Bingo sites are typically sorted into two categories, free sites and paid sites.
Free sites typically provide a no deposit required offer on registration. For example, bingo sites like buttercupbingo.com allow you to get started without risking a penny of your hard earned money. They dish out a £15 no deposit needed balance when you fill out the join form and verify your details.
Once you have got the cash you are then allowed to use the funds on the website however you wish. Depending on the site you may be limited to certain rooms, or you may be given free reign of both bingo games and slots, like at Buttercup Bingo.
The best reason to join bingo sites like this is that you really get a feel of things before you risk any money. There is no worse feeling than signing up to a poor bingo site and wasting a tenner or more.
On top of that, you frequently get the most rewarding bonus on your first deposit, so ideally you would make a large deposit. It’s hard to justify doing this on a completely new bingo site that you have no idea how it works.
Paid Bingo
You may think after all that talk, we are highly against paid bingo sites and only recommend the free variety. That however, is simply not the case.
In our opinion, it’s important to stick with reputable brands that have a strong favour among bingo players. Off the top of our head, we can think of sites such as Mecca Bingo, Gala Bingo and Foxy Bingo as being reputable alternatives to free listings above.
Pitfalls
It’s important to look out for the pitfalls with both no deposit bingo and paid bingo sites. The biggest pitfall of a paid site is the bonus wagering requirements. So although you may receive bonuses that range from 100% to 500% extra, each will have a wagering requirement that must be completed before you can withdraw the funds. Usually, this is around 4x the bonus amount. So let’s say you receive a 500% bonus, and receive £50 free from a £10 deposit. You will then have to go on and wager £200, which is 4x£50 before you can make that withdrawal.
When it comes to no deposit offers, many will not allow you to withdraw funds at all, so it’s important to read the terms and conditions. This will disappoint a great amount of players, however, it’s important to realise that the purpose of the free money is not to allow you to walk away with a profit, but to try before you buy essentially.