Getting started is fairly easy, as you can save a lot of time and effort by registering to any of the Bingo Rooms recommended on this site – such as Gala or Sky. You will be guaranteed a good bonus, with reasonable playthrough and hassle-free withdrawal – but still have a look at the T&Cs, which will be readily and clearly explained. The second easiest way to find a good Bingo Site is to stick with the well known High Street bookmakers that also run a Bingo section online, and the web versions of the land based Bingo Clubs. Any of these will be fair and potentially profitable. Many of the other sites advertised on TV have stricter playthrough rules than would be preferred, and the Bonuses can verge on the insulting.

There is no doubt that profiting from Bingo Bonuses can be a time-consuming and complicated business. It is a bit like putting together a jigsaw puzzle. The main elements of this puzzle, and how they fit together, are described below.

1. Bonus Value:

We are mainly concerned with Welcome Bonuses. Most Bingo Bonuses for first-time players range from 100 – 350%, giving £20 – £45 in total to play with on a £10 deposit. A Free No-Deposit Bonus is usually good value, but not always – sometimes winnings cannot be withdrawn at all, and sometimes a large deposit is needed to be played through before cash out. A Bonus’s value can only be assessed in conjunction with the following four components, but anything less than 200% on a Deposit Bonus is not worth considering unless compelling reasons dictate otherwise.

2. Playthrough Requirements:

All Bonuses have conditions attached, the main one being the number of times the Bonus, and sometimes the Deposit, has to be spent before you are allowed to cash out. This can range from 1 X Playthrough – 4 X Playthrough for Deposit Bonuses, and from 2 X – 10 X or more for No-Deposit Bonuses. There are plenty of sites offering good Deposit Bonuses with 1 X or 2 X Playthrough, so those are the ones that should be considered first. No-Deposit offers should usually be a good bet – even at 10 X Playthrough.

What you are allowed to do with the money you deposited is also extremely important as spending it on the wrong games can lose you the Bonus, or you may not be taking full advantage of whatever the rules allow. Exactly how to use any deposited money, and how to play Bonus funds merit an article in themselves, but the simple thing to be established is whether or not the money you deposited to get a Welcome Bonus has to be spent on bingo – or can you play roulette, slots, scratchcards etc with it? If so, it may be correct to do just that, try and win a cashable amount, and forfeit the bonus. If you lose you will still have the bonus to play with. Some sites may require you to spend, say, £5 on Bingo Tickets in order to receive a bonus, but whatever is left in your Real Money Balance after playing the £5 on Bingo will be spendable on other games and can be played in an attempt to reach an amount that can be cashed out. Real Money is always used before bonus money, so for a Deposit Bonus totalling £30 on a £10 deposit the £10 could be placed on an Even Money Bet at the Roulette table with the intention of doubling your money, though some would prefer the slots. Then the £20 could be withdrawn, T&Cs allowing. The £20 Bonus is forfeited – but if you double your money that isn’t anything to cry about.

3. Ease of Withdrawal:

There is little point in chasing a Bingo Bonus without knowing you can withdraw your winnings. There is no standard rule that applies – each site will have their own conditions for Withdrawal. Some have barely any, some have many. Some sites allow a cash out provided a Deposit Method has been registered, some require three proofs of ID to be scanned and emailed – sometimes a Credit Check, they say, but that doesn’t normally happen. It can be a chore having to scan up-to-date documents, but it’s all part of the big picture and can normally be avoided if PayPal is used to make your deposit. Neteller is also usable but the fees can hurt. Withdrawal of winnings is often dependent on a minimum deposit being made, which sometimes has to be played through at least once, but usually can be instantly withdrawn. Withdrawals are always paid out to the registered deposit method.

4. Minimum Deposit:

The least deposit allowed is £5, but some sites ask for £20. Some Bingo Rooms require a deposit to be made before you can withdraw any winnings, some don’t. As this is usually available for immediate withdrawal it isn’t normally a problem to deposit so as to cash out any winnings, but this is not always the case. If the Terms and Conditions require playthrough of a large deposit it is best to come back to that site at a later date, unless your winnings are substantial.

5. Minimum Withdrawal:

The least amount that can usually be withdrawn is £10, but it can be more. It must be reasonably easy to be able to withdraw smallish amounts as otherwise you may have to risk losing all of your winnings in order to reach the withdrawal threshold. £30 minimum withdrawal is too high, whereas £20 is acceptable. Those sites with a £30 minimum are usually those with poorer bonuses and/or more stringent playthrough requirements.

As a guideline a Bingo Room’s Welcome Bonus offer should be considered around average if they offer a 300% Welcome Bonus on a Deposit of £10 requiring 2 X Playthrough of Deposit + Bonus. A 200% Bonus needing 1 X Playthrough of Bonus only would be better, but a 350% Bonus requiring 3 X Playthrough of Deposit + Bonus is worse.

Three other factors that may come into a decision to join a Bingo Site are:

6. Availability of Games:

Not all Bingo Sites offer a sufficient quantity of games at all hours – some are like ghost towns. This can be a problem if you prefer to play into the early hours of the morning, for instance. Also being unable to choose the most suitable game to clear a Bonus is a hindrance, as there are ways to maximise the Bonus Clearing which aren’t helped by lack of choice and players.

7. Usability:

If you cannot locate the Terms & Conditions for the first five factors discussed above, then that site is unusable for the purposes of profiting from a Bonus. The absence of Live Help can be annoying, as can be the ridiculously tiny fonts used in some Bingo Lobbys. Mentioning no names, but gosh.

8. Appearance:

Most bingo sites are well designed and look pretty good, so any that seem very poorly presented are unlikely to attract a lot of players. Good looking, easy to navigate and informative sites are the norm, so if one falls short of this you have to wonder in what other areas it might perform poorly.

The next article will focus on how the Bonus system works, what sums of money you might expect to win, how to maximise your winnings and why First-Time Depositors or Sign-Ups have an advantage not available to existing players.