What we recommend instead
Crown Bingo Verdict
Although Crown Bingo has tried to move with the times since launching over a decade ago (by joining the Virtue Fusion network, for example), it’s not as good as some of its younger competitors when it comes to offering loyalty rewards, no-deposit bonuses, 24/7 customer support, exclusive promotions and rooms, and modern payment methods. However, it does boast Endemol’s Bingo Studio Live Room, and the attractive prizes on offer in the daily BingoLinx games give you regular opportunities to win big. Overall, we wouldn’t consider it worthy of a room in Buckingham Palace, but perhaps a small stately home in the country.
Percentage score
Design & Usability
Crown Bingo uses a pink and blue colour scheme to appeal to players of both sexes, and with the ruby-studded gold crown in its logo and images of sparkling diamonds, it conveys a sense of majesty. The website’s been designed to help you navigate your way around with ease. For example, there are just five tabs on the main menu bar (Home, Bingo, Games, Promotions, and Help), and you can see recommended promotions and games listed underneath.
Software & Gameplay
We last visited Crown Bingo on a Wednesday at 8AM when there were already 25+ roomies enjoying bargain Early Bird Penny games in Room 2 and over 100 players in some of the networked rooms. As we arrived at each of our destinations, we were greeted by one of Crown’s chat hosts, and were able to move around between rooms with ease thanks to the fast-loading Virtue Fusion lobby.
The use of Virtue Fusion software means that alongside standard 90-ball and 75-ball games, you can enjoy 80-ball bingo, and special variants such as Clover Countdown, Deal or No Deal – The Money Ladder, Multi Balls, Joker Jackpot, Rainbow Riches, and Speed. There’s just one thing that mildly irritates us – the names of two of Crown’s exclusive rooms – which have been left as the Virtue Fusion defaults, Room 1 and Room 2, which aren’t exactly inspiring.
However, the Bingo Studio Live room caught our attention for all the right reasons. Its aim is to bring online bingo to life through the use of live presenters, who you can interact with whilst playing 90-ball games, and they also host quiz show games where you can win additional prizes.
Safety & Security
Crown Bingo is regulated and licensed by the UK Gambling Commission, and adheres to industry standards to ensure that player safety and security are treated with the utmost importance.
Payments & Withdrawals
You can deposit funds to your account using MasterCard, Visa, Solo, Switch, Visa Delta, Visa Electron, Paysafecard, and Neteller.
The minimum you can deposit in one transaction is £10, and the maximum is £5,000. You can make up to five deposit requests in any 24-hour period (e.g,, 5 x £5,000 deposits). You can also set your own daily, weekly, and maximum deposit limits if you wish.
You can make withdrawals of £20 or more using Visa Credit, Visa Debit, Solo, and Maestro. Card withdrawals are usually processed within three to five working days, and you can withdraw up to £10,000 in any 24-hour period.
Customer Support
You can contact the customer support team via email and live chat between 8AM and midnight. Ideally, we’d like to see Crown Bingo introduce 24/7 support, as well as the option to talk to a customer service representative by telephone.
Bonuses & Promotions
When you make your first deposit of £10 or more, you’ll be offered a 100% welcome bonus (worth up to £50), which comes with a 4x wagering requirement. In addition, you’ll get an invitation to play in the site’s exclusive Freebie Lounge the following week. The Freebie Lounge runs free and Superbooks games nightly. If your first deposit is worth £30+, you’ll also gain access to the VIP Room where there are even more free games, BBz, and big prize pots to enjoy.
Many of the promotions at Crown Bingo are networked Virtue Fusion events and offers, including the monthly £20k Power Hour, Daily Piggy Smash Scratch Card, £30k Thrifty Thursdays, and Weekly £50k Friday Fever. While it’s good to have access to so many promotions that often offer huge cash prizes, none of them are unique or even themed to fit the Crown Bingo brand.
Device Compatibility
A paragraph near the bottom of the homepage states that you can play at Crown Bingo on the move via tablets or smartphones, but there are no instructions on how to go about doing so. After our reviewers took time out to unravel the mysteries of mobile gaming, we can confirm that you can play via Crown’s HTML5 website on the majority of modern mobile devices. As well as offering an extensive range of slots, the site gives you full access to all of Crown’s bingo rooms.
Variety & Originality
Crown Bingo hosts an impressive number of jackpot games, but they’re linked to other sites residing on the Virtue Fusion network, and it would make life more interesting if the operator introduced some exclusive rooms and games. While the Bingo Studio Live Room adds extra excitement to the games it hosts, it too can be found at some other operator sites.
There are a good number of slots, table games, live dealer games, and instant wins available, but free bingo is only on offer to depositing players for three hours on Mondays and just one hour on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays.
Loyalty & Rewards
The Crown Bingo VIP Loyalty Scheme is only open to members who are personally invited by the operator’s VIP Managers, who are on hand 24/7 to make sure their most loyal players are getting the best out of their time at the site. VIP benefits include exclusive promotions, monthly reload bonuses, and cashback.
If you’re not fortunate enough to be picked to join the VIP scheme, you can still gain entry to the 90-ball VIP Room (which opens for two hours on Tuesdays and Wednesdays) by making a weekly deposit of £30 or more.
Plus, all funded roomies who deposit at least £10 per week get entry to the Freebie Lounge for seven days’ of free bingo.