Choosing a site

There are many online Bingo site available online, which can make it difficult to choose. There are a few things you should take into consider when choosing a site.

First, and most importantly, is reputation. With a reputable site you have some guarantee that they will pay out if you win and that the game isn't rigged. It's always bet to choose well known sites and check reviews before signing up.

The second thing is the type of games available. There are many different varieties of Bingo, if you have a particular favourite then make sure that the site you choose offers it.

Lastly the features of the software. Most online Bingo games have handy features that fill in the cards automatically and sort the cards according to how close they are to Bingo.

Installing

Some Bingo sites require you to download a piece of software and install it on your computer (you may need to signup for an account before you do this). We recommend that you only download the software directly from the Bingo company's website. In this way you can be sure that it's the latest version and avoid issues with viruses.

Other sites will allow you to play inside you web browser (ie internet explorer). To do this they either use Flash or Java. For Flash or Java to work they need to have flash player or Java runtime environment to be installed, respectively. Normally these are already installed, making the whole process easier and quicker. If they're not, you browser will normally ask if you want to install them and then guide you through the installation process.

Signing up

Before you can actually start to play Bingo online you'll need to sign up for an account. Depending on the site it could work in different ways.

Some sites will ask you to sign up before you download the software, others will ask you to when you first run the software, and others (as mentioned above) will not use any software and will get you to sign up on the website.

Creating an account is fairly simple; the form will ask you for your personal information and required fields are normally marked with a *.

An email address will be needed - so if you don't have one, or only have a work email address, then you'll need to sign up for a free account online. Gmail, Windows Live and Yahoo are the best places to go for this.

Buying Cards

Once you've signed up and logged in to your Bingo software (there is often an icon on the desktop and start menu to run the software once installed) it's time to play. The first step of course is to buy some Bingo cards.

There are many ways to pay, all sites accept credit-cards payments although US players may have this method blocked by the banks. There are other methods such Neteller which can be used in the US. For a full list, check their website (normally along the bottom). Most Bingo sites also have a bonus for new players. When you first deposit money on the site a certain amount of money is added to it.

The normal method for obtaining tickets is first, putting credits on your account, and then selecting how many tickets you want for a particular game. The cost will be deducted from your credits and the tickets generated randomly.

In addition to finding a way to pay you should also think about how you will receive your prizes. Some methods can only be used to make outgoing payments (such as PayPoint). You should check to make sure you're able to receive money from the site before playing.

Playing

The following section describes how play online bingo, if you would like to know more about the rules of Bingo please check our rulebook.
See our rulebook

When everyone is ready to play the Chat Monitor (CM), the online equivalent of the caller, will confirm the combination for a bingo according to the variety being played. Calling then begins and as each number is called out, the numbers will automatically be marked off on all your cards (if the site supports this feature).

The first person to achieve a Bingo must press the Bingo button. The CM will then validate the ticket automatically and that player will win the prize.