Can Online Bingo Be Fixed?

If you’re new to online bingo, one worry you may have before you start putting your hard-earned money into a site is whether the game you’re about to play is rigged.

You’re certainly not alone in worrying about this. You can rest assured that when you are playing at any of our sites you are perfectly safe as all our sites are fair and licensed. But when playing bingo in a virtual context it can be more difficult to understand how the game works.

Playing bingo online is slightly different to playing it in land-based bingo halls because you often can’t see the balls as they’re being drawn.

Instead, a computer generates your numbers for you, which may make you question whether it’s possible for the site to be fixing games and unfairly taking your money.

To give you some peace of mind when it comes to playing online bingo, let’s take a look into whether the games can be fixed, and how safe it really is for you to play online.

How to tell if an online bingo site is fair

When you’re scouting out a new site to play your next game of online bingo, you may be worried that it’s not as safe as previous sites you’ve used. The good news is that there are a few different things which you can look out for to make sure that the site you’re playing on isn’t fixing your games.

Firstly, online bingo sites have to have a licence from the UK Gambling Commission, and you can check for their certificate number for this on their website. If a site has been approved by the UK Gambling Commission, you can rest easy knowing that they’ll be a fair and safe place for you to have your next game.

There are other ways to tell whether an online bingo site is going to offer you a fair game. One of the best things to do is to check out review websites or forums to find out other players' opinions on specific sites before you deposit any money.

The best sites for you to play on will have a good reputation among online bingo players already and a quick search for reviews and forums on the web can help you to find out which sites are fan favourites.

How are bingo balls picked?

In land-based bingo halls, you can physically see the person in front of you drawing each ball, so you have the reassurance that the numbers being called are completely random.

In online bingo, there isn’t a caller who can do this, so often online bingo sites use Random Number Generators to pick numbers.

These random number generators are controlled by computers and make sure that the numbers come out in a completely random pattern. Any site with a licence from the Gambling Commission has to have its random number generator independently tested by regulatory bodies.

If the bingo site which you’re playing on uses one of these RNGs, you can be sure that you’re playing a fair game and that the bingo balls aren’t fixed against you.

Fair means not always winning

It can be easy to have a losing streak when it comes to online bingo and then quickly blame this on the site you’re playing on being rigged. It’s important to remember that just because you’re not winning, it doesn’t mean that the game isn’t fair.

One concern which people have when playing online bingo is that they always notice the same players winning over and over again. It may seem like the game is rigged in their favour, but it wouldn’t be beneficial to bingo sites to rig games so that one player is always successful.

Do you need a strategy?

If you’re considering whether an online bingo game is fixed, you may also be wondering whether you need to work out a strategy in order to increase your winnings. Some sites suggest that there are certain ways to play which can help you increase your chances of coming out on top.

Because online bingo uses randomly generated numbers, it’s often difficult to predict which card is going to be the winner. Statistics show that cards which have an even amount of both odd and even numbers on them are the most likely to win.

Some bingo sites do allow you to choose your own cards, so this may be something you’ll want to consider when it comes to spinning the odds in your favour.

Other sites don’t give you this option and will just randomly assign you with a card. Either way, as numbers are randomly selected in online bingo sites, it’s unlikely that you’ll see a huge increase in winnings by using this method.

Often, the reason that these same people keep winning is just down to the fact that they’re the players who are investing the most time and money into games, and so they're seeing rewards for their own efforts.

This is known as the heavy depositor effect — and it’s a technique used by some players to try to increase their chances of winning by buying multiple tickets for each game.

Being a heavy depositor is frowned upon by many bingo sites, and can also work out as being less effective than just buying one card for a game. 

It’s worth considering that the amount of money you deposit into a game has to be deducted from your winnings, so often people who play this way don’t end up winning much anyway!

Although things are different for online games, a couple of attempts have been made to develop strategies for winning at bingo in a physical hall.

Just have fun!

When it comes down to it, the most important thing to remember when playing online bingo is to just have fun! If you’re too busy worrying about the game being rigged and how you’re going to maximise your winnings, you’ll take all of your own enjoyment out of the game.

As long as you’re playing on a well-respected site which has positive reviews from other bingo players, you shouldn’t need to worry about whether you’re going to get a fair game.

Just buy yourself a card and enjoy the atmosphere and fast pace of an online bingo game. Whether you win small or big, online bingo is a great, exciting way to make some cash online and have a good time while you’re doing it.