Gala Bingo

Gala Bingo has been bombarding UK TV sets for decades. In recent years, adverts have been fronted by the brilliant Paisley Billings, who can play the guitar with her feet (what do you mean fake? How dare you!? Next you’ll be telling me that gorillas can’t play the drums). In the past, we’ve been treated to multiple cheesy adaptations of “Na Na Hey Hey…Goodbye” and a bunch of celeb appearances. It’s not quite as ubiquitous as Foxy Bingo, but it’s getting there, and it has a pretty supportive family behind it. After all, Gala Bingo is part of Entain plc, formerly GVC Holdings, which means it’s owned by the same brand behind Foxy, Ladbrokes, and countless other gambling brands. Gala Bingo is licensed by the UK Gambling Commission and also holds a Gibraltar license for players outside of Great Britain. It has won numerous awards over the years and is one of the country’s biggest and busiest bingo destinations.

Welcome Offer

If you’re new to Gala Bingo, you can collect a £10 bingo bonus with your first deposit. Simply deposit and spend £10+ on any bingo game and the cash will be waiting for you in the My Bonuses section of the Bingo Lobby. The second part of the offer deposit £10+ on any slots  and get 100 Free Spins, or you can claim both by depositing £10 on bingo and £10 on Slots. Significant Terms: The bonus cash is limited to bingo games and there is a wagering requirement of 2x that must be met within 7 days. Deposits made via Neteller, PayPal, Apple Pay, Moneybookers, Paysafe, Skrill, Envoy, or any pre pre-payment card, certain debit cards do not qualify for this promotion. So be sure to check whether your preferred depositing method can be used for the promotion. Although Gala doesn't serve up any no deposit offers, if you want to “try before you buy”, check out the Free to Play section. All new players are given access to this area where there are free bingo tournaments, daily free spins ands slots tournaments you can play without wagering any real cash.

Promotions

The aforementioned Welcome Bonus is just the tip of the iceberg as Gala Bingo has many other offers to collect. These vary from week to week and some are seasonal, but they generally revolve around guaranteed prizes, cashback offers, and penny bingo games. As an example, one of the best Gala Bingo promotions available right now offers free bingo tickets to an event with cash prizes for landing 1-Line, 2-Line or Full House wins.

Slots and Bingo Rooms

Gala Bingo has more than 20 bingo rooms and many of these have a distinctly British feel to them, targeting some of the nation’s best-loved shows, including Emmerdale, Coronation Street, Deal or No Deal, and The Chase. When I joined, there were 44 bingo games due to begin within 10 minutes, with tickets costing anywhere from £0.01 to £0.25 and jackpots ranging from £50 to £88,000. Even the prize money is substantial, as there are plenty of players and tickets to increase the pots. Deal or No Deal is a great example. It regularly offers over £150 in prize money with fewer than 200 players and a £25,000+ jackpot. You can filter bingo rooms by Ticket Price, Start Time, Jackpot Size, and Number of Players, and there are also options for 40, 50, 75, 80, and 90-Ball bingo variants. On the slot side of things, Gala Bingo has cherry-picked the best of the best. There are a few hundred games and they span many of the UK’s favourite slots, including Rainbow Riches, Fishin’ Frenzy, Cleopatra, Diamond Mine, and Ted. They’re not just playing it safe, though, as there are some exclusive games mixed in there as well—just as many as the exceptional Mecca Bingo. If slots are what you're looking for, you may also wish to check out Gala Spins. As always, the categories and filters leave a lot to be desired. I would have liked to see options for “Provider/Developer”, so I could see more of creators like Quickspin, Blueprint Gaming, Scientific Games, Playtech, and NetEnt. The ability to search by Megaways, Rolling Reels, Locked Wilds, Buy Bonus, and other features would have been good as well. Instead, we have “Gala Gold” and “New & Exclusive”, which seem to have the same games, and “Slots” and “Games”, which both contain slots. There is a separate section for “ITV”, which showcases half a dozen games based on ITV shows, but everything else is pretty much dumped in the same generic categories. I know I’m nit-picking, but that’s the point. Why go to the trouble of offering so many great games only to stuff them in something so poorly presented? It’s like buying a flash new suit/dress and then carelessly tossing it in the back of the cupboard with all the other crap.

Depositing and Withdrawing

UK casinos can be a little disappointing in the payments department. Lights! Camera! Bingo charges £2.50 per withdrawal, Star Wins holds withdrawals for 3 days, and then you have sites like Heart Bingo, which have stopped accepting PayPal and now only take debit cards. Gala Bingo doesn’t have any of these issues and it makes for a refreshing change. It accepts debit cards, Skrill, PayPal, Neteller, Paysafecard, and Apple pay; most payments are processed in just a few hours, and the minimum deposit and withdrawal amounts are just £5. You can even withdraw less than this if you want to—just contact the customer support team and ask.

Gala Bingo Review Summary

Gala Bingo is a massively popular bingo brand with buzzing clubs from Basildon to Bradford and a member base that spans all demographics. For many, it’s the foundation of a good night out, and thanks to Gala Bingo Online, you don’t even need to leave your house anymore! It’s also ideal if you just want to relax in front of the TV while playing a few games. The community is large and lively, the games are plentiful, and if you tire of playing bingo you can just drop into the casino and play some slots. I am now a fan and will likely make multiple visits long after this review goes live. If they added a sportsbook, I’d probably never leave.