April 2008 Archives
If bingo hadn't already become big business since the days of only playing bingo in a bingo hall and the introduction of online bingo then Mecca Bingo are taking it a step further by launching Mobile Bingo. Yes, that is right - you can now play bingo on your mobile thanks to Mecca Bingo.
Well a new month is nearly upon us so it's time to check out the new promotions for online bingo for the merry month of May and what better way to start than with a trip to Las Vegas up for grabs at Bingo Day.
The competition starts from 1st May 2008 and runs until 30th June 2008 so there is plenty of time to enter.
A great grandmother from Fleetwood is cracking open the champagne after netting a £31,000 bingo win at her local Top Ten Bingo Hall in Poulton Road, Fleetwood.
The 63 year old woman who wishes to remain anonymous has been a member of the club for over 15 years and has said that she plans to share the windfall with the daughter who bought her ticket for her.
Foxy Bingo have started a new spoof for winding people up by making them believe that the Foxmeister is psychic and it's a fun way to try and catch out your friends and introduce them to the best online bingo site to date, Foxy Bingo.
It's really easy to do and the Foxmeister himself will take you through each stage step by step.
First thing I did when I saw the name of this online bingo site was chuckle to myself and oh how I wish I could explain to you why. All I will say is that "cyber" in an online chat room means so much more than "of, relating to, or involving computers or computer networks".
Registration takes no time at all to Cyber Bingo but you will need to activate your account through a link sent to your registered email address so ensure that you have entered it correctly.
With Foxy Bingo being my all time favourite online bingo site I thought it was about time I took a look at their testimonials from winners and bring to you others reasons for Foxy Bingo being a great bingo site.
For me, usually reading testimonials always leaves me wondering if they are real or just made up players but I personally know a few from the testimonials page of Foxy Bingo so can verify their authenticity.
has a really huge range of chat games and it took me ages to read through them all to pick a handful to tell you about. Also there appears to be some really good tournaments available based on the games Wheel of Fortune and Weakest Link.
The newest addition to an ever growing selection is 30 ball bingo, otherwise known as Speed Bingo and it's a name very suited to it.
One of our blogs picked up on a story regarding Raymond who was suffering from Parkinsons - sometimes the drugs taken for this illness can create a desire in patients to take risks and from time to time indulge in gaming. We got the story wrong on a number of counts and so as to set the record straight we have published the letter from the gentlemans son in the hope that the good news aspect of the tale which is where the story should have been targeted comes out. We wish Raymond and Shaun all the best and thank them for taking the time to set the record straight.
Below is a letter Shaun sent to his local newspaper which sets the story straight as well as providing readers the information required, drug in question was not Mirapex.
Last year the National Bingo Caller of the Year was Blake Robson, a bingo caller for the Mecca Bingo Club in South Shields. Since his win he has been trained as an Ambassador and spokesperson for the bingo industry and this year the competition is fierce for this coveted title, according to the NBGA "THE most sought after title within the bingo industry".
The official National Bingo website provides details on entry to the competition and requirements of entry and I was interested to see what they were.
It would appear that slot of the names best known for sports betting have also got online bingo available in their remit now and BetFred is no different.
BetFred Bingo offers all new players a £5 free no deposit required welcome bonus but the fun doesn't stop their, if you take the time to check out their promotions page you will see that the bingo fun is non-stop, not surprising really when the face of BetFred is non other than Stuart Hall of It's a Knockout fame!
William Hill has always been known for its sports betting but they also offer a casino, poker, games, skill and not forgetting William Hill Bingo as well. I was reading a press release today about six new slot games that they have launched offering 5 line multi reel with 30 paylines and up to 6000 times your payline win so I thought I would go and check them out, I do like to have a little dabble on the casino now and again.
I have to admit that although my first choice of online bingo site to play at is Foxy Bingo I do love the occasional game at Sun Bingo. Not so much for the bingo game but I really enjoy playing their Cinco game.
Today I received an email from online bingo and game site Game Village informing me of the deals they have going when you refer one of your mates to their site.
Word of mouth is priceless in any industry and online bingo is no different with many bingo sites offering their members bonuses for telling their friends.
The UK's Advertising Standards Agency have deemed that a couple of adverts for Intercasino and Paddy Power should not be shown again. Paddy Power's ad was deemed to link gambling to seduction and Intercasino's potentially appealing to younger people and / or children.
Micheal Dicker, 23, has been issued with an ASBO that bars him from all pubs and clubs but the magistrate gave a special allowance for his local Gala Bingo hall because he does not drink there despite the hall being a licensed premises.
The court heard that although he attends bingo sessions regularly with his girlfriend he does not consume alcohol on the premises.
Clear your diary's, pack the kids off to bed early, sit the old man down with a beer and settle yourself down at the pc this Friday because Foxy Bingo have their first £10,000 mega guaranteed jackpot!
Foxy Bingo have been running their guaranteed jackpots for quite a while now but the new £10k jackpot is the biggest so far and you don't want to miss it!
Like Bingo previously held the stigma of blue rinses, bingo wings dentures Poker, to some extent held the male equivalent - old men in smoke filled dingy back rooms with mafia style stakes.
Think Bingo always has some great offers exclusive to it's forum members so it is worthwhile taking the time to register there if you play bingo at Think Bingo's online bingo site. The latest addition is a promotion based around the National Lottery's bonus ball each week with prizes up for grabs.
The Palaces Bingo offers no free welcome bonus but they do offer £150 joining bonus after you have made your first deposit at their online bingo site. This comes in £5 increments over the first 30 days of your membership. The bonuses are triggered by playing the previous day until you have received the full £150.
I wrote about the new TV bingo craze in America hosted by Patrick Duffy, Bingo America and on Friday 11th April John Stefan, a United States Marine, walked away with the top prize of $100,000!
To say he was pleased would be the understatement of the century and the clip attached shows his reaction to winning this life changing amount of money!
have just launched their TV campaign and with it a new bonus for all new players, deposit £10 and receive £10 free.
As well as the £10 free offer is you deposit £20 and play it through on their online bingo site by 30th April 2008 you will also receive a bingo bear through the post.
Monday 14th April 2008 saw a bingo manager from Buckingham Bingo jailed for fraud after she wrote nearly £47,000 worth of IOU's and left them in the company safe.
Helen Walker was a manager of Buckingham Bingo in Peterlee and was salaried at £46,000. It was reported that she took the money to help pay off mounting debts.
I was reading an article a couple of weeks ago about a new Mecca Bingo hall that had opened in Thanet and how it was state of the art, well they aren't kidding with that description.
I have just found pictures of the new building and it looks like some casino you would find on the strip at Las Vegas.
Recently I wrote about three sisters who were feuding over a £50,000 bingo win at their local Buckingham Bingo hall (although the Mirror newspaper reports the win being at a Gala Bingo hall) and how two of the sisters had taken the other to court for their share.
Vernons has always been a name that is synonymous with football pools to me so I was a little shocked to find they also provided online bingo.
It's obviously not the only thing their site provides as they do pools, lottery games and much more as well as bingo.
Rehab Bingo? Do you think Amy Winehouse frequents this online bingo site? The name would indicate as such - maybe her famous song Rehab was inspired by this online bingo site?
When registering a new account with Rehab Bingo ensure that you have entered your email address correctly as you will need to activate your account through a link sent to your email address used at registration.
How many times have you looked around your home and imagined some really dramatic changes if your bank balance allowed? I know I do it all the time. Well Wink Bingo's current big promotion at their online bingo site is the chance to win a home makeover worth £5000!
Tonight sees a game of online bingo for free with a prize of £1,000 up for grabs at Daily Express Bingo. The only stipulation to this is that you must have deposited there within the last 45 days.
Tonight, Friday 18th April 2008, sees the launch of a new 90 ball bingo room at King Jackpot's online bingo site, Jester's Courtyard.
There are lots of specials running in the room tonight to celebrate the launch.
When you register a new account with Crazy Bingo you will instantly be credited with £1 free to try the games available. If you decide to make a deposit you can earn 100% cash match on your first deposit up to £250.
Your free pound may take a couple of minutes to show in your account but it will be there within 10 minutes.
Whether you are already a member or a new member, you can get £9 free to help them celebrate this milestone.
What is it with online bingo sites at the moment and this supposed £10 free offer? The latest to email me informing me that I can get £10 free at their bingo site is Bingo Joy. The reason I am on my soap box is the usually, as a bingo player, £10 free means a no deposit required welcome bonus not a deposit £10 and get £10 free.
One of the online bingo sites that provided Scandinavian bingo (otherwise known as Multi Line) Betsson Bingo have approached giants of the casino industry PlayTech to provide them with casino software.
PlayTech will provide over 110 casino games as part of the licensing agreement.
A win at a Buckingham Bingo club in Hunt's Cross, Liverpool has sparked a feud between three sisters culminating in court hearing.
The three sisters, Mrs Kenny, Mrs Thomas and the winner Mrs Sexton are currently fighting over a verbal agreement that was made back in 2005 where the sisters agreed to share any winnings.
Review of the IGT slot taking Vegas by storm Hexbreaker. The Hexbreaker Video Reel Slots game - featuring HooDoo the Lucky Cat - just can't be beat. Confront your most imaginative superstitions in two hot bonus games, or change your luck by collecting Jinx scatter symbols, or wild Hexbreaker game symbols for the top award in this spellbinding 5-reel, lucky 13-line theme.
I have been playing and involved in online bingo for about four years now and have seen a huge explosion in the online bingo scene in that space of time but the last 6 months has seen a huge increase in the amount of online bingo sites launching with many magazines, newspapers and land based bingo halls providing an online presence.
In my inbox today was an email from House of Bingo, one of the newest online bingo sites to launch using the Cozy Games software platform, telling me that "Speed Bingo" was now available at their bingo site.
Ever heard the saying "April showers bring forth May flowers"? Well Foxy Bingo are providing you with the umbrella to avoid the bad hair day this inevitable April down pours bring.
Thursday 17th April 2008 sees a promotion at Foxy Bingo that uses a special bingo pattern of an umbrella to potentially boost your bingo balance.
Did you know that the Express Bingo had an online bingo site? I did'nt. Even more shocking is the 500%, yes I did say 500% cash match deposit bonus on your first deposit. This offer is a special throughout April.
Fancy £5 free to play bingo with? If you're answer is yes then head on over to All Bingo Club, the newest online bingo site on the Microgaming software platform.
All new players will automatically receive £5 in their account when they complete the registration process and first deposits up to £100 free with all other deposits earning up to £25 free.
BingoZest
has a lot to offer in the way of loyalty bonuses for their players. You can collect points every time you purchase a bingo card, points for every time you deposit and then if you want some hard cash, simply refer a friend to their online bingo site, get them to make a deposit (so long as it is the minimum amount) and you will see your own bingo balance increase by £20.Wink Bingo seems to be going from strength to strength since it's launch in February 2008. Already it has made 3 bingo players very happy and their bank balances a few grand healthier.
I wrote recently about the huge list the boss gave me of reviews for online bingo sites that I have to plough through and I am getting there but what I am seeing more of is bingo site closures or mergers.
So I thought I'd tell you about some of the closures and mergers that I have come across in my quest for having written the most bingo reviews!
Another online casinos has branched out into online bingo which seems to be happening more and more on the microgaming platform.
The Jackpot Factory online casino have recently launched All Bingo Club with the slogan "We've got Balls".
Working from home brings many benefits and one of the is the joy of daytime TV, although I will admit that sometimes you can overdose on it!
One of my favourite programmes, Maury, on Living TV is sponsored by none other than 888 Ladies Bingo.
Reading through the google news I was shocked to read about a bingo game being disrupted at MCDONALDS!!!
Yes, you have read that right, a game of bingo was taking place in a branch of McDonald's. I can't see that happening in the UK too often can you?
Happy Slots Bingo offers new players 1000 loyalty points free when they register an account at their online bingo site. This is easily redeemed for £1's worth of free bingo. If you like the site enough to make a deposit then you will receive 100% cash match on your first deposit.
Happy Slots Bingo runs on the 888 Holdings (previously Globalcom) and is "powered" by Cashcade.
Winners Bingo are a group of bingo halls situated in Thetford, Norfolk and Brandon, and Bury St Edmonds in Suffolk who now provide an online bingo hall using the St.Minver/Parlay Entertainment plaftform.
You will receive £1 free when you validate your email address after registration and your first deposit will generate 100% cash match up to £125.
Yet another Mecca Bingo hall is facing imminent closure but the patrons of the club in Swindon have really tried hard to stop the powers that be from going ahead by getting a petition together signed by all the halls members.
The hall was first opened in 1974 closed yesterday and was sold by The Rank Group to the local council as part of the regeneration programme of the town centre.
Tuesday 8th April 2008 saw Think Bingo launch 5p games at their online bingo site. The games run randomly in Thinking Newbies and Think 90 and mean more tickets for your money!
If that wasn't enough, this Sunday sees the launch of their new Snowball guaranteed Jackpots!
Do you fancy a game of online bingo with Betty Eagleton? Well you won't get to meet Betty when playing bingo at Emmerdale Bingo but there is a nice clip of her, Pearl Ladderbanks and Bob Hope preparing for a night of bingo at the Woolpack as you enter the site.
All new players registering with Park Bingo will get £1's worth of free bingo at their online bingo site. To ensure you get the full £1 you will need to validate your account through the email that is sent upon completition of the registration process. Make sure you use a valid email address.
I have only ever heard of Bingo Gold at Jackpotjoy but their is also a site called Pari Mutuel Gold and the article I read about this win doesn't really indicate which site the lucky man won at.
Mark J from Lancashire was home alone with his dog when he won and spent the rest of the day calling his friends and family about his win.
Yesterday, 10th April 2008, saw the 2nd £10,000 guaranteed jackpot game play at Wink Bingo and the lucky winners were "lilac23" and "thepostman1".
£90,000 as a prize in the 80's was a great prize and their online bingo site seems to have carried on the trend of offering some great prizes too.
On my daily trawl through You Tube for the weird and wacky relating to online bingo I stumbled upon this little gem.
A You Tube video advertising Mikes Bingo. Now what is Mikes Bingo? Well it would appear to be an online bingo site using the same software as Club 3000 Bingo
Jim Sheridan has not played bingo in over 30 years but "bejesus" I bet he's glad he did on Wednesday April 3rd.
The Irish man was persuaded to attended bingo at his local Mecca Bingo club by a close friend who said ""come on maybe you'll have some luck".
What's the deal?
The News Of The World and The Sun Bingo are offering a free fiver to play Bingo with. No deposit is needed, you do not have to enter your credit card details. Simply play the fiver and then any winnings made can be withdrawn. You should see the fiver promtion near the top of the page.
Well I was really looking forward to compiling this review, I was hoping that they would throw in a Gin with the tonic but I was to de disappointed.
When you either type in the web address www.bingotonic.co.uk or www.bingotonic.com you simply get redirected to 888 Ladies Bingo, so what's happened to Bingo Tonic I ask myself?
All answers on a postcard please!
Debbie Leigh from the Yorshire Evening Post says "BINGO used to be seen as a hobby purely for the blue-rinse brigade but these days it's just as likely to be played by trendy young women, a study has found."
Apparently 888 Ladies Bingo have carried out a survey which claims that nearly 31,000 Yorkshire women are playing online bingo every week and winning a staggering £18m a year whilst doing so.
One of the newest online bingo sites to launch, Blackpool Club Bingo, have just upped their first deposit bonus from 150% up to £150 to a whopping 300% up to £300!
Not only do they offer this great cash match but all new players automatically receive a £21 no deposit required welcome bonus.
Reading through google news today I was shocked to read a story reported by icWales of a women who stole cash from her dead bingo partners accounts.
The 48 year old woman, Diane Jones, had to pay £1,570 compensation back to the estate of Maureen Board under orders from the judge at Cardiff Crown Court.
Having started on a negative let's move on quickly and say that the registration process was really simple and in no time at all I was ready to play bingo.
Tonight (8th April) all players at Bingo Friends are in with the chance of winning up to £750 at their online bingo site by helping CM Tigger in raising funds for Breast Cancer Awareness.
CM Tigger is taking part in the Ribbon Walk 2008 on 14th June 2008.
Registration to Bingo Mania's online bingo site was a really easy process and no credit card details where required. Ensure that you use a valid email address to register with as you will need to activate your account to receive your 20 free bingo cards.
Yet another online bingo site with a very apt name, for me anyway, as I am a huge Bingo addict.
What I found a tad confusing was that although I registered with the site called Bingo Addict, when I entered the bingo lobby it showed a logo for Bingogo???
One of the new payment options to hit the online bingo scene is UKash and it seems to be becoming more and more popular. So what is UKash and how does it work?
Bingo Loopy offers all new players to their online bingo site a £1 welcome bonus which requires no deposit. I always like to have some free money to try the site before I decide to deposit.
If you do make the decision to deposit you will receive 100% cash match up to £250 on your first deposit.
I thought I'd have a quick look at the promotions page on Game Village Bingo and was amazed at the special offers they have.
I was drawn to the site by a mailer I was sent which simply stated "Join the village idiot at Game Village" - I thought "Oh I'll fit right in there!"
This month at Dream Bingo sees all depositing players in with a chance of winning an Apple iPod Touch 8GB. You don't have to do anything other than deposit £10 in your account.
Foxy Bingo has made one lucky lady very happy by pulling her name out of the proverbial hat in their latest promotion to win a trip for four to Disneyland, Florida.
Lucky winner "lany78" said "I'm so excited about winning the holiday to florida, I didn't think in a million years I would. Disneyland is my daughter's dream come true. Thank you to everyone at Foxy Bingo"
Make sure you have the other half with you so he can be the pack horse to carry all your bags if you are lucky enough to win.
April at BetFred Bingo sees them offering all players a chance to get some cash back. Not only do you stand to win some great prizes at BetFred Bingo but take some money back even if Lady Luck isn't smiling on you.
Sky Bingo has absolutely loads of great offers and promotions at their online bingo site and although when you register it's a little disappointing not to receive a no deposit welcome bonus as you do at Foxy Bingo, they do provide all members with free bingo on a Monday and Thursday.
How do you fancy winning one of seven laptops up for grabs at Kiss My Bingo? From Monday 7th to Sunday 13th April there are seven up for grabs across the network that Kiss My Bingo is on. Just think, no more missing Coronation Street or Eastenders because you computer is in the other room, just boot up your brand new Samsung laptop and play whilst sitting catching up on all the latest story lines!Playing chat games at online bingo can sometimes become a little tedious especially when a site plays the same games over and over. Bingo Scotland have just launched 3 new bingo chat games to spice things up a little and I like the look of them! Bingo Scotland is best known as the premier online bingo site for the Scottish although their are people from all over the country playing there, and it's a really friendly community. The new chat games seems to have been received well by both players and Chat hosts alike.
We all know that April is reknowned for it's showers and bingo players could be cashing in on the shower of money that Ladbrokes Bingo have to give away from April 1st - 31st.
They have "thirty tenners" to give away everyday until the end of April at their online bingo site making a pot of £9,000!
Mecca Bingo players are being told that their is some potential for BOGOF Bingo to launch at their online bingo site although as yet it's just an idea.
Virgin Bingo recently launched their BOGOF days and they appear to have been quite a hit, so come on Mecca Bingo, pull your finger out and give bingo players more free stuff!
The Gala Bingo Club in Shenley Road, Borehamwood is the place to be if you want to win big at bingo. The club is currently celebrating its second big win in as many weeks.
Wednesday 19th March the first winner scooped £32,000. The 50 year old woman who chose to remain anonymous has been a member of the club for two years and usually attends twice a week.
Previously I spoke about the boss, Mr Collins, providing me with a list of over 250 bingo sites and asked me to compile reviews for them all.
Can I be completely honest here? How do you write a review about the same bingo site over and over again and make it sound different? Basically, my issue is that of those 250 online bingo sites some are just a different main page to the others but using the same software.
I found this video on You Tube submitted by member JackpotCity , it's an animation of their bingo mascot Bella. It's quite well done but why not invest some time in some TV marketing?
A short while ago I wrote about Patrick Duffy being the new fron man for Bingo America, well the programme launched on March 31st 2008 and this is an interview with the man himself.
During the interview he describes bingo as the "genetic source of all games".
Following on from my review of Club 3000 Live Bingo I happened to stumble upon a You Tube video of the actual game in play.
As you can see from the clip, and as I said in the review, this online bingo site really is fully interactive.
Two Carlton Bingo Clubs have netted the Carlton bingo hall operators a tidy sum of £1.3m in their sales.
One of the clubs, Tivoli Bingo Hall at Gorgie Road, Edinburgh, sold to the Destiny Church for £900,000 whilst the other in Station Road, Grangemouth sold to Cabri for £450,000.
Club 3000 Bingo is one of the new style live online bingo sites to be launched where you can actually see the bingo caller and interact with them.
Registration to the site was really easy and their was no requirement for your credit card details. Although you don't get a no deposit required welcome bonus - if you deposit £15 you will receive £10 free.
The Foxmeister and his crew at Foxy Bingo should really take a leaf from the advertising campaign of Fererro Roche because "with these guaranteed jackpots they are really spoiling us!"
They have upped their game with there all new schedule for guaranteed jackpots giving all their bingo players more chances to win big at their online bingo site and you can get in on the action with a £10 no deposit required welcome bonus.
There are two sessions of the BOGOF games, one from 8am - 10am and then again at 2pm until 6pm every Monday.
Trademark war has been declared between Rank and Gala despite the fact that the main industry players have been working more closely together to lobby government for key concessions.
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