We were skeptical when we heard that Bet365 had launched a bingo room.
Bet365 is not known for being innovative. The UK gaming group traditionally has been most famous for its online sportsbook. They've been a solid - if unexciting - operator. However, in the last year there has been a sea change at Bet365 as the group has moved into online gambling in a big way. They've jettisoned their Microgaming poker room and casino and switched to a shiny playtech casino (Bet365Casino and Bet365Poker). This week they announced their entry into the World of Bingo (Bet365Bingo) powered Virtue Fusion software.
So are they just another bit player in the Great British Bingo Bandwagon? Every brand with a pulse in the UK seems to have its own bingo room from Ann Summers (despite the huge promise of the brand name don't play there!) to the Home Shopping Channel and even the Metro, so we suspected that they had just jumped onto the Great British Bingo Bandwagon.
We were pleasantly surprised to find out that the Bet365 bingo room is, after all, rather fun. We must admit we aren't big bingo players. For us being called a roomie is like comparing us to a BB contestant, but after a few hours playing bingo, fun slots games and taking part in the chat games we're converts.
Bet365 operate a single wallet which means you can use one log-in to play at their casino, poker and bingo room. When you hit the bingo room for the first time you have to enter your preferred user name. Try not to enter a too sarcastic name as it will stick with you forever. Then the Virtue Fusion software cranks up and you can start playing bingo in their flash based (non-download) bingo halls.
We thought for a laugh we'd try the Spanish and the Swedish bingo rooms but that proved less amusing than we had anticipated (given the chat was incomprehensible) so instead we stayed in the Island Hopper room. That had about 300 players taking part which made for an interesting jackpot. We bought some cards and let the software play bingo for us.
Initially we were bored with the droning bingo callers so we started playing around with the games like Clover Rollover and Atlantis Gold Slots. Clearing a small win at the slots made for a nice experience and we got back into the bingo. The jackpot prize for a full house when we were playing was about £250, so that was OK. Funnily enough after a while the bingo caller voice was quite soothing and we liked the sounds in the background.
So do we recommend Bet365bingo? The big downside of bingo in general is that you're not going to get rich playing bingo. We got a tenner free for just downloading the software which we managed to double on the slots and in some small 1 and 2 line wins. However, if you're looking for a fun diversion, something to play for a while, we'd recommend you give it a go.
Click here to go to Bet365 Bingo (and to get that tenner free)