Bingo News at Prize Bingo

The Cyprus based bingo network and software platform has been growing like crazy for the past six months but has run into some serious payment processing problems.  While we’re unsure of the details behind why they have hit this wall, they have made the decision to stop taking deposits on their network of online bingo sites, including two very new sites: Bulldog Bingo and Churchill Bingo.

A spokesperson for Interactive Playnet said, “Due to the size of the funds and the seriousness of how this affects us operationally we are forced to suspend the online bingo operations.  This is very unfortunate and totally beyond our control.  We feel it would be wrong for us to continue at this time without the firm guarantee of payment.  We have not shut down the network at the moment, however we have suspended the deposit page and cut bingo pots.”

We have to wonder – why would they think people would want to continue to play without being able to get their winnings?  There are far too many places to play free bingo and still collect real cash winnings so there is little point to playing for free just because.

In case you were not aware of the situation, here is a list of the sites affected: Bingo Boat, Blind Date Bingo, Bulldog Bingo, Churchill Bingo, Comedy Bingo, Emerald Bingo, Exotic Bingo, Fun Bingo, Happy Days Bingo, Rainbow Bingo, Skippy Bingo, Starlight Bingo, Sunset Strip Bingo and YouGotBingo.  While most of these were not hugely popular sites, Bingo Boat does have a good size following and the two newest sites on the network, Bulldog and Churchill Bingo, had been getting a lot of good press.

For those bingo enthusiasts who find 75 ball bingo games a tad too short but 90 ball bingo games just a tad too long, the newer 80 ball bingo games seem to be just right.  To cater to that segment of the market, Sky Bingo has introduced a new bingo room that will only feature 80 ball bingo games all the time.

Sky Bingo, from British Sky Broadcasting Plc., has risen steadily in popularity since its introduction.  No doubt, that is largely due to the millions of television watchers already tuned into the TV programming – talk about a captive market!  But the site does have a lot of offer bingo lovers.

The online bingo site offers a good sized bingo bonus to new members.  Simply register and make a first deposit of only ￡5 – you’ll get a bonus of ￡15 dropped into your bingo account.  Even better, this bonus can not only be spent playing bingo but also all the casino games available at associated sites: Sky Vegas, Sky Poker and Sky Bet.

Be sure to drop in if you like 80 ball bingo but check the lobby before jumping in.  In the new 80 ball bingo room, the ticket and jackpot amounts change from game to game.

If you don’t play at GoneBingo yet, this might be a good time to give them a try.  They’re running a long tournament right now through Christmas Eve with five winners getting a wonderful voucher towards travel expenses.  For every pound spent on bingo, you’ll earn one Santa point and for ever ten pounds spent on casino games, you’ll also earn a Santa point.  The five top point winners on Christmas Eve will be awarded the travel voucher on Christmas Day.  Talk about a merry Christmas!

To make it even better, everyone ends up a winner in the promotion because each Santa point can be converted to free bingo.  The points will expire January 15, though, so you’ll need to spend them in the two weeks following Christmas.

The player with the most points on Christmas Eve will get themselves a ￡1,000 travel voucher.  The next four top point winners will get a very nice ￡500 voucher for their next vacation.

GoneBingo offers several variations on the classic bingo game including 75 ball, 80 ball and 90 ball bingo.  They also offer a huge variety of side games, particularly a good selection of video slots, as well as casino games.

A Nairn man who works for Gala Coral, Ewen Macgregor, was one of the 25 hardy bingo players who helped Gala raise over ￡100,000 for the charity organization, Sue Ryder Care.  The group helped the fundraising efforts by playing a world record breaking game of bingo – at the Mt. Everest basecamp, 17,500 ft above sea level.  As the world’s highest bingo game, the efforts will certainly go down in history for bingo lovers.

The entire team was comprised of Gala Coral staff members who had been training for the event since last year.  Each year, the company tries to come up with new and creative ways to raise funds for their chosen charitable organization.

Sue Ryder Care executive Paul Woodward said, “This was a truly fantastic endeavor, firstly in completing the trek and in the tremendous amount of money that has been raised, and which will go a long way in supporting our work in caring for people living with conditions including cancer, stroke, multiple sclerosis and brain injury.”

In an interview with The Press and Journal, Macgregor described the experience.

“Despite all the hardships we endured on the way to Everest basecamp, the trek was a once in a lifetime challenge and it’s great to finally be able to say that I’ve trekked to the top of the world, set a new record for Britain’s favorite game and helped raise more than £100,000 for Sue Ryder Care.

The other trekkers at basecamp simply couldn’t believe it when we started pulling out the calling cards, dabbers and bingo balls at 17,500 ft.  I’m sure they thought we had altitude sickness.  But the support, cameraderie and cheers that erupted across basecamp when we broke the record is a moment that I will never forget.”

Ann Summers Bingo, while not one of the more popular online bingo sites, has still left a void in the UK online bingo world.  There haven’t been many reports about the closure but perhaps not everyone was aware since the site never did make a formal announcement of its closing.  Supposedly an email was sent to the players to inform them but we’re hearing reports that many players didn’t get notice.  Now when they try to log in, they are instead re-routed to the St. Miniver network for one of their other sites.

With the huge number of land based bingo clubs closing and various bingo websites disappearing or merging with others, perhaps this have become all too commonplace to make a big fuss.  The loss of one of the lesser known bingo sites doesn’t seem to be making a big blip on the online bingo industry radar.

While the site hadn’t seemed to command a large bingo player following, they certainly made waves while they were open.  They are the only site we’ve seen to cater to the more “adult” crowd, even so far as to give out vibrators to new players at one point in their history.  With a sexy voice calling the bingo numbers, the site was certainly unconventional, to say the least.

In an industry where the sites can end up seeming far too much alike, it is always sad to see one disappear that at least tried to be different.

For a long time, PC users have been able to access Wink Bingo directly from their desktops through use of a shortcut but no similar shortcut existed for the poor Mac user.  In fact, since the beginning of online gaming almost all new technologies have been aimed at the PC market.  Granted, more people own and use PCs than Macs at this time but it is still a large group that was being left out of new innovations.

Well, no more.  Wink Bingo just launched a brand new widget for Mac users to download with the Safari browser.  With the widget, that is an attractive Wink Bingo badge, Mac users can now access their favorite games directly from their desktops just like PC users.

Now that the technology is clearly available, we would like to see this widget spread into use by all the other online bingo and gambling sites.

While some don’t begin decorating for Christmas until Thanksgiving, Bingo Day is getting you in the holiday spirit with its seventh annual Candy Cane Competition.  The promotion launched on November 1 and runs all the way through December 13 for all its eager bingo fans.  The tournament is based on getting bingo on the Candy Cane patterns and has some good prizes along the way.

You must be a depositing player over at Bingo Day to take part in this exciting holiday promotion and only real money games will count.  By depositing and wagering at least ￡10, you’ll also be entered into a holiday drawing where you could win vouchers for High Street shops or dining out.

With the biggest jackpot of the promotion running a cool ￡1,000 and the ability to pre-purchase tickets, there really is no reason not to give this one a try.  If you’re not already a Bingo Day member, you’ll have to sign up and make a deposit in order to have the chance to win in this Candy Cane Competition tournament.