Coral Bingo Review:

Countless bookmakers have jumped into the world of online bingo over the years, and Coral is no exception. A noted force on the high street, Coral have been able to generate some serious momentum over the years, with well-regarded online betting and casino sites nestled in their portfolio.

Competing within the realm of online bingo is anything but child’s play, but given that Coral is now part of the same group as industry giants Gala, it’s certainly at an advantage when it comes to bingo experience. With its 2012 launch now firmly in the rearview mirror, does Coral Bingo bring anything to the online bingo market that we haven’t seen before?

When it comes online gambling in general, Coral is a huge brand, with its reputation rooted in the fact that it is a fair and upstanding industry name with a lengthy and respectable track record.

Indeed, that’s even truer today, following its merger with Ladbrokes to form the Ladbrokes Coral Group – the largest company in the UK gambling industry.

Coral Bingo carries licenses from the Gibraltar Gambling Commission and UK Gambling Commission. What these licenses ensure is that Coral Bingo is audited independently to ensure game fairness; this is on top of the measures that are undertaken to guarantee customer funds and personal detail protection. It also requires Coral to be signed up to a third-party dispute mediation service, in this case the Independent Betting Adjudication Service

At the bottom of the homepage you’ll find a section titled, “Responsible & secure gambling”, with seals from the various licensing and certification authorities collected in one place. You can click on any seal to find out more information.

Cementing Coral Bingo as one of the safer sites around is the fact that it utilises top-grade SSL security software, which ensures that information is kept encrypted and away from prying eyes.

The site also seems to have a good reputation with players, with few major quibbles raised on the popular player forums and advocacy sites.

Coral Bingo features a vast selection of deposit and withdrawal methods, as they appear to cover practically every base, from credit and debit cards, all the way through to the latest digital methods.

If you look across the array of Coral gambling brands, you are likely to find that what they serve up is a pretty solid product, but there always seems to be issues when it comes to the quality of the welcome bonus offered.

In the case of Coral Bingo, things aren’t too bad. The sign-up incentive here just lacks inspiration, as for a £5 bingo ticket spend you’ll see your starting balance boosted by £35.

It’s not a bad deal for beginner players, or those uncertain about whether they want to commit long-term to Coral, but although the multiplier is generous, the maximum bonus might feel a bit limited to some players. The bonus amount is split into a £30 bingo bonus and £5 slots and scratchcard bonus.

When it comes to terms and conditions the offer does redeem itself to an extent. The wagering requirement is an impressively low 2x on the bingo bonus, which is half the industry average, although the time cap of seven days to complete the playthrough is tight. Meanwhile, the games bonus has a 20x wagering requirement, which is also fair, despite the short time frame to complete it.

Are there online bingo sites out there going “bigger” than Coral Bingo when it comes to sign-up incentives? Obviously there are, but in simplicity and effectiveness there is at least something to the deal dished out here.

Online bingo is a game that is driven by promotions in this day and age. In this department, it’s pretty clear that Coral Bingo got the memo, as they deliver promotion after promotion after promotion to members.

With the welcome bonus behind you, you can roll up to the promotions page and start tucking into what’s available. And there’s a lot available – some 19 separate promos at the time of writing. Side bets, slot game launches, cash giveaways, free bingo, and so much more means that promotions wise Coral Bingo understands what the “deal” is.

From a VIP/loyalty perspective, Coral Bingo once again is able to flex its muscles. Split across five different levels (Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, and Diamond), each level brings with it its own set of luxuries, such as dedicated rooms and tournaments. Working through a points setup (which admittedly, is a touch dated), players can really engross themselves in the full Coral Bingo experience through the VIP scheme.

The look and feel of Coral Bingo probably isn’t going to be the calling card of this platform. Getting around the UI and moving from game to game is a little cumbersome, as is often the case on multi-vertical platforms, while the color scheme is a bit gloomy and could do with some brightening up.

That being said, the game selection at Coral Bingo is nothing short of stacked. There are no less than 13 bingo rooms here, which put the number offered up by the likes of Heart Bingo, Rosy Bingo and Glossy Bingo well and truly in the shade.

Overall, the Virtue Fusion network of games comes alive at Coral Bingo. Breaking down the selection at hand, players can jump into the likes of 90-ball bingo, 80-ball bingo, 75-ball bingo, 50-ball bingo, 49-ball bingo, and 40-ball bingo.

In our opinion, the bingo game selection here is on another level, with the inclusion of 49-ball bingo being a huge plus point. Lots of the rooms are themed, which adds a little gloss to the proceedings. Along with Emmerdale and Coronation Street rooms, you’ll also find a 40-ball Rainbow Riches room with an exciting progressive community jackpot side game.

Supplementing the bingo action is an array of casino and slot games, of which many seem to have been “borrowed” from Coral Casino. The slots catalogue is probably a little small to satisfy real fans, but the titles are well selected for the bingo audience.

Besides, for those who want to spread their wings, an account with Coral Bingo will also give you access to Coral Casino and Coral Sports sites, which is where we would go for non-bingo action.

Bingo “on the move” must be the in thing right now, as adverts for mobile bingo platforms seem to dominate daytime TV these days. Coral Bingo is clearly working hard to muscle in on this market. Firstly, there are actually apps available for iOS and Android, not just a site that’s optimized for mobile.

But while the ease of access, general usability, and number of games is okay, we do have one gripe. We really don’t like the fact that it has been bundled into the general Coral app, rather than being offered as a standalone product.

It just takes away from the fun nature of playing bingo on the move, as the app feels somewhat overloaded, as it is trying to push every Coral product at once. There are just too many buttons, sliders and menus for such a small screen.

In comparison to the desktop offering, Coral Bingo mobile is fairly middle-of-the-road, so take that for what you will. Its biggest benefit is also its biggest weakness – there are just too many options if your only interest is in playing bingo.