How To Spot The Best Bingo Promotions—Tips, Tricks and More!

Playing bingo online is fantastic- you have fun, make friends, and maybe even win some money! But what makes a bingo experience go from ‘good’ to ‘great’? Aside from winning a million-quid-jackpot, one of the things that really enhances the experience is getting rewarded for your play.

If you want to get the most out of bingo, you’ve probably already tried a few promotions. Online bingo sites are littered with them, but how do you know which ones will be heaps of fun, and which aren’t worth your time?

Promotions can certainly help you maximise the fun from each deposit you make, but picking the right offers to take is important. This guide will help you learn where to find the very best UK bingo promotions, as well as decide which ones are right for you.

Bingo bonuses and promotions 101
Newbies offers and bonuses
Loyalty promotions
Promotions, games and jackpots
Tips and tricks on how to get the most out of bingo promotions
To sum up

Bingo bonuses and promotions 101

What is a bonus?

You’ll see bonus offers splashed all over bingo sites these days, but what is a bingo bonus? A bonus is like money that you can use to spend on the site, but can’t withdraw. If you want to withdraw it, you’ll have to convert it to cash by meeting the wagering requirement.

Why do bingo sites offer promotions?

Bingo sites use promotions to bring in new players, and to keep current players feeling happy and valued. Sites are businesses, and they can hardly just hand out cash willy-nilly, so instead they offer bonus, free spins, cashback, prize giveaways and more as ways of rewarding their players.

Why are promotions good?

Bingo bonus, free spins, and other promotional incentives are all things that you are being given to enhance your play experience. They might mean that you can play more before depositing again, or they might encourage you to try a new game without dipping into your own funds.

Some promotions like leaderboards and quizzes are just fun to take part in, and if you win a prize, even better!

What are the drawbacks?

Depending on the promotion, you may have to contend with wagering requirements. These can be tricky, but they’re not impossible to wrangle your way through, so just be sure you understand them before taking a bonus offer.

You may also find yourself excitedly accepting offers that you later realise aren’t that right for you after all. It’s easy to get giddy when you see a big number or the word “free”, but not all promotions are right for all players.

Newbies offers and bonuses

BingoPort Port Points

When you join up and deposit on a site for the first time, you’re bound to get a welcome offer from them. But did you know that if you sign up through BingoPort, you’ll get even more rewards?

Signing up through BingoPort to a site which participates in our rewards programme will mean that you earn Port Points for making your first deposit there. Port Points can be traded in at the BingoPort Rewards Store for exciting prizes!

No deposit offers

The absolute best of the bonuses is a no deposit offer! This is something you get for free, without ever having to have deposited at the site. No deposit offers are generally given to new players as a gift for registering at the site.

It might be a bonus, some spins, or free bingo, but you won’t have to pay a penny to get it. That said, you may have to verify your mobile number, add a credit card for age verification, or jump through some other minor hoop to get the bonus. Still, free is free!

Welcome offers

A welcome offer is what you’ll get when you make your first deposit. It could be bonus, free spins, or free bingo tickets, and some sites even offer spins that pay out as cash.

Make sure you check the T&Cs before you take a welcome offer; you might need to meet a minimum deposit or enter a code, and you should always read the terms for things like wagering requirements and expiry dates.

Newbie rooms

As part of their welcome offer some sites offer new players limited access to a Newbie room. This bingo room will often have free bingo, and as well as being a chance to win without spending, it gives new players the chance to have a go and play without being overwhelmed by busy rooms full of experienced players.

Scrabble letters spelling out welcome

Loyalty promotions

BingoPort redeposit Port Point offers

Certain sites offer special redeposit Port Points! If you’ve joined one of these sites through BingoPort, you’ll get Port Points each day that you redeposit at that site. That can add up to a lot of Port Points!

Once you’ve got some Port Points, check out the Rewards Store to trade them in for prizes!

Loyalty points

Many sites have their own loyalty scheme, and though these vary from site to site, you can earn some pretty good rewards through them! Find out if a site’s scheme works on loyalty points, deposits, or time since joining, and you could be looking at some great treats.

We’ve seen loyalty schemes offering everything from gifts and daily free spins right up to luxury cruise holidays for VIPs!

Refer a friend

Got at least one mate who’s over 18? Fantastic- you’re halfway there!

Refer a friend schemes are very common, and if you get a friend to sign up with you as their referrer, you (and maybe your friend too) might get a treat! Even better, get them to sign up through BingoPort and they’ll start earning Port Points too!

Cashback

Often only for VIPs, cashback is when the site gives you a little of your spend back. Sites will calculate this daily, weekly, or monthly depending on their loyalty scheme, but it can be nice to get a little back in the wallet.

Notably, Jumpman sites offer daily cashback for all players who have made at least one deposit, so check these sites out if cashback interests you.

VIP schemes

For the high rollers, check out a site’s VIP scheme. Some don’t seem to be that thrilling, but there are some seriously lucrative VIP clubs out there, so if you think you’ve a shot at getting in, make sure you’re looking at some good rewards.

VIP rewards can include cashback, faster cash-outs, exclusive offers, and even gifts or holidays.

Bingo cards and chips

Promotions, games and jackpots

Ongoing promotions

Many sites have regular promotions which are either always running, like a reusable deposit offer, or they run on certain days, like a Friday promotion. These might be any of the following:

Reusable bonus code
Special bingo games
Happy Hour
Weekly tournament
Cashback

Check the criteria for ongoing promotions- over time, you may be able to enjoy them quite a few times.

Jackpot rooms

Jackpot rooms are special bingo rooms with a big jackpot, often several thousand pounds, or even into the millions. Before you get too excited, be aware that many of these are either sliding jackpots or progressive jackpots.

Sliding jackpots start high, then gradually drop as more numbers are called, until they reach a minimum prize. The site will tell you all about this in the info or T&Cs of the room.

Progressive jackpots climb and climb, but can only be won by a very specific (and often quite rare) trigger, e.g. getting bingo in 35 calls or fewer.

All big jackpots like this are still a chance to play for a mega prize, just make sure you go into them aware that in reality, the prize may not end up being as huge as advertised.

Free Bingo Rooms

Who doesn’t love free bingo? Most bingo sites now offer at least one free bingo room, and some offer lots of different rooms. In a free bingo room, the tickets don’t cost anything to buy, but be aware, you may need to make a deposit to unlock the room.

Some rooms are available for players who have made 1+ deposit, and some are more specific, for example, players who have deposited £20+ in the last 7 days. Of course, the ultimate thrill is finding a free bingo room that is open to all players, no deposit needed!

Male hand holding a magnifying glass

Tips and tricks on how to get the most out of bingo promotions

Pick the right site

You’ve decided that you want to snag some good bingo promotions, great! The next step is to find a site that offers what you want. If you love free bingo, a slots site isn’t going to be much good for you.

Checking BingoPort’s reviews will give you the lowdown on what kind of promotions a site tends to offer- there’s a whole section of the review dedicated to it! You can also visit the sites yourself- most sites will have a promotions page detailing some of their offers.

It’s worth knowing that many sites offer promotions and bonus codes through email and SMS, and these will not be advertised on the site. If you want to get your hands on these, you’ll need to opt in to email, SMS, or post when you register.

Read the fine print

Always, always, always check the T&Cs for any promotion you think you’d like to claim. So many players take an offer without reading the terms first, and then find that they’re caught out later. It’s absolutely crucial that you understand the terms of an offer, or you might find yourself losing your bonus, your winnings, or not even qualifying for the promotion at all. Things to check include;

Whether the offer is for new players only
The minimum deposit amount
The maximum bonus amount
The expiry time on spins/bonus
The wagering requirement
The win cap on free spins/tickets
Any withdrawal restrictions
If there is a maximum bet amount with your bonus
Which games you can use the bonus/spins/tickets on

There might be other information in the T&Cs too- make sure to read it carefully. This will help ensure that you get the most out of your bonus, and don’t end up disappointed!

Pick and choose your promotions

There are hundreds of bingo promotions out there, and if you tried to claim them all you’d go crackers! The trick is to pick only the promotions you actually want. Otherwise, you might end up using your deposit on a promotion you don’t really like, or you could also be totting up some pretty crazy wagering requirements!

Consider how much you would like to spend. If a tournament is based on wagers, are you happy to try and play big to win a prize? If you’d rather stick to a smaller budget, this might not be the right promotion to get involved with.

Are you willing to risk it for a mystery prize? Promotions like prize wheels can give you the chance to win big or win small, does that appeal to you? If you like to know what you’ll be getting before you commit, something like a bonus code might suit you better.

How long does the promotion run for? If you are coming in at the end of a prize draw competition, you won’t have had as much time as the other players to collect entries. If you are there for the offer starting, you can get involved right from the beginning.

One of the big things to consider is, quite simply, what is the reward? If you love slots, a spins promotion would be perfect for you, but a casino offer might be no good. Pick a promotion that plays to your tastes, and you’re much more likely to enjoy it.

Check BingoPort

BingoPort is a great way to make sure you’re getting the best promotions and the most out of your bingo experience. You can browse tonnes of welcome offers all in one place, explore a site’s promotions through our reviews, and easily compare sites.

Even better, if you sign up to a participating site through BingoPort, you’ll get Port Points which you can cash in for rewards! Check the Enhanced Port Point offers for even more points on selected sites.

To sum up

There are tonnes of bingo promotions out there, but the trick is to find the best ones before you snap one up. To make sure you’re getting the very best offer for you, we recommend…