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Bingo Scotland Verdict
We imagine that when Bingo Scotland first launched, it was a very exciting site to play at. Sadly, it doesn’t show many signs of trying to keep up with its increasing number of competitors bar the fact that it offers Paypal as a banking method. The lack of promotions, VIP benefits, extended bingo room opening hours, and customer service availability are particularly disappointing.
So, the brand’s only real selling point is its Scottish theme.
Percentage score
Design & Usability
It’s clear that the Bingo Scotland website couldn’t be more proud of its heritage as it uses blue tartan as its backdrop, white and blue colours throughout, and proudly flies the Saint Andrew’s Cross next to its logo. Unfortunately, the information you can access without registering is extremely limited, and this is the only website we’ve come across to-date that forces you to enter a credit card/debit card when you sign-up even if you’re not interested in becoming a funded player.
Once you’re logged in, things don’t improve an awful lot as there’s really not much to see on the home page. You can, however, access your profile, the cashier, loyalty page, promotions, winners, and favourite games via the menu on the left-hand side. To get to the lobby, you’ll need to click the bouncing bingo ball in the centre of the screen.
Software & Gameplay
Bingo Scotland uses 888’s Dragonfish software, which means that the lobby is well-designed and quick to load. The selection of games is divided by tabs called Free Bingo, 90-ball, 75-ball, Daily Jackpots, Casino, and Big Big Party.
Unfortunately, many of the rooms don’t open until 9AM, and we could only find one room (Five Liner) that states it opens 24 hours a day. The Big Big Party is a networked room (which also runs at Think Bingo) and opens between 7PM and 11PM daily.
Safety & Security
Finally, an area where Bingo Scotland performs well! It uses a secure URL, is licensed and regulated by the UK Gambling Commission, and displays the eCOGRA logo in its footer. Encryption software is used to protect your data while its being transmitted over the internet, and a random number generator is used to ensure that every game gives a fair outcome.
Payments & Withdrawals
The banking options are Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, Paysafecard, Paypal, and Wire Transfer.
You can deposit between £10 and £10,000 per day, and withdraw £10 to £1,000 per day. All withdrawal requests are processed after 48 hours, which means that the funds should reach you within four to ten days depending on your chosen banking method.
Customer Support
The customer service team can be contacted via an online email form, telephone, or live chat. The telephone line is only manned from 10AM until 6PM from Monday to Friday, and if you use the online email form, you can expect a response with 48 hours. Although it’s not mentioned on the ‘Contact Us’ page, a live chat facility is advertised on the homepage. What’s also unusual is that the advert for live chat states that you can “live chat with bingo pals in any of our six Scottish bingo halls”. However, when you click it, you’re taken to the lobby; so, it’s all a bit of a mystery. Oh, and the link to the FAQ is also broken!
Bonuses & Promotions
If you’re hoping to trial Bingo Scotland using a no-deposit bonus, you’re out of luck. But if you make your first deposit of £10, you’ll be offered a 200% welcome bonus (up to a maximum of £100). The welcome offer information on the Specials page is extremely misleading as it states that the wagering requirements are 40x. However, when you click through to see further details of the offer, it says that the wagering requirements are 4x.
There’s no mention of any reload bonuses, and the only other offers listed on the promotions page are the Friend Referral scheme (which gives you 5000 LPs when you invite your friends to join the site and they sign-up and spend at least £5 on bingo cards), the loyalty club, and the daily guaranteed jackpot games which give away more than £100k in cash prizes each month.
Device Compatibility
Mobile compatibility is where Bingo Scotland shows its age as there’s no mention of playing via smartphone or tablet devices anywhere on the site. It appears you can access the desktop site in a non-mobile-friendly format but cannot play any games as they require the Adobe Flash Player. It’s very disappointing in this day and age not to offer players a mobile platform, and as a Cassava-operated site, we really did expect better.
Variety & Originality
Bingo Scotland has five free rooms, four 90-ball rooms, and three 75-ball rooms, but doesn’t offer any additional variants or exclusive games (with the exception of the Big Bingo Party Room which is networked across Cashcade sites).
There’s one guaranteed jackpot game per day at 9pm where you can play for pots of £250, £1,000, and £2,000 for 5p, 10p, and 25p per card respectively.
The slots and casino games are the usual suspects found at most Cassava Enterprises bingo sites. They’re mainly by Random Logic and Eyecon, although you’ll find a few Scientific Games/WMS titles (e.g. Crystal Forest HD and OMG Kittens), as well as progressive jackpot slots such as Millionaire Genie and Shaman’s Dream.
Loyalty & Rewards
Bingo Scotland awards you one loyalty point for every 10p you spend on bingo games, and you can win more points by taking part in chat games which run every few minutes. There’s no level-based loyalty programme or additional VIP perks on offer.