Bingo: Land-based, Online and Live Dealer Bingo – Which is Best?

Land-based Bingo

The mother of all bingo games is the actual land-based bingo itself. The social event where people gather and wait for numbered balls to be drawn out is still the most enjoyable form of bingo.

If you’re in the UK, you probably know about Gala Bingo (est. 1991) and Mecca Bingo (est. 1961), the two major chains of bingo halls.

Gala has over 130 locations, while Mecca has over 80 locations in the UK. Castle Bingo and Beacon Bingo are two smaller chains with around 15 sites in total.

If you ever want to experience the charm of old bingo, I recommend you step inside a bingo hall near you. You’ll have a blast.

Online Bingo

Since people don’t have time to dedicate to bingo nights as much as they’d want, the convenience of playing online led to the rise of online bingo.

Gala Bingo and Mecca Bingo have websites with dozens of games and many online bingo sites that don’t have a land-based presence.

Many different games are available, with 40, 75, 80 or 90 balls, with different rules and progressive jackpots.

Rainbow Riches Bingo (40-ball), Deal or No Deal Bingo (75- and 90-ball versions), Turbo Gold Speed Bingo (90-ball) and Penny Lane Bingo (90-ball) are some of the most popular games you can play.

These are all RNG games where the computer decides the outcome. Online bingo is to real bingo what RNG roulette and blackjack are to real roulette and blackjack – inferior computer versions.

There’s no charm in a computer drawing bingo numbers, is there? It doesn’t feel right.

Thankfully, you can always go to an actual bingo hall, and if you don’t have the time, five online games can scratch your bingo itch.

Live Dealer Bingo

Live dealer bingo in a land-based format doesn’t exist as such. Mega Ball by Evolution is the closest you’ll find.

Five live game shows use drawn bingo balls to determine the result of the games.

1. Mega Ball (Evolution)
2. Monopoly Big Baller (Evolution)
3. Deal or No Deal: The Big Draw (Playtech)
4. Vegas Ball Bonanza (Pragmatic Play)
5. Mega Fire Blaze Lucky Ball (Playtech)

Mega Ball

Mega Ball is the closest to bingo. It’s an upgrade to the bingo game, a fast-paced game with a live presenter and win multipliers. Fans love this game so much that it is the third-most-popular Evolution game show. Over 2,000 people play it every hour.

This is a 51-ball bingo game. You can play up to 200 5×5 cards from 10p to 100 pounds per card. Twenty balls are drawn. The game’s main appeal is the win multipliers randomly assigned to winning cards every game round. They can go up to 100x. Try it out at BetVictor.

Monopoly Big Baller

In Monopoly Big Baller, you can buy up to four 5×5 bingo cards. You win prizes by completing lines on your bingo cards. Payouts range from 2x to 199x, but this game is about the two bonus cards, 3 Rolls and 5 Rolls.

They will give you 3 or 5 rolls of the dice on the Monopoly bonus game, the same as in the Monopoly Live game by Evolution.

The cards are 5×5, and 20 balls are drawn out of 60. The 3 Rolls card has three numbers, and the 5 Rolls card has four.

Monopoly Big Baller is a bingo game with actual balls and a live presenter. The bingo is fun, but the main payouts occur in the Monopoly bonus round.

If you thought Mega Ball is popular, then Monopoly Big Baller is even more so. At the time of writing in May 2023, it’s seeing 30% more players than Mega Ball on an hourly basis, and it’s the 2nd-most popular live game show behind the undisputed ruler of live game shows, Crazy Time.

Deal or No Deal – The Big Draw

Deal or no Deal isn’t a Bingo game. The central part of the game is like the TV game show of the same name, where the remaining box contains your prize. Each box has a number corresponding to a numbered ball in a bingo ball drawing machine. The corresponding briefcases are eliminated from the game as the balls are drawn.

An optional side bet game runs alongside the main game and is played during the first 20 balls drawn from the machine. You can purchase up to 20 cards containing nine numbers in a 3×3 grid. Complete a line, and you win! Try it out at Playojo.

Vegas Ball Bonanza

Vegas Ball Bonanza by Pragmatic Play has nine 3×3 bingo cards. Prizes are won for completing lines, but the game’s real draw is the multipliers that can boost the payouts of winning cards. Nine balls from 20 are drawn from the bingo ball machine, with an extra four balls drawn if selected during a bonus ball round.

This is a simple and quick game to play and is easily picked up by Bingo players. Try it out at LeoVegas.

Mega Fire Blaze Lucky Ball

Mega Fire Blaze Lucky Ball is a bingo game with an additional Mega Fire Blaze bonus round, which is triggered when bonus cards are completed.

Up to eight 4×4 cards bingo cards and three bonus cards can be played each game round. 11 Lucky Balls are picked before the game starts, increasing the payouts for completed lines if drawn. Twenty balls from 60 are drawn each round.

Three optional cards containing 3 or 4 balls initial the Fire Blaze bonus round when they are completed. It’s possible to win up to 2,500x during the bonus round!

Try it out at BetVictor.

Comparison of Live Dealer Bingo Games

Conclusion: What is the best Bingo game?

If you want traditional bingo, you’ll have to either play it in one of the bingo rooms across the UK or go online to play the automated versions, some of which have fun side bets and rewarding jackpots.

Live game developers have no intention of replicating land-based bingo, preferring to offer hybrid games with more significant payout opportunities.

The five live dealer games powered by bingo are far from traditional bingo, for better or worse.

Judging by the vast player numbers, these games are hits.

We don’t know whether these games appeal to traditional bingo players or if the game show players picked up on the new trend with bingo balls.

In either case, the one way to find out is to play these games for real money, as there’s no demo mode.

Visit one of the Evolution casinos to play Monopoly Big Baller and Mega Ball. Or Try a Playtech Casino for Deal or No Deal and Mega Fire Blaze Lucky Ball. To try Vegas Ball Bonanza, visit a Pragmatic Live Casino.