Play Foxy Bingo

Industry news can often be a bit, well, industry orientated, but our attention was caught by a recent piece in gaming mag eGaming Review magazine. If like us you keep your ear to the ground about online bingo and to be fair even if you don’t, you would have noticed the sharp rise in the amount of bingo related ad’s that keep popping up on our screens. In the last few months, we’ve had major marketing  campaigns from the likes of Foxy Bingo, Tombola Bingo and Wink bingo. Tea and Bingo managed to kickstart their launch with a major TV campaign, and that’s not forgetting the numerous amounts spent on radio, google and so on.

Boring boring boring for the average bingo fan, but wait! Here is where it gets interesting. Because love ‘em or hate ‘em, it would appear the big bingo ads are here to stay. Mid year profit results show plenty of the big gaming boys forking out a truckload of money on marketing, as competition for new customers in all aspects of gaming becomes fiercer than Foxy Bingo’s fox with rabies. Speaking to eGaming Review magazine, Paddy Power Bingo bigwig Breon Corcoran said “Our marketing spend has risen by 50% for Europe, Ireland and the UK. This has mainly been because of the World Cup, and rising television advertising costs, but we intend to continue spending to build the brand and move into new, larger, material markets.”

So despite bingo ads carrying a hefty price tag, it seems operators are in a position to shell out more money than ever in a bid to keep new faces coming through the online bingo doors. Add to that all the bigger and better bingo promotions we’ve been keeping tally of late and although online bingo is growing as an industry, it seems the cost of running an online bingo site are stubbornly following suit.

Which we are guessing most bingo operators will just have to deal with. After all, to cut back at a time like this would surely be madness. With much consolidation and teaming up behind the scenes, it seems online bingo operators are clearly moving down the road of “divided we stand, together we can afford more TV ad’s”. And so the bottom line? Foxy Bingo’s Fox aint leaving your TV screen anytime soon. In fact, we reckon that as this competition between operators goes off the boil, it’s gonna be a case of who shouts loudest may well win. The stage is set for bingo ad wars, and we’ll be sure to keep you up to date about the survival of the marketing fittest!

Yup in a fantastic spirited move, Gala Bingo and Mecca Bingo went head to head on August 30^th in an epic football game to raise funds for those who need it most. Both bingo sites have had high profile successes raising money for their elected charities of choice, with Gala Bingo raising a record breaking amount for Sue Ryder Care and Mecca Bingo finding plenty of ways to stump up the cash for Marie Curie Cancer Care. Which obviously set the scene perfectly for a football match that really wasn’t about football at all.

The “battle” took place in Plymouth, where the respective branches of Gala Bingo and Mecca Bingo managed to raise a whopping £1,400 between them. Local residents and community members were out in force at the family fundraising day to witness the ultimate bingo battle.

A torrid two halves ensued, with Gala Bingo coming off pitch at half time leading 2-0. However, Mecca Bingo have made a bit of reputation for themselves as comeback kings, and if the second half was anything to go by, its a title rightly deserved. The final score? Mecca Bingo 3, Gala Bingo 2. What a result eh.

Speaking about their unfortunate demise, Gala Bingo manager and game organiser David Gregory-Clements was gracious in defeat, saying, “It was a great game and both teams showed tremendous team spirit throughout. Wed like to congratulate Mecca Bingo on the win and thank everyone involved for helping us raise £1,400 for charity. It was such a success that we have agreed to a rematch next year, so beware Mecca Bingo, next time you might not be so lucky.”

Sounds like a throwdown to us. We think the idea was a fantastic way of bingo clubs getting together for the greater good – in fact, we’d love to see online bingo wars in the name of charity. Perhaps Foxy Bingo and Tombola Bingo could finally decide a winner as the ultimate bingo site.

And until the happy day when that dream becomes a reality, if you fancy a bit of charity bingo, you’ll find it by the bucketload at both Mecca Bingo and Gala bingo. Generous hearts will also find some great charity games playing monthly at Crown Bingo, and for those that really want to make sure their bingo money goes to the greater good, you may want to check out Big Heart Bingo, the UK’s only dedicated charity bingo website. As Gala Bingo will testify winning isn’t everything!

It seems that Think Bingo rethinking their room raiding policy has fanned the flames a little. Although room raiding has been tolerated at many an online bingo site for a while now, Think Bingo have always gone against the grain in their inimitable style. Perhaps its because Think Bingo are one of the longest running standalone UK bingo sites (notching up an impressive 6 years on the scene) that they have been so content sticking to their guns on the issue. And any regular to the fab forums at Think Bingo will know Think Bingo roomies definitely have had strong feelings towards the issue, with many helping to stop room raiders getting their lil opportunistic mitts on prize money by reporting where necessary. But this online bingo neighbourhood watch is now coming to a close, which makes you wonder – is room raiding really all that bad?!?

Well, like anything, there are arguments for and against. Perhaps for some, the idea of room raiding is merely grabbing chances as and when they come your way. Buying in multiple rooms, particularly when there is such an influx of pre-buy and guaranteed jackpot games in online bingo seems common sense. You maximise your chances of winning by indulging in a little online bingo multitasking – no harm done whatsoever right?

The flipside of this is that players that may not have a chance to play in more than one room may find themselves a little pushed out. And it also takes away some of the “added extras” of online bingo – especially for those who believe it’s not just about winning, but also the taking part. Room raiding greatly affects the quality of the chat, with roomies more fixated on scooping the jackpot than scoring a few new friends in an online bingo chat room.

However, we can’t help but sit on the fence with this one! This is certainly a case of player habits, and as such, we think it’s only fair to let individual players decide what they would rather do. Personally, we don’t mind a bit of room raiding at our favourite bingo sites, but we also respect those that would rather natter than dash from room to room. And to have an online bingo site police this behaviour – well, it’s nice to think the online bingo world has matured enough to let it’s players decide what to do. To raid or not to raid – now that is the question!

With a jackpot of a whopping £10k guaranteed, Foxy’s game was already headline news… but then came the revelation that this was in fact a free bingo game. Perhaps the Fox was suffering from a little heatwave madness, or perhaps it seems Cashcade, Foxy Bingo’s parent owner, refuse to stop at giving away thousands of pounds in free bingo money at sister site Cheeky Bingo. And of course, when Foxy Bingo does something, you know it’s gonna be bigger than your average online bingo site. So when Foxy Bingo does free, it’s perhaps no surprise that the jackpot is £10k with a price tag of absolutely nothing. Which definitely got us thinking.

When it comes to free bingo, is it better to have quality over quantity? We already know the free bingo goldrush is dying down, and although there are plenty of sites that offer free bingo (Cheeky Bingo and Costa Bingo being perhaps the most notable free bingo sites), it’s not the big “free for all” (ahem) as it once was. Often sites require you to deposit before playing the free bingo games, adopting the stance that free bingo fans are welcome to play, but they should at some point have to pay.

Our point in this is perhaps it’s better to compromise. Whilst the flames of free bingo may be dying down a little, there seems to be plenty of life in the concept yet, particularly when massive name bingo sites such as Foxy Bingo take a “less but more” approach. That’s to say, you wont be able to get your free bingo fix quite so frequently at a site like Foxy Bingo, but when you do, you know the stakes are high – and the payout could be well worth the wait! The flipside to this is the likelihood of scooping that big money prize may not be quite so good as playing at a game that offers a smaller jackpot of  say £50, but considering you are paying nout, it’s hard to see how you could be losing out!!

It’ll be interesting to see if the other big name sites like Wink Bingo or Posh Bingo catch onto this idea, as we know that the online bingo world is still trying to find a way to make free bingo work for them. After all you can’t get something for nothing – or can you?! We’ve been told Foxy Bingo will be running plenty of free bingo Thank Foxy it’s Friday promos over the summer – and we’ll be sure to keep you up to date with the next best way to win big – without paying a penny!

Play Costa Bingo!

Costa Bingo are laying on the bonuses thick and fast with up to a 250% cash match available on the first deposit. GOOD NEWS!!!! Costa Bingo offers up a world of great FREE Bingo games but if you REALLY want to benefit from all the treats and special promotions going on then you need to get that account funded: And right now even a fiver is going to be enough to get in on the action.

For just a five pound deposit you can enjoy a 100% cash match – That’s £10 FREE! For £10 they will give you a 200% bonus which means you get a VERY tasty £30 FREE! And for twenty pounds there is a whopping 250% up for grabs – That is £70 absolutely FREE! Guys, that has to be a no-brainer.

On Saturday at 8pm and 9.30pm in the evening it is time for the Tequila Double – And not the alcoholic type: Although with tickets at just a PENNY and TWO £200 jackpots up for grabs you just might need one to calm the nerves! These 90ball games are held in Costa Bingo’s Tequila Double Room and players only need to purchase ONE ticket to get in on the action. Tickets can be pre-purchased and you can max out on 96tickets!

The weekends have some pretty exciting stuff in store for funded members at Costa Bingo. Every Friday there is a BIG £3000 Jackpot game. The Costa Crazy starts at 9pm but tickets can be pre-purchased. This is DEFO a NOT to be missed game – You would definitely be Costa Crazy if you did!

Every day there are big treats on offer at Costa Bingo. The Lunch Hour Loco is another not to be missed jackpot game. Tickets are just a penny and there is a guaranteed £200 prize pot. Just one ticket is enough to take part to be in with a chance to bag some of that cash. With this game it really is ‘in for a penny’ and in for the pounds! Players can max out on 96 tickets too so plenty of chances in this fab 90ball bingo game.

Costa Bingo has just celebrated their first birthday. In one year they have come a long way due to the fact they are EXTREMELY generous with their members. You can try out some of their free bingo rooms without the need to spend a penny…but if you do want to spend a penny ( pardon the pun) then make a deposit and off you go!

Play 888 Ladies Bingo!

The 888Ladies Bingo team have been laying on the Footy Jackpots and special prize promotions since June 11^th to celebrate the World Cup Kicked off. On June 29^th the very first Footy Frenzy game took place at 7.30pm in the Eat Your Goal Match Room. There was £500 worth of high street vouchers up for grabs and it was lucky “piink priincess” who bagged the prize and is now off to throw her own footy party (if you believe the hype!) …or maybe she has had quite enough of football already and will be taking a long vacation in the Andes!

Right up until July 11^th 888 ladies can go and have a “ball” in the special Footy Frenzy rooms. There is a tonne of cash and Loyalty Points in the prize-pot and if you make it through to the finals then you are going to be “kicked” into touch.. sorry about the puns I simply cannot help myself!

This was the first leg of the Footy frenzy finals and the prize on offer was definitely nothing to be sniffed at. Even so, throughout the competition the prizes just get bigger and better. The Quarter Finals are up next – In the 888Ladies “WAGS to Riches” one lucky player is going to be in for a REAL treat (as well as here nearest and dearest).

The “WAGS to Riches” game will be played at 7.30pm on JULY 3^rd in the special Footy Frenzy Rooms. There is a fabulous Spa Day Trip for two people going to the winner, which is bound to go down a treat with members: Ease some of that World Cup tension! This is a full WAG day out for two not to be missed roomies so make sure you are in on the 888Ladies action.

There are eight Footy Frenzy rooms that open on the day that country plays – Apart from the England room of course coz that’s extra special. That’s open everyday twice a day until the promotion is over: July 11^th. Tickets can be pre-purchased for the next Quarter Finals game so no need to miss out on the chance of the Spa Day – You KNOW you need pampering!

There is a flat screen TV plus a crate of beer and some footy type munchies up for grabs in the Semi Finals which will play on July 7^th. In the Grand Final on July 11^th there is a holiday of a lifetime that must be won. If ALL that Footy style Bingo isn’t enough for you then try out the Footy Frenzy Instant games. The 888Ladies are giving back 10% on losses – Up to £300 can be claimed back!

The 888Ladies give new members a free no deposit fiver to try the games but if you want to join in with Footy Frenzy then you need to be a funded player.  There is a 200% cash match on the first deposit from £10 to £200 which should definitely get you off to a good start: GL!

Play 888 Ladies Bingo!

888 Holdings (888 Ladies Bingo) have been grabbing the headlines recently AND making changes. The latest news is that 888 Holdings are now going on a cost cutting exercise: Primarily because their trading results for the second quarter of this year; with regards to their casino, poker and bingo investments; are down – It is a fact, during the first twenty five days of the second quarter average daily revenue went down by around 13% in comparison to previous averages during the first quarter of this year.

It is understood, downturns are fairly normal in relation to trading patterns for this time of year. According to research by Bloomberg – who are an independent financial data, software and research company – The cost cutting exercise by 888 will not only include reducing the wages of their current employees by around 20%: Affecting around 900 ‘ground troops’ – The top ten managers at 888 will also be asked to accept a reduction of 10%.

CEO for 888 Holdings, Gigi Levy said: “While Q1 saw improvement on a year-on-year basis, B2C trading remains challenging across our product range, partly influenced by the seasonal pattern.” Indeed, the figures for the first quarter of this year revealed a 21% increase in income for 888: From $57Million last year to $69Million this year.

As of March 31^st this year 888 Holdings had just over seven and a half million Poker, casino and Sports betting accounts: Twenty four percent up on the year before: So why the cutbacks? According to Levy:  “Emerging Offering continues to out-perform the core products, and Dragonfish continues to win new deals; notably those in the newly regulated Italian market with bwin Italia and Gioco Digitale”. – However, “revenue from the new deals is yet to gain significant volume.”…. Indeed, there is great speculation…

888 Holdings do have ‘room to play with’ – they have around $93Million on the table of which $36Million is liable to players: Therefore NO debt. 888 Holdings have already stated that they will fully utilise M&A opportunities as soon as, and when they are available. According to reports Levy is intent on acquiring two more acquisitions – a small private gambling company and another small yet valid online gambling company: Regardless!

888 remain optimistic and continue to seek expansion yet according to TimesOnline, Barclay Capital believes the downturn clearly reveals “a company-specific problem as well”. Is it a case of running before they can walk? Without doubt, the answer will be revealed – And soon….

Even so, there was a last minute turn around and Wink have now decided to continue the offer until the end of march: Although it should be noted that while they will accept players from Europe, if you do NOT have a UK bank card then you will NOT get the bonus… Now Jackpot City have also announced that they too will be dropping their current £25 no deposit offer – now it is necessary to make a deposit to get a bonus. They too have had their no deposit offer in place since their re-launch last year. Dream Bingo also dropped their no deposit offer last October.

What is the true cause is pure speculation – some say it is because too many players are ‘abusing’ the system; signing up solely for the free money with no intentions of becoming a regular player: This seems a harsh statement – after all, players should be free to choose, it is NOT a compulsory obligation to make a deposit because you have used free play money. In fact the point is to try out the site, so maybe they simply need to make their games more interesting! Others say that it is because free bingo is on its way out because it is ‘bad business’– well, that seems a little misleading too as there are still plenty of free no deposit operators going big guns.

Cheeky bingo and Costa Bingo are free bingo no deposit sites who are still giving their players – both non depositing  and funded – a huge daily dose of free games with cash prizes. Crown bingo and the 888 ladies (who are also owned by 888 holdings same as Wink Bingo) are continuing to offer £5 free-play with no deposit required: Some players at Crown Bingo have managed to win as much as £200 from the free £5; so this proves that these no deposit sign up offers provide a great opportunity for online players to win cash for free as well as try out the site.

Even so, there does seem to be a cut back and regardless of the reason maybe that indicates NOW is the time to take advantage of these free no deposit offers. Maybe not leave it to chance? No time like the present as they say!

Play Foxy Bingo....

I often wonder if members of online bingo site realize just how valuable Bingo Bonus points can be to them, particularly when they are given away in large volumes. Every week at Foxy Bingo, literally millions of these points are given away and they are worth thousands of pounds once they have been redeemed and turned into cash. This means that the member who cashes in their points from time to time is not going to have to pay for their bingo games.

Check out the weekly specials at the site to get and idea of what games to play, because when you win, not only do you win the cash prizes on offer, you also may get a share in these millions of bingo points. These games are Money Spider, Butterfly Bonus, Legs Eleven and of course the Happy Hours. While Happy Hours double the amounts of points you earn in chat games, these other weekly specials actually allow you to win more for winning.

Of course now that Foxy Bingo has been crowned king of all bingo sites in the UK, all eyes are going to be on them. They are obviously the best bingo site in the country after stealing the prize of “ERG Online Bingo Operator of the Year”, from under all the other sites noses, but this means they are going to have to maintain these high standards. Fortunately Foxy Bingo already has a very good ethic so this shouldn’t be that difficult!

Presently all the Christmas promotions are on the go and the daily Advent Calendar promotion saw a 50ml bottle of CKIn2U perfume going for a song yesterday in the Luck For Some room, on the Xmas Stocking pattern, check out what they have on offer today, it may be something you would like to receive as a gift. If not, the prize may be something you would like to give to someone as a gift and at ticket prices like that, you will never be able to buy these gifts in the shops.

Play Posh Bingo...

Today is the last day to take advantage of one of the latest Posh Bingo Christmas promotions; that is December 10th! Christmas has definitely come early to this site and players have been claiming 5% back on all losses pertinent to deposits made during the 4th to the 10th December, make sure you claim yours. Don’t forget! This offer applies to Bingo or Instant games or both; if your luck has been out during this period now is the time to claim or really be out of luck. Cash backs are credited in the form of bonuses which can be used on all the games at this site and bonus funds will be credited to your bingo account by Friday the 11th.  These are calculated on all losses made, with minimum cash back of £1 and the maximum £300!!

Posh Bingo has also got £500 prizes daily for you to unwrap in the countdown to Christmas, and on Christmas Day an additional prize of a wide screen LCD TV is up for grabs. This is for players who bingo on the Xmas Tree pattern ins a specific game, and you can find these details at the site. Your brand new TV will only be delivered in the New Year, but what a magnificent start to the year that will be. If you are thinking you need a new TV, this site is the place to play on Christmas Day, it is a race to the finish and the first player to call BINGO wins! So let’s play bingo.

This site has also got all its ducks or turkeys or whatever you please in a row for the New Year. It is already advertising the super promotions you can participate in during the first two months of 2010. For instance the Posh New Years sale which has an amazing prize of £500 high street shopping vouchers every month for a year, the Hot Posh Pudding on the 29th January which has £6 000 as a prize and the Stunning February 28th promo, where the winner will get to spend a week with their family in fairytale land – none other than Eurodisney!!