Live Bingo Review

From the moment you open the homepage for Live Bingo you can tell that it’s a relatively new website. In many ways it almost resembles the layout of newer versions of Microsoft Windows, which from a Mac user’s perspective is automatically going to spell bad news. But then not everyone buys into the cult of Apple, and as such it could well have the opposite impact on just as many, if not more, people.

Overall, it’s a clean looking website that has plenty of cues to make you interested. The top of the screen is dominated by a box out advertising a 200% Bonus for joining the website, along with the fact you also get a free gift just for signing up. We’ll come to these in more detail, but for now suffice to say it does exactly what you’d hope, by stating intentions clearly.

So Crisp

Moving further down the page and more clarity abounds. The first lot of options- each in their own different coloured box, are advertising two types of bingo – 90-Ball and 75-Ball – along with Games, Join Now, Promotions and Casino. Perhaps confusingly, Promos and Games also feature as tabs above these boxes, meaning there seems to be a whole load of other options within those options, raising the question of what’s the point in having double clickthroughs for both, but once you ponder that meaningful question for a second the reality hits – it’s a simple design choice. The page would look uneven and rather unsightly without re-using some of the same options.

For us, that’s a plus point in no uncertain terms. We’re sick and tired of being confronted by casino and bingo websites that appear to have been designed by either colour blinded or the visually impaired. It also serves a second purpose – reiterating the fact that there’s not only bingo on offer here, which again is better than the majority of comparable sites out there. And, whilst we have complained in the past about people hiding away exactly what they have to offer players, in this instance the biggest selling point (hence the name of the website) is bingo, and you can quite clearly see that there are two options of bingo here. Yes, that’s not exactly the greatest selection, but at least we know what’s here without having to click around and find out for ourselves.

Clicking on 90-Ball Bingo

This is when things start to get a bit more complicated. When you click on 90 Ball you’d expect to be confronted by a table or other sort of breakdown showing you the games currently in play. You’re not. Instead, this reveals a page that has several more options, none of which are really explained that well.

So, the first is Free Bingo, which, as it sounds, is a range of games you can play for free. The second is, again, 90-Ball Bingo – a sign that those responsible for this website really, really enjoy their repetition. Next to this, there’s 85-Ball Bingo, which has already been offered through the homepage, and so we’re not sure why it’s here within the 90-Ball Bingo area. Below this, there’s 5 Line Bingo, which wasn’t advertised on the homepage, and then finally Bingo Jackpots – a fourth type of bingo game (not included the freebie), and a second that wasn’t referenced when you initially opened up the homepage.

This might not sound like the most awful thing in the world, but for us it’s really quite irritating. Why don’t developers look at what they are building and get rid of any unnecessaries, and, perhaps most importantly, move stuff around so it makes some kind of logical sense? Alas, such is life, not least when you review bingo and online casino websites for work.

What’s in a Game?

Clicking on the Games option on the homepage, thankfully, brings up a bit more of what you would hope. You’re immediately taken to a separate area of the website, which is dedicated to Games that are not Bingo. This includes Slots, which everyone loves with their instant gratification standpoint, not to mention Instants- games that are about as immediate as they come – along with Progressives (i.e. when the jackpot grows as you play, rather than when you win), and Mobile.

Mobile, although self-explanatory, is worth a quick note here. More and more of us are doing pretty much anything and everything via mobiles and tablets, and as such it always amazes us at the number of websites that don’t really make the most of their mobile potential, or, worse still, don’t even really have much to offer people for their mobiles. In the case of Live Bingo, set up in 2013, neither are true, meaning the mobile offering has been taken very seriously, and should impress most mobile gamers.

Cash in at the Casino

It’s always good when a bingo website has a Casino section, and the one on Live Bingo is particularly impressive. You’re not limited in terms of choice, or not up against many other bingo sites we have come across, and this is definitely a very good thing in our eyes.

So you can choose from Roulette, Keno, and several other types of game that loosely fit the Casino option. Sadly, though, there’s no poker of blackjack, which seems a bit silly considering how popular these games always are. Some of the best bingo sites we have come across all offer poker and blackjack on top of their core focus, and as such this is an example of how not to really go about setting up a Casino area. Nevertheless, it’s not the worst, and the variety – aside from lacking in cards – is definitely enough to keep you busy.

Any Offers?

You bet your bottom dollar there is. The Promotions section of the website is flagged up as being ‘New’, which is quite surprising, and makes us glad for the developers they managed to add it in before we got here (woe betide those who don’t). Overall there are plenty of different offers and promos on the table, including the 200% bonus we mentioned earlier on you first deposit of up to £10. The gift in this isn’t too bad either – either a £10 cash bonus, or £5 Amazon or Love2Shop voucher, or £5 Slots cash. Put simply, free money, rather than a special pen or something else you don’t really want.

There are plenty of other promotions on offer too, and this is before we come to the VIP club. OK, so this isn’t a real red carpet affair, but still the more you play the more you are rewarded, moving up the ranks from Rookie to Pro, and then onto Master and, finally, Champion. It’s a nice way of incentivising people to come back for more.

Mixed Bag

We’re not really sure what to write here, as it’s a bit of a mixed bag. First impressions are excellent, but although there’s not a huge amount to put you off once you have signed up, the oversights that have been made are pretty damning. The lack of poker and blackjack, the strange decisions that favour design over functionality, the limited selection of bingo types... the list could go on a little longer. Having said all that, the games that are here are first rate, and we still managed to finish testing the site with a positive view to the site itself- which is far more than we can say for many.