called 30 ball bingo, it’s a fast and furious game that offers one prize. The numbers 1 to 30 are involved and you need to fill your 3×3 grid before your opponents to win.
Fund your account
The next step is to fund your account. When you register, you can either add your payment details then – or go back once you’ve had a good nosey around the site. Your account is where you initiate deposit and withdrawals. Simply add your payment details and then state how much you wish to transfer into your bingo account and follow the few short steps to complete your transaction within a minute or so.
Withdrawals are the same, you head to your account and state how much your wish to withdraw. It will take up to 10 working days to process, depending on what bingo site you use and the payment method you used to fund your account. Typically, e-wallets such as PayPal take less than 2 days to receive.
How do I buy my tickets?
The layout of the bingo rooms will make it easy for you to see how to purchase your bingo tickets. Typically, you are required to click each ticket you’d like to bring into play and you will be required to confirm. The total amount for those tickets will be shown on the screen along with how much you could potentially win.
What happens if I miss a number?
Fear not, you don’t have to sit marking every number – this is quite a task when you choose to play multiple tickets at once. All bingo sites offer the option to manually or automatically daub your tickets, the majority have the setting to automatic switched on. All numbers will be marked automatically so a win will be instantly triggered on the screen.
If you choose to manually daub your numbers and miss a number (or two), the bingo site recognises whether you win or not, so missing a number won’t matter.
What happens when more than one win?
If more than one play manages to successfully win, the prize stated will be equally shared among all the winners. So, if there was a 1,000 house prize with 10 winners, all ten winners would get 100.00 each.
What is a networked room?
There are many different bingo sites that offer networked bingo rooms, this means that the bingo rooms are linked with the other sites on that network. Whilst the prizes may be bigger, the players in the rooms is bigger which decreases your chances of winning.
Jackpots vs progressive jackpots
Many bingo sites offer bingo games with jackpots and progressive jackpots, so it can be hard to understand them. Basically, with a standard jackpot – this is a cash pot that is offered should a player be lucky enough to call house within a certain amount of numbers. The cash will be awarded on top of the full house prize.
Progressive jackpots are jackpots that grow and grow with every game that’s played. These progressive jackpots can be harder to trigger and require you to call house in under a difficult amount of numbers. Usual 90 ball bingo games go between 50 and 59 numbers, but with progressive jackpots, you will be required to call house in roughly 29 numbers – a hard and impossible task but one that can be triggered.
Benefits of playing bingo
First of all, bingo is a great way to pass time. When you do it online, at least you can do it from where ever you want. If you want to have fun and actually do something, consider bingo. It can help ease your mind and help you to have a whole lot of fun on a daily basis.
With mobile bingo, users now can play while on the go at any time of the day. Time it right and you could be lucky enough to play for some amazing jackpots on sites such as Ted Bingo and Tombola Bingo.
Bingo is a game that is more relaxing than most games and has moved from the stigma associated that only elderly people play. It is a game that teaches people patience and helps with boredom. Getting by with time can definitely be achieved through bingo. There is no thinking involved when you play bingo, so expect to do nearly nothing except wait for your numbers to be called. Consider playing bingo online since it is very easy to do and can be done from anywhere as long as their is Internet.
Best of all you do not need to keep track of the numbers as this is done automatically once you join a room and pay into play. You can even start playing from less than £0.10 a card. Without a doubt, the best benefit from bingo comes with the social aspect and community that is built up online. Now let us not forget the winning part, I think we can all agree this is the best feeling possible.
Tips for playing bingo
– Get Multiple Cards
If you want to succeed and win more often, then consider buying more and more cards when you are playing. Usually some communities will make you pay a small fee to join the bingo game. It definitely is more exciting when you have multiple cards since you have bigger chances of winning.
What’s a bingo bonus?
A bingo bonus is what’s offered from many bingo sites, typically when you join a site and make your first deposit. The amount you receive will be credited to your bonus account, this means it’s non-withdrawable and is given for you to play additional games at no extra cost to you. These bingo bonuses come with wagering requirements, so it’s not always a good idea to accept the bonus offered. An example of a wagering requirement is 20x your bonus – this means you will need to play through the total bonus 20x before being able to withdraw, so if you were to receive a £10 bonus, this would need to be play a total of £200 in cash before being able to withdraw from that bonus. When the bonus funds run out – there are no requirements left to meet. Some even stipulate that you need to play through the total value of your deposit and the bonus received – so always read the small print with the bonuses on offer.
Some operators even offer a free bonus with absolutely no deposit required meaning you can play at their site risk free. Our recommended no deposit bingo site to play at is Sky Bingo as they provide new customers with a £20 risk free bonus to play on their site. If this doesn’t get you excited, they also offer a deposit bonus to new customers and have jackpots daily.
Side games
Not only can you play bingo online, but almost all of the online bingo sites offer side games for you to enjoy alongside your bingo game is you wish. The bingo lobby allows you to access game on their own or you can play bingo, side games and have a good old chin wag in the bingo rooms.
Chat etiquette
One of the biggest advantages of playing online bingo, is the fact you can chat to many like-minded people across the country through the specialised chat box. Many people choose to use abbreviated words within the chat facility in the bingo rooms, this allows them to chat quicker with smaller words. If you prefer to sit and play bingo without chatting – that’s all well, but there could be times when you are offered bingo chat games, so you will need to know how to type in the chat feature. Don’t sit scratching your head wondering what the words mean, because here’s a brief run down on the terms used;
- WDW – well done winner
- WTG – way to go
- 1TG/2TG etc – how many number they are waiting on
- BRB – be right back
- LOL – laugh out loud
- TC – take care
- OMG – oh my goodness
- GR8 – great
- JP – jackpot
- ROFL – rolls on floor laughing
- ND – next door (referring to needing the next number to that called)
- TYVM – thank you very much
- GL – good luck
- GLA – good luck all
- GLNG – good luck next game
- CM – relating to the chat moderator
Some words require no explanation, this include ‘plz’ and ‘ok’.
Bingo Lingo
This is the term used to describe the numbers that are called during your bingo game, many of which are given due to rhyming slang. There is no official list set in stone, but there is a common list of bingo lingo terms used and these are typically found in 90 ball bingo games. A list of the most popular phrases is;
- Kelly’s Eye – this refers to number one and is based on military slang for Ned Kelly.
- One little duck – is the number 2 as it resembles a duck.
- Rosy Lee – number 3, cockney rhyming slang for a cup of tea.
- Man alive – number 5
- Half dozen – number 6
- Lucky for some – referring to lucky number 7
- Over the gate – number 8
- Doctor’s orders – number 9
- Prime ministers den – number 10, the residence of the UK prime minister
- Legs eleven – 11
- One dozen – 12
- Unlucky for some – 13
- Sweet 16 – age of consent in the UK
- Key to the door – 21
- Two little ducks – 22
- Was she worth it – 76, the old price for marriage
- Two fat ladies – 88
- Top of the shop 90.