The most important thing to remember is that, however, it’s dressed up in a vibrant community, online bingo is still a form of gambling and if you’re highly competitive, it can be easy to get carried away. Keep in mind that it’s meant to be fun and indeed it is, but if at any point it changes from fun into something else, then that’s the time to put the brakes on.
Remember too that you’re playing for fun and you might get lucky and win a bit. If you join in online bingo games with the sole purpose of earning a living through it (like professional poker players do) then you’re likely to be very disappointed (and more than a little skint). Play for fun but be prepared to lose. With that in mind, it’s advisable to set yourself a ‘fun money’ limit and once it’s lost, that’s it.
Happily, though, many of the bingo networks now offer something of a “try before you buy” system, so you can play many games (and even win) for free or for very little to start with. Often you can play deposit free, gaining £5 or £10 worth of free bingo money just for registering with your details. If you’d like to know which play sites offer the best deals, take a look at informative websites like Webbingo.us which give you a roundup of what’s hot and what’s… This way you can try out the site, see whether you enjoy the facilities, the games and of course the chat and the prizes. There’s no obligation to keep going once you’ve spent your free bingo money unless of course, you want to make a deposit. With most networks, having access to this free bingo money on registering doesn’t mean you miss out on first deposit bonuses – in fact, you’re likely to be offered extra incentives to make the first deposit once your free bingo cash runs out.
Those initial deposits can mean useful bonuses which extend your playing purse, but you’d have to be pretty lucky to transform your bonus booty into actual cash which you can withdraw. If you’re making a deposit, be aware that many online sites have a high play-through threshold which has to be met before making any initial withdrawals. So again, think of the bonus as just that, a bonus which allows you to stay and play for a bit longer.
One of the real perks for tired mums who don’t have the energy (or babysitters) to be able to meet up with friends regularly, is the social side of online bingo. If you don’t like Facebook (and not everyone does, you know) then bingo communities are ideal ways to ‘meet up’ with friends and family online, have a bit of fun and a chat. Most have chat games where you can chat whilst the game’s in play, which is fine for general banter, the “hi, how’s you stuff” but obviously you don’t want to air your dirty linen to your sister with 70 other people reading your every word. However, most sites have a private message system in operation although you might need to be a fully-funded member to have this facility (ie: you might not have it if you’re on a deposit-free trial).
Another benefit is that if you find a site you like and you know family members might be interested in playing with you there, you can invite them to sign up which will earn you both rewards. This reward could be in the form of a sum of extra bingo money or loyalty points as many sites are proud of their communities and encourage players to stay and build up loyalty points to earn free tickets for games as well as extra bingo money.
Finally, do keep shopping around. The online bingo network is a growing one and there are always new sites coming along with new offers. It’s possible to enjoy plenty of bingo fun just on that ‘try before you buy’ basis so keep a good lookout and you can enjoy many evenings of bingo for absolutely nothing!
