This Week on Our Forum (Sliding Bingo, Wink's New Ad & The X Factor)

Hello again and welcome to another wrap-up of what’s been happening this week on our forums! Our members have really been hard at work finding new and interesting things to talk about, and we have included all of the highlights below for your reading pleasure.

Posh Bingo’s Sliding Game

One of the hottest promotions online comes from Posh Bingo, who are giving players the chance to win up to £500 on the hour every hour from 7pm to midnight each day. Cards are only 10p each and the faster a player calls bingo, the more money they will then win! Those who cover their cards in 48 calls or less will snap up the maximum jackpot of £500.

Wink Bingo’s New Ad

Also in the top bingo news, Wink Bingo has gone all out trying to encourage new visitors to their site this week. Releasing a new advertisement featuring none other than a dancing dog, they have really captured the excitement that you feel when you do win big on the tables. Hopefully this will encourage more people to play and widen the bingo community.

New X Factor Judges

As the new season of the X Factor begins, members of our bingo forums are keen to see how the new judging line-up will work out. This year, judges include Irish music manager, Louis Walsh, R&B singer, Kelly Rowland, singer-songwriter, Tulisa Contostavlos from N-Dubz, and singer-songwriter, Simon Barlow from Take That. In the initial stages of the show, these stars have worked well together, bringing great chemistry and diversity to the small screen.

So, what do you think about any of the above topics? Are you rushing to play Posh’s sliding bingo game? Did you burst out laughing at Wink’s dancing dog? Do you have an opinion about the new X Factor team? Let us know by leaving a comment below!

Cancer Care Week at Mecca Bingo

In the first week of July, from the 1st to the 7th, Mecca Bingo is hosting Marie Curie Cancer Care Week in order to support terminally ill patients with this horrible disease. Whenever £1 is spent within the Two Little Ducks room, the site will donate 40p to this very worthwhile charity. As an added incentive to start playing, Mecca has also included a £150 bingo bonus jackpot for one lucky player.

The charity, Marie Curie Cancer Care, provides end-of-life assistance to terminally ill cancer patients either at their homes or in one of Marie Curie’s nine hospices. The team at Mecca Bingo has chosen to support this organisation as it makes a real difference in the lives of those who need a lot of love, care and support in some very difficult times.

If you would like to help out as well, simply hop onto Mecca’s online bingo site and play. The games will take place each day from the 1st to the 7th at 1.17pm, 3.17pm, 5.17pm, 7.17pm and 9.17pm. Tickets cost 25p and remember that there is that jackpot in store as well. You will have to purchase four tickets though, in order for some money to be donated to Marie Curie Cancer Cure.

If you have yet to sign up with Mecca Bingo, remember to take part of their £50 Free Play promotion in which they will match your first deposit when you transfer any amount from £5 to £50. This means that you can then gain some extra cash in which to help out this very noble charity. So, mark down the dates of the 1st to the 7th and remember to hop online to help the kind souls at Marie Curie Cancer Care.

Duo Steal £24,000 from Bingo Hall

A photo of Liam Knights
from a social networking site

While most people think running a bingo site or club must be a dream job, there are inherent risks involved as well. One prime example of this is Gala Leisure which, in the latest bingo news, was robbed by employee, Liam Knights, on the 13th of March.

Knights, who is only 19 years old, was working as the company’s treasurer when he decided to steal £24,580 and go on a holiday for several weeks to Amsterdam with a friend, Leon Jones. There, they blew all of this bingo money on hotels, cannabis and who knows what else before deciding to turn themselves in.

They initially tried to hand themselves over to the Dutch police, but were told that it would be a waste of time. They were later arrested at the airport after arriving back in the UK and the case went to trial on the 18th May where the pair pleaded guilty. On the 21st of June, the judge finally handed down their sentences.

Knights now has to spend 15 months’ within a young offender institution, whereas Jones was sentenced to nine month’s detention, 18 months suspension and 100 hours of unpaid work. As the pair decided to turn themselves in, the judge was softer in the penalties. Otherwise, there would have been a real chance that the pair could have been locked up instead.

When looking at the amount, £24,000 seems like a lot of money. It is certainly more than most people in the UK earn every year. Knights and Jones managed to spend it all in a few weeks, however, without seeming to care how their actions had affected the folks at Gala Leisure. In fact, it was only when they ran out did they then turn themselves in. Their new bingo money had run dry and it was time to go home and face the consequences.

This Week on Our Forum (Eye Affiliates, Bingo Cams & Coronation Street)

Well, it certainly seems as though our bingo forums have livened up this week. While we cannot go over all the topics that have been mentioned, here are a few of the highlights that our members have brought to our attention.

Eye Affiliates

First of all, keen bingo players can get their hands on a brand new Nintendo DS simply by referring a player to any Eye Affiliates-related site, including Golden Hat Bingo and Bingo MagiX. These portable gaming systems are highly popular and feature a range of exciting games that the whole family can enjoy. If you know of someone who would love to join in with the online bingo community, show them the way and grab hold of one of these amazing devices today.

Bingo Cams

Next, we are excited to let you know that there is a new bingo site on the block. Bingo Cams combines a myriad of fun games and generous promotions with a webcam twist. Not only can you chat with people in person as you play but there is also a live win-cam where you can see the reactions of players who are lucky enough to snatch up a significant amount of cash. If you have yet to visit Bingo Cams, you don’t know what you are missing out on.

Coronation Street

Finally, the biggest gossip to hit the forums is that there will be a new family entering Coronation Street. Of course, we can expect new and exciting storylines to come about as a result, as Karl, Stella and Eva settle in and meet the neighbours. This means that we can sit back and enjoy as Britain’s longest soap opera continues with all the emotion, intrigue, relationships and tragedy that we have all come to know and love.

Big Bonuses at Virgin Bingo!

The gaming gurus at Virgin Bingo have gone and outdone themselves this month in terms of bonuses and promotions. It seems that they love nothing more than to reward their players, and it is time to step up and take advantage of these great opportunities!

First, if you pay a visit to any room on Virgin Bingo and buy £5 worth of tickets, you will automatically be entered into their exclusive V*Room at 6pm on the following day. In addition to this being an hour’s worth of free no deposit bingo action, there will also be numerous chat games operating concurrently in which you can win some great prizes.

As well as this, if you enjoy playing online bingo, but absolutely hate losing money, Virgin Bingo has you covered here too! Each day this week, you can participate in Virgin’s 10% loss back bingo promotion in which you can get a whopping 10% of your losses returned at the end of the day.

To take part, simply enter in the code before you start playing for the day. If it is Thursday, the code will be 10THURSDAY and if it is Friday, the code will be 10FRIDAY. That is all there is to reducing your losses and gaining some extra money with which to hopefully win big!

Virgin also has one of the best bingo sign up offers on their site. For each deposit up to £20, the site will match this by 100%, effectively doubling your cash! Then, for every £20 added on top of this initial deposit, Virgin will throw in an extra £10 up to a maximum of £80. That means that you can receive a grand total of £100 for absolutely nothing!

So, hop onto Virgin Bingo today and take part in any of these amazing promotions. The money is there, the chances to win are increased, so what are you waiting for? Pay a visit to Virgin and start playing today!

Underage Bingo Players

While most of us can agree that playing online bingo is a pastime for those over 18, it can be a bit difficult to actually implement this in real life. The laws are there, of course, to protect those who are vulnerable, in this case young children who may be drawn into the world of gambling without fully understanding it.

In truth, most bingo sites operate under their own regulations and are not, as such, governed by the UK Gambling Commission. These sites generally have measures put in place so that they can only accept deposits from those who are 18 years and older. However, there have been many instances in the past when a minor has managed to play bingo online and even win money in the process.

One recent example was a 16 year old boy who managed to place some bets on Sky Bingo. After winning £180, he was so overjoyed that he posted the news up on Twitter. Needless to say, this caused a few concerns among those that he knew about how he was able to play online while being underage. There was also the question of whether he was entitled to keep the winnings, especially since he had ignored one of the most basic web rules when playing bingo.

This all brings up the question of how to regulate these sites so that only those over 18 can play. Up until now, credit cards have been used as a fairly reliable method as it is illegal for minors to have one. In the future, the government is looking at forbidding credit cards from being used on gambling sites, which will make it even more difficult to stop underage gamblers from gaining access. After all, anyone can create an online bank account and send money in that way instead.

So, what do you think about all of this? How should bingo sites prevent minors from having access? Please let us know by leaving a comment in the box below!

This Week on Our Forum (Bingo Jokes, Bingo History & Additional Boards)

Welcome to yet another post going over the latest happenings on our bingo forums. This past week, the focus has been on what we all love to do most: play bingo! Here is a roundup of the most talked about topics so that you can keep up-to-date about what has been going on in our online world.

Bingo Jokes

While some of us can get pretty serious about our bingo, it is good to see that we can still have a laugh at the same time. Recently a thread was started on the forums listing all kinds of bingo-related jokes. For a side-splitting read, we recommend that you head on over there and take a look. You can also post a joke or two in the comments below if you have any anecdotes to share!

Bingo History

Another popular thread was one about the history of bingo. This seemed to gain quite a few readers as people pondered over where the game originally came from and how it had evolved into the pastime we all know and love today. We have actually written an article or two on this in the past, and interested readers can search through our archives to find out more information.

Additional Boards

Finally, there has been a call to expand on the bingo forums so that other topics can be included as well. While there is plenty of information to be found on the best promotions, new bingo sites and so on, our readers are calling for sections on subjects, such as sport, gardening and cooking. What do you think? Should our bingo board widen its scope so it focuses on other topics as well?

If you have anything to add about the above post, please let us know by leaving a comment below. You can also hop on over to our bingo forums and join in on the discussions there!

What's Your Lucky Number?

What is your lucky number?  Some people are sure that one number is luckier for them than others.  Do you have a favourite Bingo number that brings you luck?  

Leave a comment letting us know, and one lucky reader will win a £20 voucher to spend at Amazon.co.uk

Online Bingo Summit 2011

From the 1st to the 2nd of June, the Victoria Park Plaza in London hosted the 6th Annual Online Bingo Summit. The highlight of the event was certainly the awards ceremony where the biggest players in the online bingo world received recognition for the success and innovation shown in the previous twelve months.

Bingocams snapped up two awards for the Best Online Bingo Innovation and the Best Newcomer. Recently emerging on the bingo scene, this interesting site actually combines webcams with online bingo, bringing together a visual medium that makes the game much more interactive. With face-to-face chats and Live Win Moments, the site has certainly added an extra level to this popular game.

Jackpotjoy Bingo received an award for the Best Marketing Campaign, referring of course to their extensive promotional tactics with Barbara Windsor as their figurehead. As the Queen of Bingo, she catered to precisely the right target audience, resulting in an increased number of bingo players within the site.

Virtue Fusion snapped up the prize for the Best Online Bingo Software. This is certainly not surprising as this company now provides a user-friendly, customisable gaming interface to some of the biggest players in the industry, including Paddy Power, Ladbrokes and Mecca Bingo. With clients like these, they were an obvious choice to win this coveted award.

Finally, Wink Bingo won the title of Best Bingo Operator due to its wide variety of games, great promotions and very friendly user interface. The site owners have developed an environment where lovers of the game can gather that excels in just about every area. The number of players at Wink is proof of how well their site has been laid out and planned.

We would like to give our own congratulations to all the winners of this year’s Online Bingo Summit and we look forward to seeing what the year ahead brings when it comes to innovation and development in the online bingo world.

Win Fun Passes at ChitChat Bingo

Since the school summer holidays are near, ChitChat is now giving away a number of year-long passes to some of the UK’s best amusement parks. This bingo promotion is certainly aimed at taking the hard work out of planning where to take your children during the upcoming break and beyond.

These passes give you access to Merlin-operated theme parks all around the country, ensuring that you have plenty of choice of where to go. Popular destinations include Alton Towers, Blackpool Pleasure Beach, Warwick Castle and LegoLand.

To enter, simply join in on ChitChat Bingo’s weekly raffles, which are based around selected themed slot and bingo games throughout June. To enter into the draw, deposit £20 into your site account or wager £1 on any of the specified games. This means that the more you play, the higher your chances of winning!

The passes themselves will last you all year and will allow you to bring up to five family members along. They can be used any time of year, allowing you to experience some of the very best family entertainment venues that Britain has to offer. For those who are not interested in amusement parks, ChitChat Bingo is also offering an alternative prize of £300 to be used on something more worthwhile.

To help you win these Merlin Premier Passes, here is ChitChat’s game schedule:

• Week 1: The X Factor and Hole in the Wall (1st – 8th June)
• Week 2 : Click & Clear, Candy Swap and Icicle Climb (9th – 15th June)
• Week 3: Monopoly, Rainbow Riches and Bejewelled (16th – 22nd June)
• Week 4: Alice in Wonderland and Vegas Nights (23rd – 29th June)

The last week also boasts a number of big jackpots, with £215,000 and £18,000 up for grabs on Alice in Wonderland and Vegas Nights respectively. This will certainly be a big incentive to play and we hope that some of you are lucky enough to snatch up any of these great prizes!

This Week on Our Forum (Strictly Come Dancing & Large Bingo Wins)

The past seven days have again seen a number of topics appearing on our bingo forums. The following are those we feel deserve to be placed in the limelight, as they are all things we hopefully have to look forward to in the future!

Strictly Come Dancing

Firstly, the 2011 season of Strictly Come Dancing is on the horizon and chatter has already been heard about the show’s next batch of contestants. Stars such as Chris Tarrant, from Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, and Chemmy Alcott, Britain’s number one alpine skier, have both been suggested as possible entrants for this year’s season. What are your thoughts on this? Who would you love to appear on the show?

Helen’s Big Win

One of the hottest stories in the world of online bingo during the past seven days was that of Mrs. Helen P, who scooped up an amazing £56,140 in one of the 90-ball progressive jackpot games on Jackpotjoy Bingo earlier this week. This is the kind of win that most bingo players only dream of, so it is not surprising that it was mentioned on our forums as well.

Big Wins on the Forum

Perhaps because of the previous topic, our forum readers started to ask each other who had also gotten lucky when playing bingo. While no one had reached the dizzying emotions that only a £56,000 prize can give you, there were still some players who had snapped up some nice sums of money when playing online. What about you, dear readers? Has anyone won a substantial prize through an online bingo website? If so, what did you do with it?

If you would like to respond to any of the above topics, you can do so by leaving a comment for us below. Whether about dancing or winning big, we would love to hear from you!

Rutherglen MP Discusses Bingo Laws

The local MP of Rutherglen, Tom Greatrex, recently paid a visit to the Mecca bingo hall to learn a bit more about the people playing and to discuss matters which directly affected bingo games within the area.

While numerous local issues were discussed, one major point raised was the issue of the taxes imposed on bingo within the UK. Mr. Greatrex has called for a reduction in this tax, which would directly affect community halls and other locations in the area where the game is played.

While he did not take part in a game, he did point out that bingo halls played an important role in the community as a whole. By bringing people together, they encouraged a friendlier local atmosphere and a sense of togetherness.

As a side note, Mr. Greatrex was impressed by those who could keep up with the bingo lingo used during games, and was especially in awe of those who were able to keep track of multiple books while the numbers were being called at rapid pace.

In addition to discussing taxation issues, the local players were also happy to offer the MP some bingo advice and tips on the game, hopefully inspiring a new player to join the ranks of the bingo-loving masses out there.

Finally, Mr. Greatrex mentioned that he had written a letter to the Tory Treasury Minister, Justine Greening, about the need for this bingo tax to be reduced. This will hopefully be the first step in the right direction when it comes to improving the game of bingo played around the country.

So, what do you think about this? Whether you only play online bingo or indulge in a real-life game at your local church or community centre, we would love to hear from you about this very relevant issue.

Win a Cruise at Sun Bingo

For the chance to win a fantastic cruise around the Mediterranean, all that you have to do is hop over to Sun Bingo and join one of their session games. From the 30th of May to the 3rd of July, the site is giving away ten cruise holidays for two lucky people.

For those of you who do not know about session bingo, it is simply a different way of playing 75, 80, and 90-ball bingo. Sun Bingo has four one-hour sessions per day, and tickets can be pre-purchased straight through their site. By entering, players can then enjoy a mixture of bingo games and hopefully win big. Ticket prices are also very affordable, allowing people to enter as many times as they wish. Those interested will find the following four sessions available:

• Morning (10am – 11am)
• Afternoon (3pm – 4pm)
• Evening (7pm – 8pm)
• Twilight (11pm – 12am)

To be placed into the draw to win one of these amazing cruise packages, all that you have to do is enter into at least one of these sessions. For every session that you play, you will be given one entry into the prize draw. The site will then announce the winners in session bingo chat every Monday between 7pm and 8pm commencing on the 6th of June.

So far, this promotion has only just begun, so there are plenty of chances for you to enter and hopefully get your hands on those cruise tickets. You can win a maximum of four draw entries each day, so it is up to you to sign up and start playing online bingo today.

Finally, if you have yet to sign up with Sun Bingo, the site offers new players a 100% match bonus when you make a first deposit of £10, giving you even more money to play and then win with.

This Week on Our Forum (Romance, Cheryl Cole & 888ladies Bingo)

It has been yet another quiet week for the forums as a whole, but those who are actively participating have come up with a number of interesting topics covering everything from personal advice to celebrities and, of course, online bingo! Here is a quick summary of the action that we have seen going on within our forums over the past seven days.

Love and Romance

It seems as though a few of our readers are crying out for a section on love and romance. What do you think? Should we combine bingo articles and the complex worlds of relationships, boyfriends and husbands? Some of our forum users certainly think so and are requesting that a special section be made where advice, tips and special techniques can be given for all those who want to snag the perfect man and keep him for life!

Cheryl Cole

And speaking of people who have been dumped, the latest news from the US version of the X Factor was that singer, Cheryl Cole, recently got asked to step down from her position of judge on the show. With no reason given, the star was obviously confused and upset, and it seems as though the producers of the show could have handled this situation a lot better. What do you think? Did she have the experience and the personality to be a judge or was it a smart decision to let her go?

888ladies Bingo

Finally, the popular website 888ladies Bingo has again been placed into the spotlight thanks to its recent promotion, “Win Up to £50k for £1”. While the name could do with a bit of work, there is no denying that this is indeed a fine promotion. Games run every Friday, so hop onto the site this evening and buy your tickets! Hopefully you’ll snag that big cash prize and gain a bit of extra spending money for the weekend.