Best Bingo Sites 2021

How we Rate Bingo Sites

Now that you’ve seen what we think are the best bingo sites around, we’re going to run you through our rating method. This involves many areas of what a bingo site has to offer, and that’s what gives us the final score at the end.

• Safe, UK regulated websites
• User experience
• Bingo games
• Community
• Other Games
• Bonuses & promotions
• Terms and conditions
• Payment methods
• Withdrawals
• Customer support

UK Regulated

The first thing we look at when playing at and promoting an online bingo site is where the website is regulated. We only play at bingo sites that are regulated by the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC). That also means you’ll only find licensed brands on our website.

In every review, we highlight the licence number which also links to the Commission’s website. This allows you to see that the site is safe and whether any fines have been issued in the past. Another way to see if the site is UK-regulated is by looking in the footer of the website for the licence number and link.

UK bingo sites with a verified licence have their games tested and audited often. They also have to ensure that business funds and player funds are in separate bank accounts. Not only that, but the UKGC forces them to use SSL encryption so that all transactions are secure. As well as customers’ details.

These rules and regulations aren’t enforced if you are playing at an offshore bingo site. This is why we only list bingo sites that are approved by the UK Gambling Commission.

Great User Experience

When visiting any website you want it to have a clear and concise design, this is especially true of bingo sites. If it’s not easy to see the start time, cash prize amount, or ticket prices, you’ll end up looking for another bingo site.

Most bingo sites that are around today are well-designed, and the ones that aren’t will surely be redesigned soon. Nowadays, the design needs to be perfect on both desktop and mobile devices. One reason that we like new bingo sites is due to knowing that they are all going to be great for mobile bingo.

The speed of the website is also a factor when considering the user experience. You should be able to switch from one page to another within seconds, it should take no longer than 3 seconds.

The in-game experience also needs to be top drawer. You should be able to easily select the number of tickets you want to buy with it displaying the total amount. Also, most sites let you pick between auto-dabbing or manual. As bingo is built on a community foundation you also expect it to be easy to use the chat room on both mobile and desktop.

Bingo Games Variety

One of the main things that we consider is what bingo games are on offer. This will vary on the bingo software, and in the case of independent sites, you’ll find only exclusive games.

Two bingo game variants that you’ll find at every site are 90-ball and 75-ball bingo. Then, the majority of sites will also have other alternatives. Some of these include 80, 40, and 52-ball bingo rooms, as well as Swedish Bingo which is also known as 5-line bingo.

The UK classic is 90-ball bingo, but innovation is now paving the way for new bingo games. An example is Pragmatic Play’s Bingo Blast which is mobile-first and is 3-4 times faster than 90-ball bingo.

If you play at Virtue Fusion sites you’ll find branded games like Deal or No Deal Bingo and Rainbow Riches Bingo. It’s best to try a handful of the top bingo sites and find which software provider you like the best. But, don’t forget to try the independent bingo sites too like MrQ, Bingocams, and Tombola.

Networked games vs Exclusive rooms

This leads us on to the difference between networked games and exclusive games. This isn’t something that we necessarily rate sites on, but it’s important to mention. As we mentioned you’ll find many bingo sites using one bingo network, Dragonfish for example. The networked bingo games are playable across other Dragonfish sites, which makes prizes bigger as more players join. This can be good and bad, more players mean more money, but also less chance to win.

Exclusive bingo rooms are simple, you’ll only find these at that specific bingo site or others owned by the same group, like with Gamesys. At popular independent sites like Tombola, you’ll find lots of players, but smaller independent sites can result in small cash prizes. That’s why it’s good for bingo sites to have a mix of networked games and exclusive games. One site that does this well, even though it uses the Dragonfish network, is 888 Ladies.

Community Chat Rooms

As we said, online bingo for most players is about having fun first and for the community feeling. That’s why bingo sites need to offer an interactive chat room where you can speak with other players. Winning the jackpot prize is less important for some bingo players.

The best bingo sites will allow customers to chat with one another on mobile or desktop devices. Not all bingo rooms will have a chat feature, so you’ll need to find which ones do when you sign up for a new site.

We think that the community chat rooms are only as good as the chat moderator. If they don’t have fun topic conversation starters and quizzes ready, this can make players look elsewhere for a more lively experience. It’s also the job of the moderators to make sure that no one is verbally abused or bullied.

Some websites even allow you to create chat groups with certain members. If you want to play with someone again, or if you’ve introduced your friend to online bingo, you can then chat privately whilst playing.

Slots and Other Games

Something else that we consider when evaluating the best bingo sites is what other games are on offer. It’s common now to see online slots, scratchcards, and Slingo games available at bingo sites. In fact, those that don’t offer these games are the odd ones out.

As bingo isn’t the fastest-paced game, it’s good to have these extra options for players that also enjoy slots. Most bingo sites will have over 300 slot games from many different game providers. You’ll even find some with over 1,000 slots so they can be considered more slot sites than bingo sites.

Scratchcards are like the ones that you can buy in shops apart from the fact that they’re in digital form. Depending on the website, you’ll find these in the Instant Wins category. There are also Slingo games, these are a mix between bingo and slots, with a few more surprises. We’ve got a separate list of our best Slingo sites so make sure to check that out if you enjoy this game type.

Welcome Bonus & Future Promotions

One of the main ways that bingo sites attract new players is through welcome bonuses. With over 200 UK bingo sites available, competition is fierce. This is why promotions can make or break a site.

Bingo welcome bonuses can come in a few different forms. The first to mention is free no deposit bingo. This gives you the chance to play certain bingo rooms for a set number of days for free. Not all bingo sites offer this, but many do, including MrQ and Costa Bingo.

Next, we’ll look at bingo match deposit bonuses. For example, at BRAND, you’ll receive a 200% bonus of up to £100 when making your first deposit. To get this, most sites set the lowest deposit limit to £10, but there are some £5 deposit bingo sites like Safari Bingo.

Another common bonus is free bingo tickets when making your first deposit. The bingo tickets will be fixed to one or two bingo rooms depending on the offer. If it is a no-wagering bingo site then whatever you win from these free tickets is returned as real cash.

As we mentioned, bingo sites also offer slots, so you’ll find some websites giving away free spins as bonuses. In fact, at Jumpman bingo sites like Mirror Bingo, the welcome bonus only consists of free spins.

Bonus Terms & Conditions – Including Wagering Requirements

We can’t mention bonuses without getting into the finer details of the terms and conditions. Although there was a rise in no wagering bingo sites, this seems to have slowed down. Plus, even at some of these no-wagering sites, there are still limitations in place.

Standard bonus terms and conditions include wagering requirements, win limits, and game limitations. Starting with the wagering side, the standard will vary from 1-8x. This is the standard range. It then differs per site based on whether it’s applied to the bonus amount only or the deposit and bonus amount. So, if you get a £10 bingo bonus with 4x wagering on the bonus amount only then you’ll need to wager £40. After that, your remaining balance will become real cash which can be withdrawn.

Most sites will have an expiry date on the bonus too. For example, after you receive the bonus you have 10 days before it expires. That just means you need to use it within this time. Some bingo sites have win limits too, but this is more the case when getting a slots bonus and will be set at £100 or similar.

If a bingo site offers free spins as a bonus then it’s likely that there is a win cap involved. This is usually the case with no wagering free spins too, most often set at £1 or £2. This makes the bonus less exciting, but they’re free after all.

Payment methods (deposits & withdrawals)

Being able to deposit and withdraw is one of the most important things, otherwise, how do you play? Fortunately, most bingo sites have a wide range of payment methods on offer. The most popular that you’ll find are:

• Debit cards (Visa/Mastercard)
• PayPal
• Apple Pay
• Paysafecard
• Pay-by-mobile
• Bank transfer
• Neteller
• Skrill

All these can be used to make a deposit. But, not all of them are available for withdrawals. Each bingo site requires you to withdraw to the same method that you deposited with. Of course, unless it’s not possible with that method. This is the case with Apple Pay, Paysafecard, and Pay-by-mobile deposits. All the other deposit options accept withdrawals as well.

It’s important to remember that you aren’t able to deposit with credit cards anymore as the UKGC banned this in 2020. This is better as players can only gamble within their limits.

Fast Withdrawals

The length of withdrawals is something that we also look at when we review each online bingo site. We accept that it’s always going to be easier to deposit than to withdraw. But, we also want bingo sites to offer fast withdrawals as it then spurs their competitors to do the same, or better.

Kitty Bingo and Lucky Pants Bingo are two bingo sites that will have your money back to you the same day in most cases. Some UK banks don’t offer fast withdrawal options yet so this might not be possible for some. But, if you bank at one that does, you’ll have your money back in minutes rather than days at these sites and others.

Customer Support

The final point on our checklist to determine the top bingo sites is how good the customer support is. First, we look at the number of contact methods available and which ones are on offer. The bare minimum is having an email address to contact. Unfortunately, a lot of sites have only this, especially Jumpman bingo sites. To get 5 out of 5, we believe that the site should have live chat, email, and a phone option available. Having one quick help method like a phone or live chat option is a great advantage.

Second, the customer support team must be available during peak playing hours. The majority of sites offer between 12 and 24 hours of support every day of the week. If you’re playing at betting sites with bingo like Paddy Power Bingo or bet365 Bingo then you’ll have 24/7 support. Smaller bingo sites especially white label sites won’t have 24/7 support though.

As players, if the customer support response times are slow, we’ll play elsewhere. If a site offers live chat though you will get help in minutes rather than hours. Using a free phone line is another fast way to get help.

The Best Bingo Software Providers

When it comes to which bingo games you can play at each site this depends on which software the website uses. The majority of the UK bingo sites run on the Dragonfish software platform, but there are more.

There’s also the chance you’ll be playing at a website that has its own bingo software like MrQ or Tombola. These are what we refer to as independent bingo sites as they built their own proprietary software.

Now, we look at the most popular bingo software providers that you’ll find at bingo sites. There’s also more information about each provider, just follow the links below.

• Dragonfish
• Virtue Fusion (Playtech)
• Pragmatic Play (Jumpman)
• Cozy Games
• Gamesys

Dragonfish

Dragonfish is the bingo software that is owned and managed by the 888 Group. All 888 bingo brands run on this network and many white-label brands use this service too. Costa Bingo and Wink Bingo are two 888-owned sites that use the platform. Whilst Bounce Bingo and Mint Bingo are also Dragonfish sites, but they’re owned and marketed by a different company.

New players to most Dragonfish sites will get three days of access to the free bingo room. There are also large progressive jackpot prizes due to the number of bingo sites on the Dragonfish network.

Virtue Fusion

The Virtue Fusion software doesn’t power the most bingo sites, but it is home to some of the most famous. Virtue Fusion is owned by the game provider giant, Playtech. Virtue Fusion sites include Sun Bingo, Buzz Bingo, and Mecca Bingo to name-drop a few big names. Playtech bingo sites boast daily free bingo as well as branded bingo games like Deal or No Deal Bingo.

Pragmatic Play

Out of all the bingo software providers, Pragmatic Play is the newest on the scene. That doesn’t mean that it’s not as good as the others, although the number of games is still growing.

Pragmatic Play has been innovative though, by introducing Bingo Blast, a mobile-first bingo game that has no lines. You can enjoy Pragmatic Play bingo at all Jumpman bingo sites, as well as PlayOJO and LeoVegas.

Cozy Games

The Cozy Games bingo platform was acquired by Entain, formerly GVC in 2017. At that time, it was one of the largest online bingo networks around with over 100 bingo sites using it. Entain planned to own the platform as they already used it for Cheeky Bingo and Foxy Bingo.

The white-label part was closed shortly after, which led to many bingo sites migrating to Dragonfish or Jumpman software. Entain has now added Ladbrokes Bingo and Coral Bingo to the Cozy Games network. There’s a great community feel at the brands that use the Cozy platform, they all have great designs too. As well as exclusive games too like Friends Bingo.

Gamesys

Gamesys software is like Cozy Games, in the sense that it’s a closed platform only for the brands owned by Gamesys Group. These include some of the largest bingo sites in the UK, like Heart Bingo, Jackpotjoy, and Virgin Games.

You’ll find a range of different bingo games as well as many online slots. The beauty of these bingo sites is that they all come with no wagering requirements on bonus offers. Heart Bingo also has many exclusive bingo rooms that aren’t available on the other two.

Independent Bingo Sites

As we mentioned above, some bingo sites use their own proprietary software. We want to highlight some of these as they are top bingo sites and might not get as much attention as some of the others. Although, you’ll definitely be familiar with Tombola. Below you can find all independent bingo sites, and if you follow that link you’ll find more details on each one.

UK Bingo Sites Bonuses Explained

Bingo sites, just like slot sites, offer new and existing players bonuses. We’ve already mentioned that there are different bingo bonuses but now we’ll look at these in more detail.

Free Bingo

Free bingo is offered by a lot of bingo sites after you’ve just registered for an account. For example, at Dragonfish sites, you’ll get three days of access to the preselected free bingo room. Depending on the site, the winnings will be paid back to your account in bonus money or real cash.

Another time you can get free bingo is in the daily games like at Sun Bingo. They offer £1,000 every single day in cash prizes and many other sites offer similar free daily bingo. Or, if it’s not a daily game then you’ll likely find weekly or monthly free bingo.

Bingo Tickets

As you’ve seen in the bingo sites list above, some welcome bonuses include bingo tickets when you make a deposit. Wish Bingo is one of these sites that award players with free bingo tickets after a first deposit. When you receive tickets, these will be for certain games and have a different ticket price value. Some may cost 10p per ticket, whilst others will get you entry into £10 ticket rooms.

Depending on the site, your winnings from the bingo tickets will need to be wagered, unless the bingo site has no wagering requirements. We like this offer as it’s a good way for new players to try out a new site.

Bingo Bonus

Finally, some sites offer deposit bingo bonuses with bonus cash. For example, the Prize Land Bingo gives new depositing players a £40 bingo bonus when adding at least £10. This bonus can then be used in any bingo room instead of only in certain rooms like with free tickets or free bingo.

As we mentioned in the terms and conditions section, these bonuses will have wagering set at 1-8x. This will either be on the bonus amount or the deposit and bonus amount. This type of promotion is the most common at bingo sites and will be given to both new and existing players. We like the freedom of being able to play in any bingo room that we like.

Free Spins

Although it’s not a bingo bonus, we want to mention free spins as many sites offer these in promotion packages. In fact, at Jumpman bingo sites you’ll only find free spins welcome offers and not one bingo bonus.

Unless stated, all free spins winnings need to be wagered before you can withdraw any money. The number of free spins given out will vary on each site.

How to Claim Your Bingo Bonus

Claiming an online bingo bonus is simple, which is great news. Some bingo sites require you to enter a promo code to receive the bonus, and this will be stated on the bingo site.

We also make sure all bonus codes are frequently updated across the Bingo Cove website. To get a bonus with a code all you need to do is apply the code in the relevant box before pressing the deposit button.

Although some sites use bonus codes, many of them have it set up to work automatically. Simply, add the required amount whether it’s £5 or £10 and then you’ll see the bonus amount appear in your balance. On some bingo sites, you’ll need to claim the bonus in the deposit lobby which is easier than copying and pasting a code.

Best Bingo Sites for Mobile

Mobile bingo isn’t a new phenomenon, but still, some bingo sites don’t have a great offering on mobile. Then, others excel in this area and make sure to build mobile-first games. Earlier, we mentioned Bingo Blast from Pragmatic Play, which was made with mobile in mind.

As mobiles and tablets become the main device used in the home and outside, it’s great that this is happening. Mobile bingo apps are offered by the top sites and if you want the best experience we suggest you download one. If your preferred bingo site doesn’t have an app then you can still play easily via any mobile browser.

Some bingo apps that we recommend are Tombola, Mecca Bingo, and Foxy Bingo.

Best Bingo Sites FAQs