The Rise of £5 Deposit Bingo Sites
There are various types of £5 minimum deposit bingo sites to be found on the internet and we specialise in bringing you
those websites which offer the best value for money for your first deposit bonus. Five pound deposit bingo
websites are ideal for the more cautious or those who are on a tight budget.
Over the last few years there has been a big rise in 5 pound deposit bingo sites, 5 pound
deposit bonus bingo and 5 pound free bingo. The
rise in popularity with these websites has been linked to the economic factors that the
UK has faced over the last few years. As unemployment rose and the cost of living
increased, peoples disposable income decreased. Naturally bingo players started to
tighten their belt and reduce the amount they would spend playing games
online. A number of the big operators noticed this trend so acted and decided to do
something about to keep new customers rolling through there doors. This lead to the
invention of the £5 deposit bonus bingo. The larger operators,
including Paddy Power and Buzz Bingo
amongst others, realised that most people would
stretch to spending £5 instead of £10. They realised that a first deposit of
£10 was seen as stretching things just a bit too far, hence the birth of the lower deposit
bonus using payment methods such as PayPal and Neteller.
What is £5 Deposit Bingo?
Really it is just a clever marketing ploy by new bingo sites to get new customers on
board. As once you've signed up you're then bombarded with a tempting array of big
jackpots and other bonuses. The impact of a recession leads people to believe that they
could win their way out of financial trouble, even though very few people would admit to
that. So while it was initially seen as a small outlay, it often turned into bigger
spending habits as people looked to win bigger and better prizes. Fortunately the UK
Gambling Commission has since tightened the reigns on how bonuses are advertised and
there are now very strict guidelines in place to stop 'false advertising'. Of course, we
are only talking about a small population of online players.
Who Can Benefit From a £5 Bingo Offer?
A 5 pound minimum deposit bingo website is ideal for those players who like to dip in and out.
Where the bingo games are more about the online engagement with others rather than trying to win big.
It's about playing a few games such as those from Starburst
or Virtue Fusion, chatting with your online roomies and watching your
spend. Therefore a website which offers a deposit bonus with an initial spend of £5 is
perfect. It will allow the individual to fully test all the games on offer. It will also
allow you to happily play for longer as you have more bonus funds from your first
deposit.
Naturally it is not all good news and there are a number of areas where extreme caution
should be advised. It may seem obvious but the advert of 'free money' doesn't actually
mean 'free money' at all. The 'money' is bonus money, which is not real cash. This means
if you seen an advert for 'deposit £5 get £25 free' you won't get £25 in cash,
but you will need to "withdraw bingo bonus". This will allow you to play all the games in the
normal way but it does also have an affect on withdrawing your winnings related to bingo.
If you were lucky enough to win then you'll rightly want to withdraw your winnings. But
virtually all websites have a wagering requirement and wagering requirements vary. This
means that in return for them
giving you lots of 'free money' you'll have to spend lots of money before making a
withdrawal. The most common is four times your deposit + the bonus amount received. Here
is an example £5 + £20 = £25 times 4 = £100. This means you'll need to
play through £100
before being able to withdraw the bonus funds you were awarded. To summerise while a
five pound deposit bingo site may seem like the perfect way to win with spending a little, the
reality this may not be the case.
But its not just the initial bonus award that carries a wagering requirement. The bingo
site you've just signed up to will also bombard you with emails and different promotions
– usually advertising more bonus offers. Heres the catch, that bonus will carry a
wagering requirement. It is often the case that a player will sign up, claim a bonus,
play, claim another another bonus and then win. This time around however the wagering
requirements have doubled from before, therefore making it near on impossible to
withdraw the winnings – unless you spend nearly everything you've just won.
Bingo?
Ever since the launch of online bingo, bonuses have been a way to entice new customers.
It is what generally tended to set one bingo site apart from another. Why join one
website and get a £10 bonus when you could join another and get a £20 bonus? Also,
comparison websites much like this one display the amount of bonus awarded. Its a tried
and tested way for bingo players to test a site. But what will happen without it?
Well it may not all be totally bad news. Although you the player will no longer have the
opportunity to 'try before you buy' there will no longer be those wagering requirements
that are hidden in the terms and conditions. In theory this should eradicate complaints
from players who are unable to claim their winnings after winning the jackpot. No
bonuses will exist, so therefore no wagering requirements should exist. This can only be
good news, as this transparency will help all parties understand what they can now
withdraw.
Alternatives to Deposit Bonus Funds?
But what will be on offer from the different bingo sites instead of deposit bonus funds?
This is a good question and there are rumours of gifts being offered. So instead of
depositing £5 and getting a bonus award, instead you may well get a free mug or other
type item. So are these bingo site owners becoming more generous? Sadly not. Items such
as mugs and other goods are tax deductible, which means the website owner will get a
break in their tax allowance. It is essentially another way for the website owner to
avoid paying tax. So rather than offering a deposit bonus and get taxed every time it is
awarded, they'll use the initial outlay to buy the gifts and then get a tax break at the
end of the year.
Bingo Bonus?
As things stand current bingo operators are still offering bingo bonuses to entice new
customers. However the £5 deposit bonus is a rare beast. Various rules have changed
recently, including the minimum deposit and withdrawal amounts. If a bingo site offers
you a minimum £5 deposit then it also has to allow a minimum withdrawal of £5. These
low
minimums can be costly for the site owner so it is easier to simply stick with a £10
deposit bonus and avoid having to change all the terms and conditions on the website.
One interesting change has been the advent in recent times of the 'wager free, winnings
paid as real cash' bonus offer. This can be found across numerous dragonfish sites. It
seems like a pretty good deal, and compared to a lot of other offers it is a pretty good
deal. However the headline offer can be a little misleading. The offer is usually
'deposit £5 get X free bingo tickets plus get 5 spins'. No wagering requirements is
excellent as is winnings paid as cash, so whats the catch? Well the winnings usually
have a cap somewhere between £1-£2 so you're hardly likely to get rich! So beware,
because if you're lucky enough to get a big win from your free spins you will not be
able to claim it. Equally some of these sites apply wagering requirements to just the
bingo bonus but not the free spins. It therefore always pays to check the terms and
conditions. It is also worth noting that sometimes bonuses like free spins expire!
One big rule change is not necessarily around the bonus structure, but more to do with
payment methods. As from April 2019 all UK players are no longer allowed to deposit by
credit card. This includes using a facility like PayPal or Neteller and this information
will be valid until further notice. The government and
gambling bodies believed that credit cards were leading to some bingo players developing
gambling addiction. The new rule changes around bonuses and the banning of credit card
payments is seen as a way of helping to stop problem gambling.
One thing is for sure. With these new changes and lack of bonus awards to 'try before
you buy' now could be the best time to try various bingo sites that have a low minimum
deposit amount such as £5. However if you're someone who still likes to bet big then
we'd recommend taking a look at www.topoftheshopbingo.com as it covers all kinds of
bingo sites and not just those with a lower minimum deposit.