About The Busy Bee Bingo Directory
What exactly is Bingo?
Bingo is a game played around the world and there are various different versions. 90 ball bingo is the most common in the UK where players buy bingo cards with a grid 9 squares by 3 (9x3). Every bingo card has 3 lines down and columns across. Each line has 5 numbers chosen at random. Numbers are then called by a bingo caller at random from a selection of 90 different balls and players must mark off each number they have on their bingo card. Jackpots and Prizes are rewarded depending on how many lines are marked off on the bingo card. A Prize is rewarded for one line, two lines and then a full house which is all numbers on the players card. Jackpots and Prizes increase depending on how many lines a player marks off with their Dauber (pronounced: door-ba, a fancy marker pen). In the US its more common to play 75 ball bingo on a 5x5 grid and the center square is marked 'free'. Other variations include 80 and 30 ball bingo. 30 ball bingo is also know as 'Speed Bingo' and is played on a 3x3 card. A player is required to mark off all the numbers on their grid before any prize is rewarded. 80 ball bingo is a cross between 75 and 90 played on a 4x4 grid and usually requires players to have marked off their numbers in a pattern, e.g 4 corners or horizontal and diagonal lines. All variations of bingo can offer extra prizes or jackpots for marking off numbers in a certain pattern.
What is different about playing Bingo online?
Online Bingo although based on the original game played in bingo halls is slightly different from playing the physical game. Bingo cards are marked off and sorted automatically without you having to keep up with the bingo caller! Rather than sitting at a table and chatting with other bingo players you are given an online chat facility. The advantages of bingo cards being marked automatically (known as auto-daub) is that less concentration is required on the game which actually means you get more of a chance to chat which makes the online game much more of a social game than many would think. Some online bingo sites have meet ups and there have even been weddings where players have found love online! The auto-daub function also allows players to play many of the different side-games such as Slots, Scratchcards and casino games such as Roulette and Video Poker. Playing bingo online also means that a variety of other games can be created and played that just wouldn't be possible in the traditional bingo hall. This gives you some idea as to why online bingo has become so popular.
The No Deposit Bingo & the free Bingo & bonus headache!
As a novice bingo player it can be quite confusing seeing offers such as: "£15 free - no deposit required" and "Grab a 300% bonus". When we conducted a survey on a group of people who had never played before, some made comments such as "how can you have more than 100%?!" and "How can a site be offering free money? Surely I could just sign up, take the money and never come back!". When we explained how this worked a lot of the people felt that it would be confusing to lots of new players, we took this information on board when starting Busy Bee Bingo.
Sites offering free bingo with no deposit required usually have withdrawal conditions and wagering requirements, also the free amount offered is usually dealt with under a different balance sometimes called a "bonus balance" with the other balance being called a "cash balance". Anything spent in your bonus balance usually doesn''t count towards your wagering requirements. Usually you won't be able to withdraw any winnings from wagers in your bonus balance and some form of cash deposit must be made before you can withdraw.
Deposit bonuses are usually shown as a percentage which range from 25% to 500%. Percent actually means per 100 (the cent part of the word meaning 100) You can calculate this easily by dividing the bonus by 100 and then multiplying it by the amount you wish to deposit. E.g sites offering a 500% bonus on a deposit of £5 would be (500 / 100) x 5. You can type this into Google to calculate if you are not sure. Unlike other sites Busy Bee Bingo is designed to show you an example deposit and the amount you would get free rather than having to calculate each bonus yourself.
Choosing the right Bingo room
Every player should be looking for rooms selling cheap bingo tickets, high jackpots and as few players as possible. It is also important to check how many tickets a player can purchase. This will give you higher odds of winning. Although there are lots of sites out there that offer free bingo rooms, these rooms are usually full of people and each of those players is likely to have bought the maximum amount of bingo tickets (what with them being free and everything!) Usually in a free bingo room you can get around 12 tickets and we've seen rooms with around 500 people. 500 x 12 tickets is equal to...well..a lot! You probably have more chance of being run down by a herd of donkeys than winning the free jackpot! The free jackpots don't tend to be very high either and get shared between 3 players. We'll let you decide if you think this is something you wish to spend your time on.
The perfect Bingo site
When looking for a site there are some key criteria to follow.
- Quality software
- Integration of many different games from other software providers including slots, side games etc.
- Easy to navigate
- Good bonus structure
- Fair wagering requirements
- Licensed by the UK Gambling Commission
The most important factor is the software, this determines what the sites are like to play on however often the bigger sites bring in third-party games which means you get a wider choice. Most sites realise that this is very important to keep you playing and interested in what they have to offer.
Making a deposit and choosing a secure payment option.
Depositing real money for the first time can be quite daunting at first. You may have concerns over the site being related to gambling and handing over your bank details to a faceless company. Rest assured that we hand pick every site in our database so that you can be secure in the knowledge that you are dealing with a reputable company. We have already mentioned that is important to check that the site you are playing is licensed by the UK gambling commission but there are some other factors to look for which you can read about in our guide to making sure a bingo site is safe. If you really want to avoid handing over your card or bank details then we recommend using an e-wallet or voucher payment method for example Boku, PayPal, Neteller or Ukash - now known as paysafecard.
Licensed Bingo Sites
It is important that when looking through our directory that you check that the site is licensed by the UK Gambling Commission and is allowed to advertise and accept players based in the UK. To make sure you are playing somewhere with the correct license, check the footer of the website. This will usually inform you which country the website has acquired it's license. If you cannot find this information in the footer this is usually a pretty good indication that they are hiding something from you and it is our recommendation that you avoid playing there. The UK Gambling commission make sure that each operator has a strict process that makes their games fair. Often the software will use some for of RNG (random number generator) to make sure that their games give players a fair chance of winning. This is tested by separate impartial company to make sure that games are "random enough". If you find that a website is not displaying the UK Gambling Commission License Number we strongly recommend you do not play there. Chances are the games could be rigged and if you do win the money cannot be withdrawn.
string(85) "https://www.busybeebingo.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/mighty-jackpots-150x150-100x100.jpg"
