UK’s Most Trusted Bingo Sites
One of the country’s biggest gaming and betting brands, Betfair is one of the most reliable names in the sector. The company behind the largest sports betting exchange in the world, Betfair are a safe choice for anyone getting into playing bingo online.
Another gambling giant, Paddy Power offers rock-solid safe online bingo. Their site and mobile apps are entirely secure and encrypted, while their platform is regulated and licensed by the UK Gambling Commission. Paddy Power also have a good reputation with players, which is testament to their years of experience in providing premium online bingo action.
One of the biggest bingo sites in the UK, Heart checks the box on the popularity front. Some great jackpots and impressive bonuses draw you in, but this is as secure, as safe and as trustworthy as they come.
Safe Bingo Site Indicators
So what makes a safe bingo site? There are a number of key indicators to look out for, which will help you make up your mind:
Trustworthy Licensing
Any bingo site you choose to play at must be regulated by the UK Gambling Commission. You can find out whether a bingo site holds the relevant license by looking in the footer of their website. By law, operators must display their Gambling Commission license number on their website, and you should find confirmation of their licensing status at the bottom of any page.
Gambling authorities are responsible for auditing games software, including RNGs to ensure fairness, as well as ensuring every operational process is compliant with the law and the terms of the operator’s license.
The UK Gambling Commission is considered to be one of the most rigorous gambling regulators in the world, known for robust handling of operators. If you’re playing in the UK, you should only ever play with a Gambling Commission licensed operator, so you know you’re dealing with a legitimate bingo site that plays by the rules.
Some international operators are licensed in the likes of Belize, Curacao or Costa Rica. These are considered to be on the more lenient end of the scale, and are often chosen by operators looking to find a sympathetic regulatory eye. In other words, it’s worth steering clear.
However, it is very common to find bingo sites that are dual regulated, holding licenses in two or more jurisdictions including the UK, with Malta, Gibraltar, Alderney and the Isle of Man all featuring heavily in supporting roles. These are all important gambling hubs, and each of these regulators is respected in its own right as a robust and fair licensing agency – especially when combined with a UK license.
Popularity
Popularity is one of the simplest ways of recognising a trustworthy site. If an operator has a good reputation, they’ve almost certainly succeeded in attracting repeat play from a large number of customers. Popularity counts for something – if people weren’t having fun and enjoying a good bingo experience, they wouldn’t continue to play there!
Sites like Betfair, Paddy Power Bingo, Heart Bingo and Sun Bingo are amongst some of the most popular bingo sites in the UK, with years of reputation under their belt. You can’t fake that amount of goodwill, and as a quick rule of thumb, the most popular bingo sites are names you can be sure you can trust.
Independent Auditors
You don’t have to take the bingo site’s word for it – there are independent auditors who can confirm their games are fair and random. The likes of eCOGRA offer bingo sites audits with certificates to verify the randomness of their software. This is often linked from the bingo site concerned in the footer, or can be found at the eCOGRA website.
These reports aren’t universally available, but where they are, they can provide added reassurance that a bingo platform is fair.
Player Reviews
Reviews are another way of finding a safe and trusted bingo site. Whether it’s reviews from independent bodies like us, or its reviews from past players online, reviews are one of the best ways of getting the inside scoop. Reviews get past the marketing fluff and cut straight to the point, letting you see what it’s really like to play at a given bingo site.
Watch out for fake reviews – these do exist, often with repetitive or simple text that does little to help in your search for a bingo site. Stick to trusted sources of information, and reviews can be one of your best assets in finding somewhere safe to play.
Funds Protection & Trusted Payment Methods
One of the terms of a UK gambling license is that client funds are protected and ring fenced from company funds, and it’s essential that operators stick to these rules. You want to be sure that if the bingo site collapses overnight, your money will be protected. The easiest way to benefit from funds protection is to make sure you’re playing with an operator licensed in the UK.
You should also take care to pay with trusted payment methods, which will open up more layers of protection and security for your funds. The likes of PayPal, Neteller and Skrill are amongst some of the best in terms of payment protections, which will keep your deposited funds safe from fraud and theft.
Customer Support
No matter how hard you try, there’s always the chance that something could go wrong. Good customer support is therefore essential, and that means support agents that are available in a format that suits you, and during convenient hours.
Look for bingo sites that offer live chat, and ideally, representatives taking enquiries 24/7. This will give you the most flexibility, and maximum peace of mind, knowing any problem can be solved, whenever it arises – even if it’s 2am.
Responsible Gambling Tools
Safe online bingo means responsible online bingo, and trusted operators are often those that offer the widest range of responsible gambling tools and support. Self-exclusion and opt-out schemes are some of the most common, but you can also find sites offering tools like reminders and limits. These can all prove useful in keeping control of your bingo, to ensure you gambling never gets out of hand.
Social Media Presence
Bingo sites with nothing to hide are often up-front and active on social media. You would expect to find leading bingo sites working Facebook and Twitter, and even platforms like YouTube and Instagram in some cases. By contrast, the sites with just a handful of likes, or no updates for a number of years perhaps have to work a bit harder to convince of their legitimacy.
A social media presence is also a security blanket for you, as a player. At least you know if you did have a problem, there’s another forum open to you for getting it resolved.
Data Security & Spam
Data security has been rising on the political agenda in recent years, with regulations like GDPR coming in at an EU level, designed to protect consumer data. Bingo sites are no exempt from these requirements, so it’s important you’re playing with a GDPR-compliant site to keep your information as secure as possible.
This should be indicated in the footer, and you should be presented with opportunities to opt out email, SMS, and other forms of promotion. Trusted operators have no problem complying with these requirements.
Large Variety Of Games
A large variety of games is another way you can tell a safe site at a glance. If a site has dozens of games, they’re more likely to be signed up to one of the larger bingo networks, or to have licensing deals with several different software developers. These arrangements cost serious money, so the variety and quality of games on offer is an obvious indicator of the resources behind a bingo operator.
Sticking to those sites with the largest collection of bingo and slots games is a simple, almost foolproof way to stay on the safe side.
Conclusion
There’s no shortage of bingo sites out there. But it’s important to remember, whatever you do, that you don’t take any unnecessary risks. Sites like Heart Bingo, Betfair Bingo and Paddy Power Bingo are secure, trustworthy and reliable, and provide everything you need for a safe, enjoyable bingo experience.
With your eyes open, and these basic criteria in mind, you should be well on your way to finding the right bingo site for you.