Summing up Recommended List of £5 Deposit Bingo Sites by Top Of The Shop Bingo
£5 Deposit Bingo Sites Explained
It has been estimated that there are now around 500 different bingo sites licenced for play by the UK Gambling Commission. With so many different bingo sites to choose from, competition to attract the millions of potential players is getting pretty hot. This is the case for both enticing players from other sites, and also for attracting new ones.
Bingo sites compete in many ways: glitzy designs, attractive introductory bonuses, free bonus bingo tickets and slot spins… the list goes on. But one of the less obvious strategies is the growth of £5 deposit bingo. Until recently, the traditional industry standard for a minimum deposit amount has been £10. But today, more and more sites offer you the chance to start playing on their sites with just £5. What is behind this apparent generosity?
There are two obvious angles to this: there are the advantages for the site operator and of course there also advantages for you – the player. Let’s look at how the bingo sites benefit from this strategy first…
The first big win for the site owners is that it doesn’t cost them anything. OK, they get less money from you initially, but if they are confident that you will like what you see, they can be reassured by the prospect of turning you into a regular customer. Other commercial incentives, like introductory bonuses and free spins could potentially cost the companies money. This will be especially the case if the Government’s plan to tax free bonuses is enacted.
It is also so much easier to persuade you of the wonders of their site if you are actually playing on it. Enticing offers and lurid descriptions of exciting games and friendly chat hosts are fine as far as they go – but everyone boasts of these. To really be convinced, you have to try them. So the lower the potential entry barriers are, the better. And you can’t get any lower than a fiver!
Well you can – that is called “free”, but from the operators’ point of view, free is not so good. If they’re offering something for free, that is effectively costing them money – money they would have got if you were paying. Plus if you can play without signing up, they may not have your contact details in order to be able to send you further marketing offers. Once you’ve signed up and deposited your fiver, the company can begin enticing you with attractive deals in order to encourage you to stay and deposit more than £5 next time.
OK, you may be saying, but what’s in it for me? Well, the advantages for the player are numerous. However, the first thing you may be thinking is that free must be better than a fiver. It’s five pounds less for a start! But of course things are not quite as simple as that. “Free” means there will be strings attached. And lots of them too. You won’t be able to withdraw any winnings, because free money is always “bonus” money: you can only spend it on games. Any winnings derived from it will also most probably be paid in bonus cash, not real money.
Even if the site rules mean that you do really win cash, this will almost inevitably come with further strings attached. Firstly, there is often a maximum conversion rate: win the jackpot, or even a decent smaller prize and you will find your win is limited to as little as 4 x the value of your initial bonus. And even then, you will almost certainly have to make a real deposit before you are allowed to make a claim. This rule is effectively the law – enacted by the Government’s financial regulations as a means of preventing money laundering and fraud.
And there is one further factor to take into account too. Free money often means that you are restricted as to the type of games you can play. Free games of bingo are not the same as the real McCoy. Prizes will be less lucrative, and the amount you can play will more than likely be limited. Free bingo is rarely available round the clock either, so you will be restricted as to when you can play – certainly not on demand anyway. Free spins on slots will also generally be limited to the site operator’s promoted games, usually just a few selected titles.
So given all these rules and regulations, the red tape involved means that it may be easier just to hand over a fiver in the first place. Especially when you consider that this will enable you to play whatever you like, whenever you like. Just £5 will earn you the opportunity to experience everything the site has to offer.
But the main reason why the £5 deposit is such an attraction for today’s online bingo player is surely just a symptom of the times we live in. Austerity has hit most people to some extent. Ok maybe not Sir Philip Green or your average business tycoon, but let’s face it, they are unlikely to be playing online bingo in the first place.
For the rest of us, prices are going up and our wages are not matching them. Gas and electricity prices can rise by 20% at a stroke, while a typical nurse or local government worker get 1% at best. Many of us have seen no pay rise at all, for years.
So with prices rising faster than incomes and personal and family budgets getting tighter, we all still need to find some pleasures in life. Bingo can be one of those little diversions we all need to keep our spirits up: a harmless few moments of pleasure to enable us to get just that little bit of enjoyment out of life. After we’ve paid the Council Tax. And the rent or mortgage. And the gas bill. Then there’s the broadband service. And then there’s the…
But just £5 spent on bingo can go a long way to providing a brief escape from life’s pressures. And not necessarily so brief either. With bingo tickets costing pennies, you can while away a good period of time playing your favourite game, chatting with your roomies and maybe winning a few pennies back.
A fiver seems a small price to pay to be able to play what you want, when you want. Oh and to receive the odd promotional e-mail which could be offering even more little goodies. There will be no need to pore through all those interminable terms and conditions pages to find the wagering requirements either. Ok ok, you’re not likely to be doing that anyway – especially as we’ll have already done that for you when we review the site. But you take my point: if you play with your own money, you’ll have far fewer conditions to meet and far less red tape to worry about.
So the advent of the £5 deposit bingo site represents a win – win situation for both the site owners and their players. Operators get their hands on a precious fiver and your contact details. In return, you get access to the whole site at a bargain price. We all need to indulge in the occasional game to put the fun back in life. A fiver spent on bingo provides value for money you’ll struggle to match elsewhere. And who knows, you may even get the chance to win some of it back, and more. It’s almost a real life example of having your cake and eating it!