Mecca Bingo

Mecca Bingo is one of the greatest bingo brands in the United Kingdom. It runs a number of Bingo Halls, employs over 11,000 people, and owns one of the biggest online bingo sites. Mecca is part of the Rank Interactive (Gibraltar) Limited Group, which oversees operations at Lucky Pants Bingo and a host of other top sites. It’s a complex web of brand names and operators that spans dozens of land-based casinos, bingo rooms, and online casinos, while generating millions in annual revenue. If you’re looking for a respectable online gambling destination backed by a major brand, you can’t go much wrong with this site.

Welcome Offer

Choose one of these when you join:

• Bingo bonus: Deposit and spend £5 on bingo to get a £20 bonus
  OR

• Slots bonus: Deposit and spend £5 on slots to get 50 free spins

The terms that you should take particular notice of:

• New players only

• Must deposit (PayPal & Paysafecard excluded) and spend at least £5 within 7 days

• Spend must be on selected slots (for free spins) or in selected bingo rooms (for the £20 bonus)

• Bingo bonus has 5x wagering

Promotions

The Mecca Bingo Welcome Bonus is pretty generous, but it’s not the only promotion available here. There are holiday-specific and even day-specific bonuses that come and go all of the time, including Grand Fridays where jackpots stretch to £5,000. There are also Happy Hours, Free Bingo Games, Free Spin promotions, and more. Check out the Promotions section on the site to see what the current promotions are.

Mecca Bingo Cards

If you have any intention of playing at a Mecca Bingo club, you should apply for a Mecca Bingo Card. You can submit an application online and then pick up your card from your nearest club. Unfortunately, the link had an issue at the time of this review and just kept redirecting me to the main site. In fact, every page referring to the card was a redirect. I was informed that this was just a technical issue and it should work by the time you read this review. It’s all pretty pointless anyway, as you can also just visit your club, complete a quick application form, and get your card. From there, you can even use your card to sign up for Mecca Bingo online and you’ll also get a bunch of extra rewards and benefits. On the plus side, this palaver gave me some insight into the brand’s customer support team…

Customer Support

I contacted Live Chat later on Tuesday morning and was added to a queue of 6 people (see screenshot). I can’t recall a time when a Live Chat queue has been so long, and it took around 15 to 20 minutes before I was connected. It insisted that I add a username before I could be connected, suggesting that you can’t message them if you’re not a member. I hadn’t joined at the time, so I just entered a random name and that was enough to secure a connection. They did ask me for account details once I logged on, but unlike Robin Hood Bingo, this didn’t devolve into a loop of repetitive questions and endless frustration. The support person was actually reasonable and used her initiative, which is rare. If you need to ask them a question before you actually have an account, I recommend doing the same. You shouldn’t need to do this, and there should be an option for non-members to get in touch, but there isn’t one right now and this is an easy workaround. [caption id="attachment_974" align="aligncenter" width="609"] A long wait during a busy period[/caption]

Slots and Bingo Rooms

The Mecca Bingo gaming selection is vast and includes an array of classic bingo and novelty bingo rooms, including Penny Lane, where you can scoop £10,000+ jackpots with penny tickets; Best Odds Bingo, which reduces maximum tickets and player numbers to increase your odds of success, and Deal or No Deal, where the winner opens a numbered box. Most bingo jackpots offer at least £300+ and several of them stretch to 5-figures. For the biggest prizes, make sure you drop by on Friday and Sunday evenings, as this is when most of the biggest games take place. Despite what the name might suggest, Mecca Bingo isn’t limited to bingo. You’ll also find a variety of jackpot slots offered by the likes of Blueprint Gaming, Playtech, and IGT. These are split between the “Casino”, “Slot”, and “Jackpot” sections. It seems to have followed in the footsteps of Betfair and Paddy Power by creating several sections for what is basically the same category of game. I’ve never understood why casinos do this while ignoring more obvious categories (such as those based on features and game mechanics) but it is a minor annoyance at worst.

Depositing and Withdrawing

Mecca Bingo accepts payments made through debit cards, PayPal, and Paysafecard. You can also get vouchers from your Mecca Bingo club and use those to add funds to your online wallet. There are no fees for depositing or withdrawing and most payments are submitted within 24 hours. It should only take a few hours to get your money through PayPal and between 1 and 3 working days for debit cards.

Mecca Bingo Review Summary

Many of the UK’s biggest gaming brands rely too much on their reputation, creating subpar sites, spreading themselves too thin, trying to corner too many markets, and essentially releasing a bunch of mediocre projects. 888 Group is a great example of this, because while it has some gems in its portfolio, it also has some shockers. Thankfully, Mecca Bingo doesn’t make the same mistake. Rather than releasing dozens of second-rate sites that are loosely connected to its brand, it puts all of its eggs into one basket and produces something that is capable of rivalling any gambling site in the UK. Not only does Mecca Bingo deserve top marks, but it’s one of the best 3 sites I have reviewed. [publishpress_authors_box layout="ppma_boxes_9936" user_id="4"]