Bingo Rules – What You Need To Know To Win The Game

Ahhh the wonderful world of bingo.

Evoking images of screaming pensioners in worn bingo halls, does gambling get any more glamorous than this?

Online bingo is a slightly different affair, but no less exciting. In this guide, we detail all the key information and bingo rules you need to know.

Bingo Rules – How to Play Bingo

So, first of all, let’s explain how bingo actually works. Of course, before you start depositing your money and buying bingo tickets you need to get to grips with the hallmarks of the game, and that means understanding the bingo rules.

Firstly, players choose how many tickets they wish to purchase. Some players may choose to max out and get as many tickets as possible, whereas others will take things a bit more cautiously and purchase fewer tickets, or even just the one.

Once all tickets are bought and all players have confirmed their entry into the game, the countdown begins.

Ordinarily, you will see a countdown clock indicating how long is left before the round starts. Once that countdown is over, the game officially begins.

Numbers are called out at random, one-by-one. Players either manually daub their numbers when they are called, or they will be daubed automatically when called, depending on the setting chosen (more on this below).

The game screen usually shows the numbers called alongside your tickets, as well as a list of the prizes to be won. Numbers are continuously called until one player has all the numbers on their ticket daubed.

Bingo Tickets

So, if you want to start enjoying some online bingo you need to buy tickets and understand what is written on those tickets. There are two classic games of bingo – 90-ball bingo and 75-ball bingo.

90-Ball Bingo Tickets

In the traditional 90-ball bingo game each ticket comprises 27 squares. The 27 squares are divided into three horizontal rows and nine columns, with nine squares in each row.

Within each row, there are five numbers and four blank squares. There are 15 numbers on each ticket.

Most online bingo games will allow players to buy 6 strips per game, with 6 tickets on each strip. This amounts to 36 tickets in total which players can buy within one round of bingo.

Some casinos permit the purchase of more than 36 tickets. Be sure to check the specific ruleset for the bingo game you’re playing.

75-Ball Bingo Tickets

75-ball bingo is a slightly different variant with, you guessed it, 75 balls rather than 90. This is sometimes known as ‘American Bingo’.

Each ticket is divided into 5×5 columns and rows, with 25 squares in total and 24 numbers on the ticket in total. The square directly in the middle of the ticket is ‘free’ whereas all the other squares on the ticket are filled with a number.

A strip of tickets in 75-ball bingo gives you three tickets. The amount of tickets you can buy varies quite significantly among casinos. Generally, at least 6 strips can be bought for any bingo game.

Selecting Bingo Tickets

Players can choose their tickets manually, clicking on each one they want to buy from a selection. You can discard those tickets completely and opt for new ones if none of them takes your fancy.

Alternatively, you can just allow the computer to select your tickets automatically.

Daubing

In online bingo you can choose to manually daub your numbers when they are called or, alternatively, you can tick the ‘autodaub’ option which automatically daubs your number.

The former gives the game more of a real-life feel, whereas the auto-daub option is particularly useful when you have lots of tickets in play.

Either way, the casino will notify you if you have won a prize, regardless of if you have missed numbers when using manual daubing.

Online Bingo Prizes

Winning combinations and prizes differ among different bingo games and casinos. Nevertheless, one thing to keep in mind is that the big prize in bingo is almost always reserved for the player who daubs all numbers on their ticket first, i.e. BINGO!

In traditional 90-ball bingo there are usually three prizes to be won.

  • The first player to have all the numbers on one horizontal line daubed wins a prize (the 1-line prize)
  • The first player to have all the numbers on two horizontal lines daubed wins a prize (the 2-line prize)
  • The first player to have all the numbers on their ticket daubed wins the house, or bingo (the main prize)

75-ball bingo prizes can vary quite significantly and there is no standard for the prizes to be won. Some games will follow a structure similar to the one above with prizes for horizontal lines, whereas others offer prizes for patterns on the ticket.

Still, the main prize in 75-ball bingo is won by the player who daubs all the numbers on their ticket first.

How Much Can I Win?

Bingo games typically follow one of two formulas. Fixed amount bingo games offer fixed cash prizes, meaning that the prizes won’t increase or decrease depending upon the number of players in the game.

Fixed amount bingo games can be very good options. A good tactic is to play a fixed amount bingo games at off-peak times.

Playing at off-peak hours usually means fewer players will be playing bingo. This means that you have more chance of winning and, of course, the prize remains the same as if you were playing at more popular hours with more players in the game.

Other bingo games will increase the prizes to be won depending on the number of players playing. As a result, these types of bingo games will almost always offer bigger prizes than fixed amount games. These are sometimes known as progressive jackpot bingo games.

Online Bingo – A Jolly Good Time

Online bingo can be a very entertaining game to play, in spite of its simplicity. Bingo has a warm, exciting feel to it which makes it quite endearing.

One of the best pieces of advice we can give is to check the specific rules of the bingo game you are playing. Rules and prizes can vary and what applies in one bingo game may not apply in another.

Nevertheless, the bingo rules in this article should be more than enough to get started on your online bingo adventure!