What we recommend instead
Bingo Boat Verdict
Despite its attractive and welcoming appearance, Bingo Boat proves that you should never judge a book (or bingo site) by its cover. Although it provides 24/7 support, a good mobile platform, an easy-to-use site, and is very safe and secure, it lacks a truly beneficial and fair VIP programme or any original games, and the fact that the Promotions page can’t be accessed looks unprofessional. So, if Bingo Boat wants to stay afloat, we suggest it works on improving these issues ASAP.
Percentage score
Design & Usability
We have to confess that the marine theme of Bingo Boat is very attractive, and the images of calm blue seas and boats ferrying bingo balls across the water are both charming and relaxing. The additional splashes of yellow used in some of the graphics and text also give the impression that you’re on holiday somewhere nice and sunny. However, the layout takes up more space than an average screen/monitor can accommodate; so, you have to scroll down to see everything that’s on offer. Other than that, the site is very nicely designed with an advert that alternates between the no-deposit and welcome bonus at the top, three banners that encourage you to click through to find out more about the brand’s slots, bingo, and casino games, and a section dedicated to mobile play at the bottom.
At the top of the screen is a well-presented menu system, which lets you move between the key pages such as Tournaments, Promotions, Winners, and Mobile. To the right of this, there are buttons that let you login or join, as well as buttons that let you change the language from English to Swedish. There’s also a Live Help tab which is fixed to the far-right of every page, so that it’s always within easy reach.
Software & Gameplay
Because Bingo Boat is a member of the Live Bingo Network/Cozy Games, the impressive range of bingo variants (five) is marred by the fact that they’re not exclusive to the site. The lobby is pretty basic as it doesn’t split the different variants into organised sections or list them in a sensible order. However, there are different coloured symbols for each game type (e.g. green for 90-ball, and pink for 75-ball), and you can see how many players are in each room, the ticket price, the game prize, and the value of the progressive room jackpot. Plus, you can choose to either “Play Now” or “Pre-Buy”.
This score has been pulled from our review of Cozy Games’ software – for more information about the platform, please click through.
Safety & Security
The site uses an independently and extensively tested RNG (Random Number Generator) to ensure fair play and honest payouts. Bingo Boat is also regulated and licensed by the UK Gambling Commission and certified by eCOGRA. A Trustwave SSL Encryption certificate is used to protect your sensitive data, and the website uses a secure URL throughout.
Payments & Withdrawals
You can fund your account using MasterCard, Visa, Solo, Delta, Visa Electron, Maestro, Switch, Neteller, Skrill, Paysafecard, or Boku (Pay by Mobile).
The minimum and maximum that you can deposit per transaction are £10 and £500 respectively. You can only make one withdrawal request of £30 to £300 in any five-day period, which we feel is very restrictive, but understand that you can request an increased maximum withdrawal limit by contacting the customer service team. Withdrawal requests are processed daily on working days.
We also encountered an important fact in the site’s terms and conditions, which states that the maximum you can win (excluding any progressive jackpot or super jackpot win) in any 24-hour period is £10,000. You may wish to be aware of this prior to playing.
Customer Support
Support is available 24/7. You can use the online email form, which will be responded to within one hour, speak to an operator using the live chat service, submit a support ticket, or telephone the 24-hour telephone helpline.
Bonuses & Promotions
Although you can register an account with Bingo Boat without entering any payment details, you can take advantage of 10 BBs if you validate your credit or debit card details after you’ve signed up. This no-deposit offer comes with 8x bingo or 20x slots wagering requirements.
When we tried to get further details of the three-part welcome offer by visiting the Promotions page, we were unable to do so due to a coding error which we experienced on multiple, unconnected desktop and mobile devices. However, the information we managed to glean from our welcome email is that Bingo Boat offers you £1 of real cash each day that you log in to your account, and offers you 100 free game cards when you subscribe to the LBN (Live Bingo Network) blog. The welcome package gives you 1,150% across your first three deposits of £10 or more each (1st = 500%; 2nd = 350%; 3rd = 300%), and the wagering requirements are 4x bingo or 10x slots. Every future deposit of £10 or more gets you 300% extra.
Please note that we’ve rated Bingo Boat according to the limited information available. If the Promotions page error is ever corrected, we’d be happy to re-review the site for this particular category.
Device Compatibility
The bottom section of the homepage explains how easy it is to play on Apple, Android, and Windows mobile devices. You don’t need to download an app – just visit www.bingoboat.com and sign in or register a new account. All of the bingo rooms can be accessed on your mobile device, and as you’re playing with the same account, making deposits and withdrawals is easy.
Variety & Originality
There are eleven rooms that you can play in (five 90-ball, three 80-ball, one 75-ball, one 50-ball, and one 30-ball), but all of the prize pools are networked with Bingo Boat’s sister sites. There’s just one free room, and the jackpot games are limited to the weekly £500 Mega Jackpot and the monthly £2,000 Super Jackpot.
The range of slots is disappointing as there are only Cozy Games titles to choose from. Plus, there are just three casino games, and five video poker variants on offer.
Loyalty & Rewards
The four-tier VIP programme allows you to earn loyalty points by playing eligible games. Oddly, there’s no mention of bingo – only slots – and the Loyalty Page states that every £10 wagered earns you one point. To move up the tiers, you must reach set points targets: Gold = 1,001; VIP = 2,501; and SVIP = 5,001. If you quickly calculate what this means in terms of how much you need to spend, it equates to Gold = £10k+; VIP = £25k+; and SVIP = £50k+, which in our opinion is quite ridiculous.