The RTP Problem

Online bingo sites tend to be secretive about the RTP of their games. Where a slot will usually show its RTP on the info screen, bingo rarely does, and when a figure is available it tends to sit somewhere between 50% and 80%.

At 50% RTP, for every £1 of tickets you buy, 50p goes into the prize pot and the other 50p stays with the operator. That's a far bigger house edge than almost anything else covered on this site, slots included.

50p
Into the prize pot
50p
Kept by the operator
⚠️ Why this matters

Because the RTP is usually hidden, you can't calculate the EV of a bingo game itself the way you can with a slot. That's why we'd normally say to leave bingo alone. Where we do recommend a bingo offer, it's because we've worked out the EV around the bonus or reward attached, not because the bingo game is worth playing on its own.

Why Bingo Is High Variance

Bingo can also be a high variance game. Many games have well over 100 players in them, some buying a lot of tickets each, all chasing the same 3 or 4 prizes. Your chances of winning one of those prizes in a game with that many players are pretty slim.

Put a low, hidden RTP together with that much variance and you can see why we'd usually recommend avoiding bingo offers generally. But some offers are still well worth doing, and you'll find those in our offers sections with a step-by-step guide for each one.

ℹ️ Our approach

We don't post a bingo offer unless the numbers around it stack up. Check the EV breakdown on each offer page before you play, and use the EV Calculator if you want to run the numbers yourself.

How to Play Bingo

You start by buying tickets for a game. There's no real strategy to bingo, it's just a case of buying tickets and hoping your numbers come up. Like other casino offers, it's the bonus or reward attached that gives you the edge over time, not the way you play.

  1. Buy your tickets
    Each player starts with cards showing a set of numbers. Buying more tickets means more cards, and each card is a separate entry into the game.
  2. Numbers get drawn
    Numbers are drawn at random and marked off automatically as they're announced, so you don't need to keep track of your card yourself.
  3. Prizes are awarded
    Prizes go to whoever completes a pattern first, usually a line, 2 lines, and a full house (the whole card marked off).
✓ Quick tip

You don't actually have to sit in the bingo room while a game plays out. It's fine to buy your tickets and come back later to see if you won. As a rough guide, games with more players and a bigger prize pool tend to be higher variance, and games with fewer players and a smaller pool tend to be steadier.

Bingo Terms

A few terms come up again and again once you're in a bingo lobby. Here's what each one means.

  • 🏛️ The LobbyThis is where you'll find the different bingo games listed.
  • 🚪 Bingo RoomsThe different rooms listed in the lobby, each running a separate game with its own ticket price, prizes, and number of players. In a real bingo hall you could only play in one room at a time, but online it's common to play in several at once.
  • 🎱 GameA bingo game only lasts a few minutes, and a new one usually starts shortly after. Buying into a new game gives you new cards and a new set of balls gets called. Some games use 90 balls, others use 75.
  • 🎫 Bingo CardsWhen you buy into a game, you're buying cards. You can usually buy several, and each one is a separate entry. Buy 10 tickets at 10p each and you've spent £1 for 10 chances to win in that game.