Online bingo is now one of the most popular ways to bet online, and security and reliability are better than they have ever been. It’s a really safe and fun way to play, but as with anything involving cash prizes and sometimes high stakes, it’s always really important that you do a thorough check of the site you’re looking at before you sign up and start playing. Safety and security should always be the number one priority.
Let’s look at some of the biggest factors to look out for when signing up with a new bingo site.
- Security
There are a lot of things that come under the umbrella of security, but you really should familiarize yourself with as much of it as you can before you start playing. Account and data security is the primary concern. You need to be sure that the site you’re signing up with has good measures in place to protect the data of its users.
You will be storing sensitive financial information on these sites, so it’s vital that that data isn’t at risk. Make sure they provide things like 2-factor-authentication, which makes it virtually impossible for your account to be accessed by anyone else.
Online fraud is an enormous problem in the digital age. Over £77 million pounds was stolen through online schemes in 2021, so you need to be very vigilant.
Also, look at the site’s history. If it has a history of data breaches, then it is probably best avoided—at least until they make significant steps to correct the problems.
- Customer support
Following on from security issues, it’s also really important that the site you’re looking at has a robust customer support service. Even on the best sites, technical issues are bound to occur. There is, as of yet, no flawless online service for anything, really.
So, there are going to be times when you need to contact customer support—whether it’s to help with an account issue, or to help you with anything you’re unsure of from deposit to withdrawal, you’ll have a much easier time with a solid customer support service.
Most of the biggest bingo sites will have good customer support in place, but it’s good to check reviews that mention that specifically.
- Choice of games
To the uninitiated, it’s often natural to think of bingo as a single game. In fact, even in traditional bingo halls, there’s usually as many as three or four variations of the game available to play. When it comes to online sites like trustedbingo.co.uk, competition has meant that the developers of these games have had to be increasingly creative in the games they offer.
The best bingo sites will offer many different bingo games to play. Whether it’s the traditional games like 90 and 75 ball bingo, or some of the fast-paced variations like 30 ball bingo, you should make sure you have a lot of different options to choose from.
Even if all you want to play is the tried and true, traditional games, it still indicates the site you’re looking at is reputable.
- Community
Bingo is nothing if not a community game. Though the online experience isn’t the same social experience as the bingo halls, the best online bingo sites are still buzzing communities of active players.
The best bingo sites will have dedicated areas of the site for the community to talk, exchange ideas and strategies, discuss the games and even just chat. Whether that’s in the forums, if there are live chats during games, the best sites will have active communities.
Look out for the kind of community that the site encourages and cultivates.
- Welcome offers
So, security, variety of games, community—these are some of the biggest and most bread-and-butter things to look out for. Now, it’s time to really separate the best of the best from the rest.
All online bingo sites have been offering increasingly attractive welcome bonuses in order to compete with each other. For us, the players, this is fantastic. Even though they’re only one time offers, they can be a seriously good way to get started.
Offers will vary a lot, and exactly what kind of offers they are will, too. Most of the time, it will come in the form of X number of free games or funds to play with.
The best sites will offer incredibly attractive bonuses for signing up, so before you spend any money it’s best to compare and contrast for the best possible deals.
At the moment, there are at least 300 licensed online bingo sites recognised by the Gambling Commission. With that many, competition is fierce—look out for the best competitor.