Session Bingo
What Is Session Bingo?
If you’ve ever been to a real bingo hall then you’ll have a good idea of what Session Bingo is all about. This is basically where for one fixed price, you get all your tickets for multiple games of bingo, usually spread over an hour or so time period.
Session Bingo is great because not only do you know you’ve paid one price and won’t spend anything extra (unless you play side games), but also Session Bingo games are usually fair-and-square in that when players buy in, everyone has the exact same number of tickets per game. However, there are a few sites that offer different price points, essentially giving those who spend more money an advantage over those who spend less.
The other downside to session bingo is that you have to pre-buy. You cannot join a session once it has begun, and in some cases you cannot even enter the room until you have bought your tickets.
Things To Look Out For When Playing Session Bingo
Session bingo varies slightly depending on which bingo site you’re using and what software they’re on. On the whole, the bingo games themselves will be pretty standard but how you buy into a session and where you find the important information such as ticket price and prize money is slightly different.
What you’ll want to be keeping an eye out for is:
- What are the ticket prices for the session?
- How many games are in each session?
- What are the session times?
- Is the session 90, 80, 75 ball or a mixture of all three?
- What’s the guaranteed prize money for each session?
- Are there any other additional features or special promotions?
Session Bingo Ticket Prices
Session Bingo is typically marketed at a very affordable level, with most sessions being priced at around £3, £5 or £10 depending on whether it’s an early, afternoon or late session. I find the majority of sites with sessions are reasonable with their prices and keep them simple, with one exception – Gala.
Gala Bingo have sessions but their ticket prices vary from day to day, as well as having four different tiers of pricing. For example, for a Saturday evening session you could pay:
- £9 for 2 tickets
- £18 for 4 tickets
- £27 for 6 tickets
- £36 for 8 tickets
I happen to think these prices are a bit ridiculous to be honest, especially the max of £36! The trade off of course is Gala throws a lot more prize money at their session than some others, but still, I don’t like the fact that those rich enough to afford £36 for 8 tickets are at a huge advantage over the modest spenders at £9.
It’s, for this reason, I tend not to play in Gala’s bingo sessions.
Number Of Bingo Games In A Session
Usually, a session will last approximately around an hour, although the exact times vary depending on the brand. Buzz Bingo, for example, have four sessions that last around an hour, but then their fifth session (Twilight 10:30 pm – midnight) runs for 90 minutes.
The thing I look at rather than just how many minutes a session lasts for, is how many games are you going to get for your money. Most sessions have 12 games in an hour, some can squeeze 15 in. That 90-minute twilight session at Buzz has 20 games in the session, which is the most out of all the operators.
It all depends on the settings that site has chosen for the bingo, and indeed whether they are 90, 80 or 75 ball games as each has a slightly different run time.
- Buzz Bingo: 12 games per session, with 20 games on twilight sessions.
- Betfred Bingo: 15 games per session.
- Gamesys sites: 15 games per session.
- Mecca Bingo: 15 games per session.
- Sky Bingo: 15 games per session.
- Sun Bingo: 12 games per session.
- Palaces Bingo: 8 games per session.
- Heart Bingo: 15 games per session
Session Bingo Times At Each Operator
Session times do vary from site to site, but typically all who offer session will have something at peak time around 7-9 pm. I’ll be updating this page soon with much more information.
Where To Play
Session Bingo is available on a good variety of sites, including:
