Online Bingo

Foxy Bingo Forum competition winner

2008-05-09T12:11:59Z

Foxy Bingo has always been known for its great offers at its online bingo site but if you become a member of their bingo forum then you are in with a chance of winning some other great prizes too.

Recently they ran a competition with a pair of Corioliss Hair Straighteners worth £125 and all forum members had to do was post a picture of their bad hair day on the forum.

]]> There were some great entries and a few giggles at some of the pictures posted but the overall winner was "alberto50" with a picture he submitted of his wife!

Now what is interesting about this story is that the lady in the picture is a friend of mine that I met through playing online bingo, her nickname or username is Cags and the picture posted (right) was taken at a "meet" we all had in Cardiff way back in 2006 - I had offered to do her hair and proceeded to get the gel and hair straighteners to work. As you can see from the picture the finished article was not exactly as it should have been! Needless to say when we went out to the local taverns Cags had to wear a hat all evening, to say she was not best pleased with me is an understatement! We still laugh about it even now and on numerous occasions reference is made to my hairdressings skills, or lack of them.

Now whether she was aware that her husband was going to the post the picture is another story entirely and god help him if she didn't know! But all is well that ends well, Cags will shortly be the owner of some brand new, top of the range, hair straighteners which alas for me means I am out of a job!

Well Done Alberto50!

And Bingo was his name

2008-05-09T11:48:39Z

]]> So what are his reasons and what made him decide on that name? The Daily Press from online news site reports that Mr Rogone has applied to the courts for the name change as he doesn't like to use his real last name as it is a constant reminder of terrible abuse that he was subject to at the hands of his parents.

Bingo has been the name that Mr. Rogone has signed for many years on documents the court papers state but no where in the papers does it explain why the choice of Bada Bing.

I for one know that the phrase "Bada Bing" was made famous by the TV programme the Sopranos so maybe he's just a big fan. The phrase has even earnt a place in the Oxford English Dictionary with the description of the word being "an exclamation to emphasize that something will happen effortlessly and predictably."

Game Village celebrates 1st Birthday

2008-05-09T11:38:28Z

Was it really a year ago that Game Village launched? Where does the time go? It seems like only yesterday I was reviewing this new online bingo / games site. May sees the celebrations begin for the sites 1st Birthday and to help them celebrate they are offering all new players a double welcome bonus.

]]> Previously when you registered a new account with Game Village Bingo you were awarded £10 free with no deposit required but for a limited time they have upped the offer to £20 free!

You will also receive 100% cash match on your first deposit which will then make you a "homeowner" meaning you are eligible to join in with the chat games and other promotions running at Game Village Bingo.

All good birthday parties have lovely presents and fun games and the celebrations for Game Village's birthday are no different.

Birthday Ball

The chance to win an extra £50 by simply calling bingo on the number one in the Village Hall between 8pm and midnight daily.
(Must be a homeowner and you are only able to claim once)

10pm Celebration Game (22.00)

Whoever wins the 10pm game in the Village Inn can claim an extra £22!
(Must be a homeowner)

CM Happy Birthday

Whenever you see CM Happy Birthday in the room, type HAPPY BIRTHDAY Game Village in chat as quickly as possible and if you are the first you will be awarded either cash or free bingo cards.

Birthday Patterns

Throughout the games watch out for special "birthday patterns" because of you are lucky enough to bingo on one then you will gain one entry into the prize draw. Prizes available are:-

Number 1 pattern - £100
Birthday Cake pattern - Yummy chocolates
Block Party pattern - Karaoke machine

Cash Back Birthday Bingo

On Friday 30th and Saturday 31st May Game Village Bingo will be giving 10% of all losses over £50 back to their online bingo players.

There are no less than three bingo rooms at Game Village Bingo and a multitude of other games available, some of the most popular include Dingo and Super Gems.

Tombola Bingo review

2008-05-08T14:11:47Z

]]> If you hold an account with either Sun Bingo or News of The World Bingo you will not be eligible for the first deposit cash match up to £25 on your first deposit simply because you have to login using your username and password for the other site.

Like the other online bingo sites using the Tombola software there are three variations of the bingo game available, 75 ball bingo, 80 ball bingo and 90 ball bingo. There is only one room each for 75 ball bingo and 80 ball bingo but for 90 ball bingo the choice is endless. You five different rooms to choose from, each with 3 different colours and a with chat / without chat option.

As with Sun Bingo and NOTW Bingo you have other games available including Cinco, Battleships and Hamster Races.

Cinco is a card based game where you can purchase strips of 5 cards that are randomly selected by the software, then cards are dealt from the pack and when you have covered each card in your strip of five, you are a winner.

Battleships is based on the game of the same name, you position your ships and then numbers are called, if your ships are sunk then you are a winner.

Hamster Races do exactly what the name suggests, races hamsters. You simply bet on one that you think will win.

What is unique to Tombola Bingo is the free daily scratch card where you can win up to £50,000! With 12 different scratchcards to choose from daily, each with multiple chances of winning Tombola Bingo has something a little special to offer its online bingo players.

Party Bingo May promotions

2008-05-08T11:57:23Z

Although PartyGaming PLC have been letting their bingo software out to all and sundry (ITVBingo, FriendsReunited Bingo and Emmerdale Bingo) the site that is the cream of the crop is definitely Party Bingo and if you visit their online bingo site in May you will come across some great bingo promotions.
]]> One of my favourites is the "Genie of the Lamp Promotion" - every time your deposits add up to $100 you can email in a wish, so if in total you deposit $500 for the duration of the promotion you can send in 5 wishes. You can make as many wishes as your deposits allow - there is no limit, only on your financial resources. The promotion runs from May 1st to May 22nd 2008. When all wishes have been received Party Bingo will open a poll listing the 10 best wishes and all bingo players get the chance to vote for the best wish.

Once the votes are in and counted then the wish with the most votes will be granted! You can vote for a wish between May 26th and May 31st 2008.

Another promotion is "Spell It" - the rules are simple, every time you collect a win on the patterns below and spell the word "PARTY" your account will be credited with £10 within 24 hours. Games play in the Jade Garden. Promotion runs May 5th to May 11th 2008.

May 12th - May 18th 2008 sees the "Club Sandwich" promotion, it runs in the Diamond Club from 3.06pm until 4.54pm daily and for winning the games for two lines you could win a guaranteed £50. There are 18 games in that time period each offering the same guaranteed prize of £50 so that's £900 up for grabs!

From May 19th - May 25th 2008 it's the "Near Miss" promotion which is great for bingo players like myself who seems to suffer with, what I affectionately call" 1tg it is. The clue is in the name of this promotion - score the most "near misses" and you are in with a chance of taking home one of the following prizes.

£200 cash is prize 1
£100 cash is prize 2
£75 cash is prize 3
£50 cash is prize 4
£25 cash is prize 5
£10 cash for prizes 6-10

Bingo.com £3 free bingo offer

2008-05-08T10:38:46Z

]]> This offer is being made as Bingo.com have just launched 3 new bingo themes to their online bingo site.

Jackpot Fever
Sunset Hangout
Diamond Daubers

What's more is that claiming your £3 free is really simply - you don't have to contact support, or wait in live help while they add it to your account - you just have to enter a code once you have logged in.

Log in to your account
Click "My account" in the top right of your screen
Click "Redeem Voucher"
Enter "3THEMES" and hit submit

That's it; the £3 is then added to your account instantly. This offer is open to everyone, whether you have a funded account with Bingo.com or not, even if you have an account but have never deposited, the money is yours by following the above instructions!

If you want to earn another £2 free then take part in the Garden Flower Find promotion that is running throughout May. Every week Bingo.com will be hiding words relating to flowers all over their site in bits and pieces. You have to hunt for all the part of the word then enter the word into the "redeem voucher" section of the site to receive this extra £2 bingo bonus.

There are many other promotions running at Bingo.com this May so it's worth taking a look at their site but one which requires some input from you is the "Name our Game" promotion. Bingo.com want their bingo players to decide the name and décor of their 90 ball bingo VIP room for June. Players, new and old, just need to email in their suggestions and the winner will receive £50.00 but remember only one entry per person.

Jackpot City Bingo TV commercial

2008-05-08T02:16:12Z

Yesterday saw the launch of another TV advert for an online bingo site, this time its Jackpot City Bingo and the ads themselves are showing on E4 so their budget must be better than some of the others that are featuring on channels like Living TV and Challenge TV.]]> Jackpot City Bingo launched a couple of months ago and Bella Bingo is their little mascot, she is quite cute for a cartoon. The site itself uses the Virtue Fusion software and replaced the old River Belle Bingo.

So let's talk about the commercial itself now - its ok I guess. No feel good music like you hear on the Foxy Bingo advert though - it's just more of the voiceover that seems to be becoming a bingo industry standard when making commercials. It starts with a scantily clad model type lying on her bed with her laptop using her perfectly manicured nails on the keyboard.

It then goes on to tell all the avid viewers about their free lunchtime and evening bingo games and that their bingo ticket prices start from just 1p and then it's a quick shot of the bingo screen then back to the scantily clad woman and some weird facial expressions, maybe it is supposed to be attractive?

The last shot announces the "£10 free play welcome bonus" which I think is slightly misleading because it requires a £10 deposit in order to qualify, although previous parts of the advert do state "minimum £10 deposit". The actual offer at the moment is deposit £10 and it is matched with another £10 and then Jackpot City Bingo give you another £10. So for £10 you get £30's worth of bingo funds!

The background music to the advert sounds like a cross between some really naff lift music and something you might hear on a badly dubbed blue movie (not that I know from personal experience you understand!).

All in all Jackpot City Bingo haven't excelled themselves in their contribution to the world of bingo advertising but then again it's not as dire as the adverts that Wink Bingo have produced nor as tedious as the Ladbrokes Bingo offerings.

Take a look for yourself if you haven't already caught it on your TV screens yet......

Mecca Bingo win window award

2008-05-07T14:11:04Z

]]> Fourteen shops took part in the competition and had their High Street windows dressed by 45 students and unemployed people. The competition was divided into three categories:-

Large
Medium
Small

Lecturers from local colleges assessed the students work and the judging was based on the window displays and how the teams worked together. Each team had £50 to spend on materials with which to dress their shop window.

888 Ladies Bingo and the City promotion

2008-05-07T09:50:50Z

]]> As most of us ladies know the Sex and The City film launches shortly (and if you didn't where have you been for the last six months?) and 888 Ladies Bingo are offering some superb prizes based on that very launch.

Four winners will be indulged with the following prize:-

One night's accommodation in a swish London Hotel
Pampering at a spa
A matinee showing of the Sex and The City film
After show cocktails and gossip about Sex and The City
An opportunity to share your trip with your partner or pal

Three runners up will each get:-

Overnight accommodation in a posh hotel
Tickets to see the Sex and The City film

So how do you win? It's simple really - collect points. How do you collect points? Every 10p you spend on bingo in a 75 ball bingo room will earn you 1 point - couldn't be easier could it? The top four bingo players with the most promotion points will walk away with the top prize.

I have always been a huge fan of Sex and The City but truly believe that Carrie Bradshaw should have stuck with Aiden and dump that ugly bloke Mr Big, Samantha needs to slow down a bit on the bed hopping, Miranda needs to stop sweating the small stuff and Charlotte, well she needs to loosen up a bit! I for one am eagerly awaiting the film launch and on many occasions sit and watch the repeats on Paramount Comedy at silly 'o clock in the morning. It has to be the only show that I can watch over and over without getting bored.

If I'm lucky enough to be one of the winners then I may even have to treat myself to a pair of Jimmy Choo's - yea right! Like I would pay that sort of money for a pair of shoes!

Wink Bingo TV advertising campaign

2008-05-07T09:29:27Z

I'd heard through the grapevine that Wink Bingo had launched their TV Campaign with the first ad showing during GMTV but does the campaign do their online bingo site justice? Wink Bingo only launched in February 2008 and already it is proving to be quite popular amongst the discerning online bingo players so they really did need to produce something on a par to the Foxy Bingo TV campaign......
]]> Alas, it was not to be. I have often played a few games at Wink Bingo and love the little character they use on the online banners so I had expectations of something cartoony, full of fun and laughter not contenders for the "most boring bingo adverts of the year" awards.

The theme running through all three adverts is the same "anytime, anywhere" but find an "appropriate moment" - sounds a lot like the old Lorraine Chase Martini adverts of the early 80's "Any time, any place, anywhere" that's Wink Bingo - doesn't quite have the same ring to it.

The voiceover sounds the same as the woman in the adverts for Ladbrokes Bingo and Littlewoods Bingo with the same tacky theme - a shot of the bingo screen, a win, and a scream. There isn't one thing that I could say positive about these adverts but I will say this to Wink Bingo - hire a new marketing firm!!!

Look at the ingenuity of the Foxy Bingo ad incorporating bingo numbers throughout the advert, a funky tune, and not some faceless patronising woman with a tedious voice. The Foxy Bingo ad would make you look up from the paper or whatever you were doing whereas the Wink Bingo ads just make me want to bury my head in the paper to avoid them!

The ads themselves don't do the site justice, yes, bingo players enjoy bingo, but I for one wouldn't talk a palm top to an opera (not that I would ever go to the opera) just to play bingo, nor would I sneak off to an internet café for a sneaky game whilst my husband was putting up a tent. Are they insinuating that bingo players are all addicts or merely that Wink Bingo is far more addictive than most online bingo sites?

Well here they are:-

Wink Bingo Opera

Wink Bingo Frankenstein

Wink Bingo Camping

Paparazzi Bingo review

2008-05-06T14:15:16Z

If you are a big celebrity watcher then you will probably have heard of the chap who is the face of Paparazzi Bingo, Darryn Lyons - if the name doesn't ring a bell then the hair style most definitely will! Just take a look at this online bingo site's logo and it will all become clear.]]> Paparazzi Bingo has chosen to launch on the St. Minver / Parlay bingo software and has the usual offer of a £1 free bingo welcome bonus, no deposit required but as with all the St Minver sites, deposit £10 and receive £10 free. Your first deposit will earn you a 100% cash match to the value of £125 with all other deposits earning 50% up to the value of £65.

As with all bingo sites using this collaboration there are just two bingo rooms, both are 90 ball bingo but only one, Bingo Café is open all day everyday. The Bingo Lounge is only open from midday until midnight.

There are a wide variety of casino style games available at Paparazzi Bingo ranging from scratchcards to black jack, and don't forget once you are a depositing player you get one free chance daily to win £100 on the free scratch card!

One of the promotions available on this site (and all St Minver sites) is the Spinning Pots. Eight Spinning Pots games are played daily and they are at:-

12pm
12.30pm
9pm
9.30pm
10pm
10.30pm
11pm
11.30pm

The prize pots vary from £50 to £5,000 and are dependant on the number of calls that it takes someone to call bingo.

Also there is Penny Bingo, a firm favourite with many online bingo players. This runs every day at 2pm and then again at 7.30pm with all tickets costing just one penny and the prize pot guaranteed at £100 each game.

The biggest pull for me to this site was Darryn Lyons but as with any site that is part of a network I don't imagine that other than a cartoon image of him as the logo that he has much to do with the site other than reap the financial rewards. It would be nice to see some of his famous celebrity snaps somewhere on the site though.

Not so Lucky Numbers for bingo hall

2008-05-06T12:38:22Z

The last bingo hall in Harrogate may be about to call "house" for the last time according to a report in the Harrogate Advertiser. Plans have been unveiled that could see the Lucky Numbers bingo hall in Skipton Road turn into a block of flats. The bingo hall was originally a theatre and then after the Great War it became a cinema so it has always been a building renowned for entertainment, demolishing it to build a block of flats will kill the history. ]]> The owner, Steven Bartle claims that the bingo industry is "no longer viable" and with the news that the double taxation on bingo is to stay, he isn't wrong.

The planning application said "In 11 months we have not been able to find an operator willing to continue running the property as a bingo hall and the building is not considered to be of aesthetic value or of heritage".

Not only are the people of Harrogate going to lose their bingo hall but 9 people will be losing their jobs also, four of which work full time and five part time.

How can they say in their planning application that the bingo hall is "not of heritage"? It was originally opened in 1914 as The Palace theatre and at the end of World War II was mainly used for showing films. The cinema was refurbished in 1947 and renamed The Ritz with it being the first to show Rock Around The Clock in Harrogate with the audience dancing in the aisles. 1962 saw the closure of the cinema but not two weeks later it reopened as the Lucky Numbers bingo hall.

One local resident, Christopher Bateson, is quoted as saying "the loss of the bingo hall will be felt by the community as a whole but mostly by the club members the majority of which are OAP's and all live in the local area."

Personally I think without the smoking ban bingo halls would have continued to prosper but with online bingo available in your own home and the only rules you need to stick to are your own, smoker or non smoker, online bingo suits me far better!

News of the World Bingo advert

2008-05-06T12:03:59Z

Sunday morning in a small bungalow in Mullion, Cornwall I sat eating my bacon sandwich and flicking through the News of The World (yes, I love to catch up on all the latest celebrity gossip, it's not exactly news is it?) and what should fall out onto my lap but a HUGE A4 insert advertising News of the World Bingo!]]> You couldn't miss this advert even if you wanted to; it wasn't tucked away on one of the pages as many adverts for online bingo are in a lot of newspapers. I was lucky enough to get two, one of which fell into my lap, the other I had to remove as it was blocking the article on Peaches Geldof and her drugs video!

It's quite an impressive advert really, it tells you pretty much everything available on the site and it's really colourful. Obviously being an advert they don't have the space to go into detail about chat games, deposit bonuses (other than the "deposit £10 and get £10 free offer) - oh, that would be because that is the only deposit bonus available - silly me.

They do however make it clear that the free play money is not available for withdrawal and responsibly show the web address for Gamble Aware.

On the reverse of the advert are full instructions of how to receive all the news direct to your mobile with simple step by step instructions. They offer you the chance to get all the Sunday exclusives and headlines on your mobile phone from 10pm on Saturday night - is anyone that eager to read it then? I thought the whole point of a Sunday was flicking through the paper whilst chilling in your pyjamas!

Anyway, here is the advert in all its glory, what do you think of it? Is it not just a waste of paper? How many trees had to be cut down to insert one into every paper distributed this Sunday? I took a quick look on Google and found that the average distribution of the News of The World was 3445459 per week in October 2006!

GetMinted Casino launches Cleopatra II

2008-05-06T11:13:36Z

One of my favourite online casinos has to be GetMinted Casino and it has just got better! I'm a big fan of the multi line slot games with bonus rounds and previously the Cleopatra game lacked an interactive bonus round, although roll in 3 or the correct symbols and you did earn 15 free spins on the game. Cleopatra II is bigger and better than the original.]]> Both versions have 20 pay lines but version II of the Cleopatra games sees a better bonus round. You can win up to 50 free spins with a multiplier of up to 50! As with the original version of the game when you get free bonus symbols (see left) anywhere on the game board you initiate the bonus game.

Your screen changes and you have three Egyptian artefacts to choose from, pick one; it will open and reveal how many free spins you have. When I played I got 8 free spins, and every time you spin your multiplier increases. So for example 8 free spins mean that on my last free spin it was 8 x whatever pay line came in, if any.

What is interesting about the bonus game on Cleopatra II is that if you are lucky enough to have 3 more bonus symbols come up at one time whilst using you bonus spins you get your original allocation again, so my free spins were 8, 3 more bonus symbols rolled in and 8 more were added. So my last free spin of my first bonus round was worth a massive 16 x any win on that spin!

According to the game rules you can win up to a massive 200 multiple with the Sphinx scatter pay!

Don't forget that at Get Minted Casino you can try all their games in Demo Mode so there is no need for an initial deposit but if you do decide to deposit, your first deposit will earn you a cash match using the follow scale:-

£5 up to £149 - 100% up to £50
£150 up to £499 - 50% up to £250
£500 or more - 50% up to £500

Now what it that Dire Straits song? "Money for nothing and your chips for free!"

Government rejects calls for end of double taxation on bingo.

2008-05-06T11:07:37Z

May 2nd 2008 saw yet another blow for bingo when the Government rejected calls, yet again, to scrap the double taxation on bingo. The petition submitted to Downing Street calling for the end to the double taxation levied against bingo held over 2000 signatories but the Government simply responded saying "We do not believe there is a tax solution".]]> Two days previously Gerry Sutcliffe, the minister for the Culture Department responsible for gambling, dropped hints that he was "considering helping the bingo industry" it was reported in The Times. He hinted that plans were afoot to increase the number of high jackpot slot machines allowed in bingo clubs.

The Bingo Association were told by Mr Sutcliffe that he planned to issue a statement to the House of Commons shortly saying "I think it is fair to say that the Prime Minister is sympathetic to bingo - and recognises the role of bingo halls in supporting their local communities"

Bingo Operators countrywide have on numerous occasions warned the Government that the double taxation levied against bingo, the only part of the gambling industry that is double taxed, would mean further closures of bingo halls who are already struggling after the introduction of the smoking ban.

The bingo industry has had their fingers crossed that the Chancellor would remove the double taxation, VAT at 17.5 per cent and then 15 per cent of gross profits, but alas it is not to be. Mr Darling, after annoucing the decsion was accused of "slapping the bingo industry in the face."

The formal response from 10 Downing Street was that it had given serious consideration to the points raised by the bingo industry. However, our assessment remains that tax is not at the root of the bingo industry's problems and we do not believe there is a tax solution. Bingo benefited from a reduction in its effective tax rate in 2003 and the average effective tax rate on bingo, which measures the combined impact of VAT and duty on a comparable basis, is in line with that on casinos, machines and the lottery. Removing VAT on bingo would cost tens of millions - money that would have to be recouped from somewhere else."

On bingo executive said that the claim that bingo was subject to "similar" tax as other gamling industries was "laughable". This news will no doubt affect the big bingo operator, Rank, owners of Gala Bingo and Mecca Bingo.