Bingo Incentives

For those who play it, bingo is an enjoyable pastime and one that enriches their social lives through the interaction they get with other players. However, for the companies that run the games, bingo is a business, and a competitive one at that. The online bingo player can choose to play at any one of hundreds of bingo sites, and so all bingo companies work hard to make their site as appealing and attractive as possible. One of the ways they do this is by offering players various promotions and bingo incentives.

Although promotions and incentives are attractive, you should not base your decision to join an online bingo site only on the offers that are available. For you to be happy with a site for the long term, it is more important that the software, chat facilities and the game itself are satisfactory. That said, if you are facing a choice between two or more sites that are equally matched in these respects, looking at the promotions and incentives offered by each is a good idea.

The most common promos and bingo incentives offered by online bingo sites are:

The Deposit Bonus

This is a one-time reward linked to the first deposit of money you put into a new online bingo account. The things to look for here are the size of the bonus, the maximum bonus limit and the terms and conditions about how the deposit bonus can be used. A 150% bonus up to a maximum of £75 is actually not so good as a 100% bonus up to a maximum of £100 even though the percentage is higher, and if you were intending to deposit £100 the latter offer would be most lucrative for you.

The Reload Bonus

This is similar to a deposit bonus, but it applies every time you “reload” your online bingo account by depositing more money. Reload bonuses tend to be lower than deposit bonuses, and there is generally a maximum limit to the amount of money you can claim each month, but over the long term they can be worth a great deal, especially if you intend to top up your account on a regular basis.

The Ticket Incentive

Many online bingo sites give players additional free bingo tickets for every set number of tickets they purchase normally. This type of bonus is useful for those who like to play lots of tickets in each game, but it would be a mistake to think that it automatically increases your chances of winning because all other players would be able to get free tickets too. The ticket bonus is therefore an interesting perk, but not one that should be used to choose one site over another.

The Loyalty Bonus

In an effort to encourage players to be loyal to their bingo site, many companies operate loyalty bonus or reward schemes. These generally give players points for buying tickets, so the more a player spends on tickets the more points they will earn. Points can often be exchanged for prizes, cash equivalents or entries into prize draws.

The Referral Incentive

A referral bonus rewards you for recommending a bingo site to your friends and colleagues, and tend to be paid out only when those friends make their first deposit. You can think of the referral bonus as a commission paid to you for helping the site to gain a new member.

Last Updated: 2/10/2008