How to Succeed at Online Bingo

• Author: Ed
• Filed under: General
• Date: Jul 20,2008

Online Bingo has rapidly become very, very popular.  As a result, it has become significantly more competitive than many other games, and making a consistent profit from the game can be difficult.  Today we are going to carry on the tips and give you some more direct tips to help you make more online bingo games profitable.

Watch Your Cards - Many online bingo sites don’t have automatic card marking, and because bingo cards can be relatively cheap to buy - there is an incentive their built by the bingo site for you to buy more cards than you can handle.  Remember and only buy so many cards as you can safely mark.  Don’t let yourself get swamped with too many bingo cards.

Become a Part of the Community - We’ve published our chat guide, so now you have absolutely no reason not to be a part of the online bingo community.  Reasons for doing this are because you a) build friends, but more importantly, you can get involved in chat-games which the gambling sites like to run.  Be an active chatter and have a natter It makes things easier and more fun, just don’t chat TOO much that you can’t mark your cards.

Look for Quiet Rooms - If you’re having an online bingo session don’t go for the near-full room.  Full rooms are attractive, but if you want bingo pay outs jump into a smaller room with a fewer number of players.  Theoretically less players = more payout for you, but also bear in mind that less players = less chat fun.

Duo Bingo - Carrying on from our first rule, we all know that the more cards you can play = the more times you can win.  Have you ever thought about getting a friend around to play with you?  You can look at 5 cards and they can look at 5 cards, then you’re instantly doubling your chances to win!

Take Regular Breaks - If you take regular breaks from bingo - you’ll be more relaxed, and your mind will work faster.  Aim to have a 10 minute break at least every 40 minutes, and relax doing something other than looking at a computer screen.  Headaches and eye strain are known to occur if you use computers too much.

Have fun - Yes - I know you will have fun, but remember it is only just a game.  Bingo has always been about having fun - and I hope it always will be.  So if you don’t win the jackpot, don’t worry.  There are plenty more games, and if you are managing your money - then you have plenty more chances to win also!

Good Luck

Chat 101

• Author: Ed
• Filed under: General
• Date: Jul 18,2008

Let’s face it; bingo always has been a rather social game.  Bingo halls were always a really good place to make friends for old and young people alike.  Now with the advent of online bingo sites I can happily say that this has not changed much. 

By all means, the only major change is the environment is no longer physical - you’re playing in a virtual bingo-hall in cyberspace.  You can chat, meet people and natter with the caller if you wish, but for some Bingo Chat can be as cryptic as text messages.  Today we’re going to give a quick 101 for all those people who don’t know their LOL from their ASL or their AFK from their LMAO.

So to start off - the general rule is we’re lazy.  Most of these strange terms are acronyms or just shortened words.  Take a look below and you will get the hang of it. 
A-Z of How to talk like a teenager

AFK - Away from Keyboard (person is no longer at his/her computer)
ASL - Age / Sex / Location (person is asking where you’re from what gender you are and how old you are)
AFAIK - As Far as I know
BRB - Be right Back
BBL - Be Back later
BBS - Be Back Soon
BTW - By the Way
CL - Chat Leader
CM - Chat Monitor
CYA - (person is saying bye)
CU - Same as above.
EVRY1 - everyone
EV1 - same as above
FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions (An informative short guide written in a question and answer format)
FYI - For your information
GG - Good Game (Person is saying they enjoyed the game)
GR8 - Great!
GTG / G2G - Good to Go (Person is saying they are ready)
H8 - Hate - user is expressing their dislike for something… i.e. I h8 u
IC - I see - for example Ahhh… IC
IMO - In my opinion
IRL - In real life
J/K JK - Joking - ( Person is saying they were joking )
LOL - Laugh out Loud ( Person is laughing )
LMAO Laughing My Ass Off ( Person is laughing their ass off )
MOM - Moment - shortened version of the word moment
NP - No Problem
OMG - Oh My God ( Person is shocked )
ROFL - Rolling on the Floor Laughing ( Person is.. you guessed it )
SOZ - Short for Sorry.
SRY - Same as above
TY - Thank you
TTFN - Ta Ta For Now
WB - Welcome Back
WTG - Way To Go! (Person is congratulating someone)
YW - Your Welcome
U = You
ZOMG = (OMG x 100)

Hopefully everyone is a little more enlightened now…   Good Luck!

Essential Online Bingo Tips

• Author: Ed
• Filed under: General
• Date: Jul 16,2008

Playing bingo online, is a great deal of fun, however playing online bingo does differ from its offline counterpart and today we’re going to give you some tips to help increase your chances and hopefully also your enjoyment and security when playing online bingo.

Safety & Security

Choose a well-known bingo site - Bingo tends to attract a-lot of genuine players, but a number of fraudsters also.  You need to be aware of the fact that the Internet is a very big place, and it is not that hard to set-up offshore banks, fake identities and eventually even fake bingo sites.  So you need to be careful with which bingo-site you choose, and make sure you don’t just go on gut instinct.  Check it out first - look for good support, good players, and do an Internet search to make sure they seem reputable.  If they get a-lot of complaints, you can often find out by doing a web search for "bingo site name" + reviews. 

Protect your personal information - Many people are well and truly addicted to online bingo chat.  For those you who are, you need to be careful.  Some of your fellow players are not who they say they are, and if they ask you for any personal information you need to be aware of the fact they could be looking to commit identity theft.  If they ask for passwords address details or anything suspicious; report them to the bingo site.  Remember, just because they play bingo does not make them a good person.  Take care of your personal information and remain vigilant.  Identity theft can happen to anyone, including bingo players!

If it looks too good to be true; is it? - How many times do you get junk-mail in your letterbox and instantly throw it in the bin because you know it’s too good to be true?  We all do and we have conditioned ourselves to realise this for real-life stuff, but for internet based activities we don’t always know what is and what is not too good to be true.  The secret here is to research and look for reviews and customer comments.   Once again this is part of "Choose a well-known bingo site" but if it really is too good to be true.  Look at the small print.  Often there is a disclaimer, and chances are they will say something like "winnings to be paid on a percentage monthly basis" if you win a million pounds but get paid £100 a week for the rest of your life, is it actually worth it?

Free-games are fun. - A lot of bingo sites are ad-supported.  This means they get a great deal of revenue from advertising, and as a result they can offer free games for their members.  This is a great way to meet people, have fun and play bingo.  Try them but remember the above rules.

Tomorrow we’re going to chat a bit.  Good Luck everybody!

Bingo Liner - A Quick Review

• Author: Ed
• Filed under: Reviews
• Date: Jul 14,2008

How many of you have actually heard of Bingo Liner? We’ve recently added them as a partner, and  we wanted to give you all the low-down on them so if you are on the lookout for a new bingo ‘partner’ you can maybe consider having a look at this company.

What’s it all about?

Bingo liner is a site that offers a range of unique bingo halls, with a range of patterns and you can play a large number of cards at once.  They offer multiple games, and have many features.  But are they any good?

The main focus of Bingo Liner is 75 ball Bingo.  They’re bingo hall software is leased from the very popular and famous "Leap Frog Gaming".  Bingo Liner aims to make things a bit more unique with four bingo halls and all sorts of variations.  Our opinion is that too much variety makes everything complicated, and there is a famous strategy many people use and works.  "KISS theory.  KEEP IT STUPIDLY - SIMPLE" However; in saying that, Bingo liner have been very careful not to over-do things, but we weren’t keen on their other games.   

The biggest thing we liked about Bingo Liner was the fact they have huge bonuses.  At the time we played they were offering a 20% bonus on deposits which is very rare.    Also we received a free $5 credit to our account as soon as we registered.  This meant we could effectively play for free.  If you are a regular customer, they do offer "VIP Bonuses" and this seems to be quite attractive.

One thing we will say - the support seems to be well "supported" we noticed a live chat service, which means you can talk with someone real-time without paying national rates to call a support desk, and this is much appreciated as being put on  hold because you can’t withdraw money is very frustrating.  We like live chats because you can often get issues fixed in 2 or 3 minutes - at no extra expense.

Overall, Bingo Liner seems like great fun.  They have the usual deposit options from credit card / NETeller / Click2Pay, but we recommend anyone that joins Bingo Liner use Neteller.  The reason for this - is that they have a special offer which will let you get a 200% match bonus if you deposit money with them.

Also Neteller is a very highly regarded firm, and they will definitely NOT steal your money. (Not that Bingo Liner would either).

Take a look at this up and coming room - and let us know what you think.

Good Luck!

Gala Bingo and Sue Ryder

• Author: Ed
• Filed under: General
• Date: Jul 12,2008

It seems that the UK online bingo giant and bingo hall operator Gala Bingo are going to be part of a huge 18 month long fund-raising event on behalf of the Sue Ryder Care Charity.

The international bingo operate says that they are aiming to raise a great deal of money.  They are committed to using all their assets to raise money for the charity, and they have set a target amount of approximately £1 million pounds.  For people that don’t know about Sue Ryder, they are a charity that provide care and respite for those suffering from various serious illness and they also provide support to their families. 

The Gala Coral group selected the national charity after performing an employee vote which saw Sue Ryder Care come out as the favoured charity.  This fundraiser will be evident in all Gala Bingo divisions from their bingo / casino / e-commerce and international sides.

Gala Coral group’s Chief Exec said, “We are delighted to be associated, and that they are very proud to be able to try and help this national charity for the outstanding work they do."

Sue Ryder Care look set to increase their hours of care and support from four million to more than double this.  They hope that the link with Gala will help them and they thank the company and their dedicated employees who voted them as their number one charity.

If this is not an incentive to give the Gala Bingo a try - what is?  It is a nice change to see bingo companies supporting charities like this, and while some may label it as a publicity stunt, £1 million is £1 million and it should do a great deal towards helping people Sue Ryder Care.

Congratulations Gala Bingo & Sue Ryder Care Group

Ladbrokes Bingo set to change

• Author: Ed
• Filed under: General, Reviews
• Date: Jul 9,2008

Sources have revealed that the Ladbrokes Bingo company have made some significant improvements to the bingo experience of it’s players in the past week.  Their games have been tweaked, enhanced and improved to be more enjoyable and accessible for punters.

Sadly, we’ve not yet had the chance to do an in depth review on Ladbrokes, but this never meant they are a bad casino.  They are certainly a very well known brand within the United Kingdom, and now there bingo has been ‘upgraded’ it looks set to become even more popular.

Main Attractions at Ladbrokes include a variety of theme rooms from "who wants to be a millionaire" to the bingo room "Attic" where you can win some real bargains.

Ladbrokes being an experienced gaming provider, offer a variety of other games, from slots to casino games. 

They also have a number of super promotions from buy one get one free hours, to millionaire rooms and other ‘features’.  All this helps to shun away the feeling that Ladbrokes is a bookies not a bingo site, when truly they are very good at providing both these services online.

We have to admit, that Ladbrokes still does not compare with some of its larger rivals such as Gala bingo.  Although they provide some very good games, the sheer quality and number of players just does not compare. 

Overall we give Ladbrokes a 7/10 but comparing it to Gala - they get a 9/10.

Don’t feel intimidated by their low score because Ladbrokes are certainly one of the premier providers within the UK.  Give them a try because Ladbrokes also offer various signup bonuses for new players - currently there is one running in which you deposit £10 and you get £20 free.

Good Luck!

National Lottery thinks Bingo is dead

• Author: Ed
• Filed under: News
• Date: Jul 8,2008

It seems that the national lottery has just "unfairly advertised its opinion of Bingo halls" by implying that the industry is dead according to a national watchdog.

The reason for this is due to their newest Television advert advertising their scratch cards.  This advert shows an elderly disabled woman on a ‘mobility scooter’ beeping her horn as she drives past a now derelict and closed bingo hall.    This add then goes to "erase" the scene and replace it with the film of the old lady driving past a beach scene, advertising their new "Flaming Hot Bingo" scratchcard.

Following complaints from the Bingo association, the Advertising Standards Authority have quite rightfully said that the advert does have a negative impact on bingo halls, and the advert denigrates the Bingo Hall in general.

As a result, the ASA have ruled against the National Lottery and banned the advert from appearing again on TV.  The Camelot group who are behind the national lottery, refuse to apologise about the incident, however they do accept the fact that their Ad has been removed.

Our thoughts on the matter are that the advert may be a hard look at a very real situation, but the truth of the matter is that this does nothing to help the Bingo industry.  Offline bingo does not attract the numbers it used to, but it is still a viable and enjoyable occasion for many people.  Adverts such as this merely serve to stop people that are new to bingo from taking up the activity.

What is your thought on the situation?   Do you agree with Camelot, or the Bingo Association.  Drop us a comment and let us know!

How many variations of Bingo exist?

• Author: Ed
• Filed under: General
• Date: Jul 6,2008

Today we’re having a bingo round-up.  We’ve been doing a few web searches recently and there are a large number of "exotic" types of bingo.  We know it’s a popular game, but how many variations can you have?

Take a look below; and tell us if we’ve got them all!

Traditional Bingo
I hope we know about this one already!  This is where people get house with a straight line, horizontal, vertical or diagonal.
Black-out Bingo or Cover it all

This one is painful but popular; often used for "Jackpot" events this is where you have to fill your ENTIRE card.
Blood Sweat and Tears
Not one Bingo, Not Two Bingos, BUT THREE BINGO’s on one card.  No wonder this one is called Blood Sweat and Tears!  Normally four corners do not count either!
Six Pack
you need to get six numbers, two rows of three, horizontal or vertical.  Check the rules with this one as there are some variations.
Nine Pack
The aim is to fill a bingo square with five numbers ( a 3×3 grid )
Eight States
The objective in this common bingo variation is to fill all the numbers that surround the "free space"
Postage Stamps
This one involves filling two squares of four numbers - each in a corner of the bingo card.
Kite and Tail
Imagine a kite, now imagine it on your bingo card!  For this one we have to fill a diagonal of 5 numbers, plus a corner thus making the "kite" shape.
Top and Bottom
Just as the name describes - the aim of the game is to fill the top and bottom rows.
"Dotty Picture frame"
This one creates a "dotted picture frame pattern" out of your bingo card, basically what you have to do is fill every alternate square on the outside of your card so it looks like a picture frame. 

So we think we’ve got them all.  Do you? Post back and comment if we’ve missed some!

Paddy Power Bingo

• Author: Ed
• Filed under: Reviews
• Date: Jul 4,2008

Today we take a quick look at paddy-power bingo and what they have to offer for new players and seasoned veterans alike. We’re going to do a quick review, and afterwards invite you to play with our sponsor with our special incentive offer of up to 350 free.

Bonus Information
1st time Deposit Bonus : 200%
Maximum amount : 350
Bonus funds are only available for bingo.
Deposit methods : Debit / Credit Card, Moneybookers, Neteller, Bank transfer, Cheque
Currencies: Euro, GBP
Licensed from: Isle of Man

The paddies have produced yet another great incentive for people to start trying online bingo. The site is aimed towards fun, and it is very easy to use. The Chat Managers are very helpful and give away lots of prizes in chat games, and they like a laugh too. If bingo gets you bored also, paddy power have a load more games that you can play with varying degrees of bonuses and prizes, however the main focus of this review is bingo.

Prizes

We’ve covered the bonuses; now lets take a look at the giveaways - Every other week paddy-power give away between 5-50,000 guaranteed. They do pay out, and they will give you your winnings. This is a great bonus as it is happening every week.

Games
90 Ball
75 Ball
Instant Win
Deal / No Deal
Chat-room games
Slot machines

I’ll be honest and say I stuck with the bingo games, as I tend to be a believer that the only winners on slots are the gaming rooms. Prove me wrong, but I like my bingo.

Support
When I first deposited, I had a slight problem in getting my funds. As a result I had to contact the customer services team, as a result they were polite, efficient and they were available when I called them at 11PM in the evening. Since then I’ve not had a problem, so I can’t really comment.

In general these guys are pretty good - I give them 8/10 The only drawback for me is their bingo could be a bit more easy to use. At the minute, it is great - but I feel it is just a bit cluttered.

However don’t let this put you off. You can give them a try and see how it goes. I hope you enjoy yourself!

R.I.P Bingo Hall

• Author: Ed
• Filed under: Reviews
• Date: Jul 2,2008

Well, it seems like we’ve done enough bantering about the old-fashioned bingo hall era. Rest in peace and all that.  Now we are going to focus on the digital era and the future of the game. 

Today, for all you that have never tried online bingo games, we will hopefully convince you to start!

So what exactly are the main advantages?

You can do it from your home
It’s cheaper
You only have to put up with yourself
Jackpots are sometimes higher

We’re going to start with telling you a little more about one of our advertisers - Gala bingo.

Gala bingo is certainly one of the most well known bingo chains in the UK.  In fact this is one of the brand names of bingo, and for the past few years they have once again returned to centre stage; focusing almost entirely in online endeavours. 

Gala bingo offer one of the most advanced bingo clients available.  It’s small, easy to use and friendly for us Internet novices out there!  What I like about it is the fact that it has lots of online help available if I need it. 
Anyway - for me at least; the most attractive thing about Gala right now are the signup bonuses.  Yes - you heard me correctly if you sign up with an online bingo hall you will get many bonuses when you sign up.  This is normally bingo credits so you can play a number of games for free.

I liked this touch as it was a good enticement for me to deposit a little money and enjoy the game for a lot longer.

However, be careful when you choose an online bingo hall, there are many out there who make it almost impossible to withdraw money or winnings.  Make sure that you choose a good one like Gala bingo to ensure that when you do win, its yours.