Where Can I Find the Best New Bingo Sites?
New bingo sites are launched on a monthly basis. In fact, recently the online bingo market has been completely flooded with tonnes of new bingo sites. There are now close to 400 different brands available for customers to join. But with such a choice how do you know which is the best to join? What is the best offer? Is it easy to withdraw your winnings? With so many new bingo sites launching these can be difficult questions to answer. So instead, we’ve put together a guide to assist the customer in making the right choice.
What the Software Providers Offer
Let’s be honest, how many times have you joined a new bingo site to find that it is not really that new? In fact, the only thing different is the logo and design of the home page. Once you’ve become a member and made your deposit you find it to be exactly the same as the last site you joined. This is tiring, confusing, and very frustrating.
In effect the online bingo market is dominated by a number of major software providers. These are Dragonfish, Cozy Games, Virtue Fusion and Microgaming. To a much lesser extent there is also Jumpman Gaming, Gamesys and Bede Gaming. Because so few brands dominate the market it means customers are likely to come across ‘carbon copies’. But what are the variations between the software providers and what can you expect?
All new Dragonfish bingo sites will offer you 90 ball and 75 ball versions of bingo. There is also often ‘high 5 bingo’. Depending on the individual site or network you may also find a unique jackpot room. Sadly, the unique rooms are limited in their number. One advantage of a Dragonfish site is the number of slots available. Top names for the casino world such as NetEnt and IGT have their games on Dragonfish sites. This is worth bearing in mind if you’re a fan of slots. One downside is that many new sites launched with Dragonfish tend to be networked. This means that the promotions and offers are often identical to other sites that are already available. That also applies to the design of the games lobby, which often has the same look and layout as other sites.
Cozy Games
Cozy offer a big choice of bingo games. At each site you’ll find 90 ball, 80 ball, 75 ball, 50 ball and 30 ball bingo. The range of slots on offer is not quite up to the standard of some operators. So far, they only offer a number of Microgaming slots to fit in alongside their own software. In fact, it is Cozy sites that are the biggest culprit for simply ‘churning them out’. They are often released with the same lobby, same games and same promotions as the many sites that preceded them. There are only a very small handful of sites which actually offer a unique games room – one being Big Love Bingo.
Virtue Fusion
This software provider has more bingo players than any other software provider, with giants of the bingo world Gala using this software. There are the traditional 90 ball and 75 bingo games that sit alongside a number of unique games. One such game is Rainbow Riches, and also on offer is the very popular Deal or No Deal Bingo, based on the hit TV show. The range of additional slot games is very good ,and many Virtue Fusion sites offer their own unique promotions and bingo rooms. All the big jackpot games are linked to one another to create some very large jackpots.
New Sites Going Mobile
No matter which software provider you choose, all are making strides to ensure their games will work on a mobile device. Many are now implementing HTML5, the coding behind mobile gaming, on their sites. There is no doubting that some sites are better than others. For example, Cozy offers lots of games but no chat facility is available to mobile players. The player interaction is a key element for bingo players so this is definitely a thumbs down. Leading the way is Virtue Fusion who are making the transition to mobile bingo as smooth as possible.
Mobile play is becoming very popular, so the pressure is on sites now to meet demand. Almost everyone now has a smartphone, and it is much easier to play on that than booting up a laptop or PC. Some sites offer players an app to download. This means that rather than going to the website each time, players can just tap and go. New sites in particular are targeting mobile players, making their sites mobile friendly. As bingo tech evolves, new sites are getting more impressive, allowing for smoother play on mobile and more flexibility to play on the go.
The Deposit Bonus Honey Trap
A classic way for a new bingo site to obtain new customers is to offer a large bonus. This can be a no-deposit bonus or a deposit bonus. A no deposit bonus is when a customer is awarded ‘free money’ for simply joining up. It is not free money that is awarded; rather it is ‘free bonus funds’. The two are very different. Bonus money cannot be withdrawn until the wagering requirements are met.
A wagering requirement is a term that tells players how to convert their bonus money to cash. It is often written as “10x”. This means that you must bet 10x the bonus amount to turn the bonus into cash. Once it is cash, you can withdraw it. Bonus money cannot be withdrawn. It is just for spending on the site. Meeting the wagering requirement and turning it to cash is the only way to withdraw it.
A deposit bonus is where the customer is awarded bonus funds when they make a deposit. The bonus amount will usually be triggered by a deposit of £5 or £10. Players may need to enter a code with the deposit to claim the bonus. Quite often when a brand new bingo site first launches, they will offer a generous bonus to entice new customers through the door. It’s no different than a newly launched product that offers a big discount to encourage customers to buy their goods. You should always remember that any form of bonus will have a wagering requirement attached to it. This affects your ability to make a withdrawal on those bonus funds. Always take the time to read the promotional terms and conditions very carefully. Similarly, some promotions are valid until further notice, whereas others are for a short time only; always check the T&Cs.
There have been some big changes for bonuses awarded to new customers. In January 2016 a tax was introduced on the bonus funds that a bingo site chooses to give away. This means that bingo sites now pay tax on any bonuses they award. In the past it was not uncommon to get £25 free or even £50 free in bonus funds. But as the UK Government started to tax this, these amounts have generally decreased. Bonuses are still a key tool to entice new customers to join a newly launched bingo site. But the law change is also good news for the customer. Without the reliance on bonuses, bingo sites have started to offer more creative deals. Also, there are fewer huge percentage offers with massive wagering requirements attached. But this tax did unfortunately mean the end for those enormous bonuses of 400%.
The Important Role of Licensing & Regulation
Before a new bingo site can launch it needs to be licensed by the UK Gambling Commission. The UK Gambling Commission has authorised a number of territories where bingo sites can operate. The most commonly used are The Isle of Man and Gibraltar. Bingo sites cannot legally operate for UK players if they are not licensed by the UKGC. This is very important as the UKGC sets out very strict criteria that need to be met before it will issue a license. One of these is the site must allow customers to self-exclude themselves to protect vulnerable players. They must also provide tools to encourage responsible gambling only. Most importantly they have now enforced rules which makes withdrawals a lot easier than in the past. Formerly, silly amounts of money would need to be deposited before you could even think about making a withdrawal. Since the UKGC clamped down on this practice it is now not uncommon to deposit just £10 before being able to withdraw your winnings.
The UKGC doesn’t just issue licenses; it also monitors all licensed sites. They regularly check that the games are fair and legit, and that the site is doing things like protecting player data, advertising responsibly, and operating ethically. Protecting players from gambling addiction and harm is one of their top priorities.
It is therefore crucial when looking for new bingo sites that you check to make sure the site is fully licensed by the UKGC. For extra peace of mind all the sites listed on this page are fully licensed and classed as safe to join by the UKGC.
What are the Advantages of Playing at a New Bingo Site?
You may be wondering why so many players love finding brand new bingo sites that have just launched. Why play at a new bingo site when you could play on one that is tried and tested? Well, here are some of the great things about a new bingo site.
- It will have new, fresh artwork.
- Its tech will be the most modern version its provider can offer.
- There may be exclusive launch promotions.
- The managers may put out big bonuses or freebies to attract a player base.
- You may find promotions you haven't seen before.
- There may be new bingo rooms.
- Freshen up your bingo play with variety.
When you try out a new bingo site you may even find a new favourite.
Do New Bingo Sites Allow £5 Deposits?
When you consider joining a new bingo site, you may be wondering if they will accept £5 minimum deposits. The good news is, many new bingo sites allow 5 pound deposits. It will largely depend on which platform the site is built on. For example, on 888 new bingo sites, 5 pound deposits are not uncommon. To know whether a new bingo site accepts £5 minimum deposits, check the review page. Here all the site details and info are listed.
