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Sola Bingo Verdict
Sola Bingo is a bit of a let-down, because it’s brand new and has a brilliant site, with lots of modern extras like site menus, but the actual bingo here is the same as any Cozy site. The games are still good and will please most players, there’s just nothing special here. Hopefully the new, growing chat community will lend something special to the site.
Percentage score
Design & Usability
There’s a very smart design at Sola Bingo, which reflects the fact that it’s very new, with bold graphics and a scrolling, vertical homepage. There are large tiled buttons for things like signing in, plus floating buttons for some offers and live help. Once you log in, you get a useful top menu bar with all your controls. Unfortunately, at the time of writing there were also some broken links in the Bingo Promotions area.
The actual site artwork is quite lacking, or rather they have opted for clean, neat boxes and blocks of colour rather than characters. The site is very smooth and may appeal if you’re a bit tired of bingo sites with daft mascots. And while Sola Bingo joins the ever-growing list of bingo sites in the UK, it also serves Sweden too.
Software & Gameplay
Sola Bingo has a bingo lobby built into the main site, which actually looks very nice, though it is just a list of the available rooms. You can easily see how many are in and what the ticket prices are. Unfortunately, the bingo software is not as modern as the site itself, using quite a clunky interface. It’s bright and friendly and has lots of controls, but doesn’t look like much.
The chat is a plus point at Sola Bingo, as you can easily find a lot of chatters and hosts, even during the day. This seems to be a growing community and the test will be whether they stick around after the site feels new.
Safety & Security
You’re in safe hands at Sola Bingo, which is licensed and regulated by the Isle of Man Gambling Commission and the UK Gambling Commission. They also have a secure site, with SSL encryption to protect payments, the industry standard.
The site has complete responsible gaming information and even has the iTech Labs certification for fair games, so everything is covered.
Payments & Withdrawals
You fill find a built-in cashier at Sola Bingo with a series of buttons to pick your amounts and potential deposit. You can add new payment methods on the left. The system is quick and easy, you can’t go far wrong at all. Withdrawals are processed in 2-3 working days but this may not include time taken to arrive at your bank.
Sola Bingo accepts credit and debit cards, PaySafeCard, Boku Mobile Payments and Neteller, so it’s a good mix but lacks PayPal.
Customer Support
Sola Bingo offers a great support selection. You can contact the team by email form, live chat, a helpdesk ticket or my phone. These are available 24/7 which is great for night owls and those playing before work.
The contact page is buried in the sliding site menu, but it’s nice and pleasantly presented. There are also FAQs and overall the team is friendly and professional.
Bonuses & Promotions
The promotions at Sola Bingo could be stronger, being just a selection of the usual Cozy site offers. They do have plenty to check out though, including free bingo, chat games such as the break-time quizzer and naturally some guaranteed jackpot events. You can also claim 50 free bingo tickets by following their Facebook page.
The welcome bonus is massive, offering the typical Cozy deposit match up to 500%, on deposits up to £500! The wagering requirement is four times, which is standard and pretty fair.
Device Compatibility
There are no apps here but you can access the site by visiting it on your phone or tablet browser. The mobile site seems to be smooth and responsive, having a simple vertical design. It feels a lot like the main site and stays on brand. The games are quite basic however, lacking much of a readout or chat.
You can find a mobile page on the main site which explains all this and talks about the kinds of devices which can access the site (in fairness, most modern phones and tablets).
Variety & Originality
Sola Bingo has a nice mix of bingo types, including 90 ball, 80 ball, 75 ball, 50 ball and 30 ball. They offer eleven rooms, including some regular jackpot rooms, a new special 2017 room and free bingo. The selection is fine, but has nothing unique to this site.
The slots are mixed in quality but there’s simply hundreds to check out, so you’re bound to find a favourite, such as the super cute Fish Toons.
Loyalty & Rewards
Sola Bingo appears to only offer a very basic loyalty system, letting you earn points by depositing and then converting to cash at a later date. You need a minimum of 100 to convert, which is worth £1.
The site makes no mention of any other rewards or VIP treatment, but it may be available invite only.