Online Bingo in Ireland (2023)

Online Bingo for Irish Players

Bingo might not be the most common form of online betting, but it is on the rise across Ireland.

With the coronavirus crisis leading bingo halls all over the country to shut their doors, a lot of bingo fans were left with no choice but to turn to the internet to play their favourite game again.

It stands to reason that the boom in online bingo in Ireland will continue for some time to come as a result, with not everyone yet comfortable with returning to busy bricks and mortar halls.

Online bingo has plenty of other benefits, such as the fact it is possible to play around the clock, while there tend to be great offers such as welcome bonuses that can be claimed online as well. 

Those who have never played online bingo before might not know how to play the game, though. They might also have questions about whether or not online bingo is safe and legal, while also wondering what the top 10 online bingo sites in Ireland might be. For all the details, read on.

Introduction to Online Bingo

While online bingo might sound like a new invention, this is not actually the case. There are plenty of sites that have been offering online bingo to people in Ireland for a number of years.

Indeed, online bingo sites do not just have to be standalone operations. A lot of the best online bingo sites that are available to join in Ireland are offshoots of either major online casinos or internet-based sports betting sites, such as Ireland's famous gambling brand Paddy Power.

What this means is that it is possible to have a quick game or two of online bingo, then switch to a sportsbook with the same account to have a bet on the big match of the day. Users can also try their luck at online slots, scratchcards or live casino games like blackjack on the same account. This versatility is helping to make online bingo a very appealing option to Irish people.

Online bingo is actually a lot easier to play than enjoying the game on a night out with friends or family members at a physical hall. This is due to the fact cards are marked automatically by the computer system when a number comes up, taking a lot of the stress out of this activity.

Due to the fact players do not have to worry about marking their own cards as numbers come up, it is possible to play with dozens of tickets on the same round of online bingo. However, there is usually a limit on the number of tickets that a player can buy for a bingo game. Tickets can cost a variable amount, but free bingo games are often offered and penny bingo games are common.

While online bingo has a reputation of being mainly for women, this is not necessarily true either. Online bingo can appeal to everyone as it is a quick and easy way to have a chance to win cash. Many online bingo sites also have massive cash prizes up for grabs, meaning it is possible to win a truly life-changing sum of money simply from buying online bingo tickets.

How to Play Online Bingo in Ireland

Playing online bingo in Ireland is easy, but lots of people might be unsure how to get started. After all, there are so many different online bingo sites out there that it can be very confusing.

There are plenty of similarities between online bingo and playing in a traditional brick and mortar hall, but there are some key differences to know about as well.

First up, it goes without saying that people can play online bingo from home, or even if they are out and about. This is useful as not everyone lives close to a physical bingo hall, so it is simple to log in to one of Ireland's many online bingo sites to have a quick game or two.

Online bingo is also available at any time of the day or the night, whereas traditional bingo halls are not open on a 24/7 basis.

Being able to play online bingo no matter the time on the clock is a big plus point for a lot of Irish people. For example, shift workers might be on duty when most online bingo halls are open. This means they can log in for a game of online bingo when they get home after a late shift.

Another important difference between real-life bingo and playing bingo online is that cards can be marked automatically. While a lot of people enjoy the challenge of keeping up to date with their numbers as they are called, there is no doubt it can be stressful. Automatically having cards marked makes it easier to play with multiple bingo tickets on a game, which can increase a player's chance of winning one of the cash prizes that are up for grabs.

Naturally, online there is no need to shout out "HOUSE!" when a player has completed their card either. If they have a winning ticket, it all happens automatically with the winnings immediately added to their account. In the event of multiple players completing a line on the same number, they share the prize.

During a game of bingo in a traditional brick and mortar hall, it is usually very quiet. This is because players need to concentrate hard to listen out for numbers, so silence is needed. This is not the case online due to the cards being marked automatically, so the chat rooms that are open in online bingo halls are often full of chatter and activity. There are also often other ways to make a bit of extra money in online bingo chat rooms due to some rounds of quizzes and trivia.

The online chat rooms are hosted by human moderators. They are on hand to ensure anyone who has a question about online bingo can get the help and support they need. The moderators also make sure that everyone feels happy and welcome in the online bingo hall as well. Often, there are rooms dedicated to new online bingo players. These typically have some free online bingo games available to play, which helps people to get up and running with playing the game.

A variety of types of online bingo games are offered and sites also often have slots and scratchcards that can be played as well. We will go over the top types of online bingo games a little later, but common varieties people can expect to see at the top online bingo sites in Ireland include the likes of speed bingo, 90-ball bingo, 80-ball bingo, 75-ball bingo and 30-ball bingo.

Top 10 Best Online Bingo Sites in Ireland

So which online bingo sites in Ireland should people consider joining? Here are the 10 best:

Paddy Power Bingo

Everyone in Ireland already knows about Paddy Power, but not everyone will realise that the company offers online bingo among its popular range of online gambling options.

Favourites such as 75-ball and 90-ball bingo are among the games available to play at Paddy Power Bingo, which gives new customers access to its special newbie room for a short period to let them get up and running as well. Users can trust Paddy Power bingo if they are unsure which site to join in Ireland as it has been named the winner of the WhichBingo Award for Socially Responsible Operator. 

Boylesports Bingo

Boylesports is another leading sports betting site that has branched out into offering online bingo. Users can also play a range of online casino games if they sign up to play bingo at Boylesports.

The bingo site at Boylesports has a huge range of options to pick from, with penny bingo games offered to make sure that even those with only a small amount of cash to play with can join in. Boylesports Bingo offers huge cash prizes through its regular draws too, helping to make sure it is for sure one of the best online bingo sites in Ireland.

Betfred Bingo

Themed rooms are one of the things offered at Betfred bingo that helps to make this site stand out. Among the options is a bingo room themed on the Age of the Gods slot game series.

Betfred might be mainly known as a sports betting site but an increasing number of people are signing up for accounts here to play online bingo instead. At Betfred Bingo, another key strength is the bingo chat rooms, which are a hive of activity. Users will for sure always have someone to talk to while they play online bingo at Betfred.

Betfair Bingo

Irish people might think of Betfair as being a sports betting exchange, but the site has long diversified into offering a massive range of gambling products, which now includes bingo.  

Those who sign up to play bingo at Betfair in Ireland will get access to a range of great themed rooms, including those that are based on the Rainbow Riches, Deal or No Deal and Age of the Gods slots. Big Bounty and Ladies Night are good instant win games that can be played at Betfair too. Like many top Irish sites, Betfair bingo uses the Virtue Fusion bingo software.

Bet365 Bingo

The same Virtue Fusion software is also used on the Bet365 Bingo site in Ireland as well.

Those who have previously played the Age of the Gods series of slots might want to join in with the themed bingo room of the same name.

Deal Or No Deal and Rainbow Riches are among the other options that are likely to be popular here.

At Bet365 bingo, big prizes are up for grabs through the site's special Dual Drop Jackpots.

This is one of the top unique selling points that ensures Bet365 bingo is certainly a top bingo site in Ireland.

Robin Hood Bingo

Robin Hood Bingo runs on the Dragonfish bingo software, with a big welcome bonus being one of the reasons why so many people are signing up for accounts on this site.

Various games such as 75-ball, 80-ball and 90-ball bingo are available to play on this site.

Robin's coin rewards are this online bingo site's version of a VIP rewards scheme.

The more people play bingo on the site, the more coins they will earn that can be cashed in later.

PayPal, Paysafecard, Neteller, Entropay and Skrill are among the top online payment options available, along with debit cards.

888ladies

A lot of online bingo sites aim to attract women to sign up and play and 888ladies is certainly one of the sites that fits into that category.

This is one of the most experienced online bingo sites around, having been launched all the way back in 2008.

It is not just online bingo players at 888ladies can enjoy. The site has hundreds of slots too.

All types of games can be played on the site, from five-line online bingo games and the usual 90-ball online bingo games to 75-ball bingo.

There are even lots of free bingo games here and even a no deposit bonus to try bingo rooms with the chance of winning real money!

The Sun Bingo

Lots of newspapers have their own bingo sites now, with The Sun in this category.

This site was set up back in 2006, so The Sun bingo is even older than 888ladies.

The Sun bingo users can try their luck at other games like Reel Spooky King Megaways too.

Various prizes have been given out to this site, showing it is a leading option in Ireland.

The Sun bingo was named Best Bingo Site at the most recent annual WhichBingo Awards.

It also won prizes for Best Bingo Chat Team and Best Playtech Bingo site on the day as well.

William Hill Bingo

Users who sign up here can take a seat at Speed Bingo, Deal or No Deal and BOGOF bingo rooms.

Lots of options are available here, including 75-ball bingo, 80-ball bingo and 90-ball bingo games.

Age of the Gods Bingo is also likely to be one of the most popular rooms at William Hill bingo.

There are other fun rooms like Community, Early-bird, Lunchtime and Evening to enter here too.

While known as a traditional UK bookie, William Hill bingo is a great option in Ireland as well.

The sportsbook site at William Hill Bingo is an added bonus.

Ladbrokes Bingo

Completing our picks for the top 10 online bingo sites in Ireland right now is Ladbrokes bingo.

This is another online bingo site to be launched by a site most famous for online sports betting.

But Ladbrokes bingo has now become a destination worth considering in its own right.

Players from Ireland are able to get up and running with a top welcome bonus on this site.

Rooms based on Coronation Street and Deal Or No Deal are among the top options here.

There is even an online bingo room at Ladbrokes that is based on the US sitcom Friends.

How We Review the Best Bingo Sites in Ireland

A lot of research goes into our reviews of the best online bingo sites in Ireland. We assess a broad range of categories to compare and contrast bingo sites, including the following areas:

Safety and Licensing

Those people in Ireland who have never played online bingo before might rightly be unsure about whether or not the game is safe. This is why safety is one of the first things that we look at when we review the best bingo sites in Ireland. Bingo sites need to be properly licensed and regulated in order to make sure that they are legal to use. Checking how games are independently tested and verified to ensure their fairness is also a key point here.

Great Design and User Experience

With so many different online bingo sites out there in Ireland, standing out from the crowd is often down to the user experience that they can offer. Switching between online bingo games and other options such as sports betting or live casino games should be quick and easy. It is also important that games are accessible on mobile. The design of online bingo sites is key. If a site looks bad or the colour scheme is too garish, people in Ireland might not want to spend a lot of their leisure time looking at them as it hurts their eyes.

Bingo Game Variety

The variety of games that an online bingo site has to offer is important too. While a lot of the leading Irish online bingo sites have a similar choice of games available, there are usually a few exclusives that cannot be played elsewhere. In the UK and Ireland, 90-ball bingo games are still the standard but plenty of other options are available to pick from too. Nowadays, speed bingo is getting very popular in Ireland and some of the top types of online bingo games that can be played include 80-ball bingo, 75-ball bingo and even 30-ball bingo.

Bingo Chat/Social Games

One of the top reasons to play online bingo is that there are chat and social games available to try as well. This helps to make sure that online bingo is a very social experience, with a lot of people in Ireland having made close friends through playing bingo together via the internet. Cash prizes are often offered through bingo chat and social games too.

Bingo Welcome/Existing Customer Bonuses

For newcomers to online bingo in Ireland, the good news is that there are some great bingo welcome bonuses that are available to claim. Free online bingo tickets are often given out and generous deposit welcome bonuses are often offered as well. It is usually possible to get a big bonus boost when signing up for online bingo.

It is not just new customers at the top online bingo sites in Ireland who get promotions, though. In order to tempt users to come back and play on a regular basis, there might even be a VIP bingo bonus scheme that gives out a wide range of rewards like exclusive bonuses like reloads.

Range of Payment Methods Accepted

Most of Ireland's major online bingo sites have a similar range of payment methods that are acceptable to make a deposit. Debit cards remain one of the most popular ways to deposit funds into online bingo accounts, but e-wallets such as PayPal are another common method due to the faster speed of withdrawals paid to them.

It is also becoming more common for online bingo sites to let users play with cryptocurrency too, while mobile players might be able to make a deposit through either Apple Pay or Google Pay.

Mobile Betting Apps/Bingo Games

Betting via mobile devices is becoming a lot more popular in Ireland, with mobile bingo games now all the rage. Top online bingo sites in Ireland need to make sure that their games all work perfectly on a range of mobile devices like tablets and smartphones. Lots of mobile bingo apps are also available to download on iOS and Android.

Customer Support

Everyone who has ever used an online betting site before has had to get in touch with customer support for one reason or another at some stage. It might be a simple question that needs an answer, but being able to access quick and friendly support is a must. In an ideal world, customer support is available on a 24/7 basis, which helps to make sure their users can get help no matter the time of the day. An FAQ is handy for customer support too. 

Different Types of Bingo Games on Sites in Ireland

Top online bingo sites in Ireland have a variety of types of game to play, like the following:

90-ball Bingo

The standard type of online bingo in Ireland - and in the UK and most parts of the world - is a 90-ball game. Most of the time, online bingo in Ireland works on a 90-ball basis. The bingo card for 90-ball games is incredibly familiar, with three rows of five numbers making up a ticket.

There are usually 15 numbers on each card, so users have to hope all of their numbers come up if they are going to claim the top prize that is on the table on that particular bingo game. The first prize is for a horizontal row of numbers, with two rows getting the next prize in the game.

80-ball Bingo

Not everyone wants to play a game of 90-ball bingo, so this is why 80-ball games were launched. These 80-ball bingo games were actually created specifically for use on the internet. As there are not quite as many numbers available, these games tend to be over a bit quicker when compared to a 90-ball bingo game online.

In 80-ball bingo, cards are normally made up of a 4x4 grid, so there are 16 numbers on each one that players will need to come up in the game. Lots of different patterns can pay out in 80-ball bingo games so the flexibility that is available when opting for this type of online bingo game is one of the reasons it is becoming so popular.

75-ball Bingo

In America, 75-ball bingo is actually the standard compared to 90-ball bingo in most other countries where bingo games are played. In a 75-ball bingo game, there is usually a 5x5 grid of numbers. However, the centre square on the grid is left blank.

As a result, there are 24 numbers on a card, which is more than in most types of 80-ball or 90-ball bingo games. Again, there can be a number of different patterns that make up a 'line' in 75-ball online bingo games.

Speed Bingo

One of the types of online bingo games that is becoming a lot more popular is speed bingo. These games do exactly what the name suggests - they are speedy. This fast-paced action is very appealing to a lot of people in Ireland who might only have a small amount of time to squeeze in a few games of online bingo in their schedule.

Speed bingo games often work on a 30-ball basis, which means that it is a lot faster to complete a line or a card. In a game of 30-ball speed bingo, a ticket is usually nine numbers that are laid out on a 3x3 grid.

The Best Bingo Software Providers

It is not normally the case that the top online bingo sites in Ireland have created their own platform. Instead, they usually use one of the following leading bingo software providers:

Virtue Fusion

Part of the Playtech network, Virtue Fusion is arguably the most dominant online bingo platform in Ireland and the UK right now. Playtech is a giant of the online betting industry with the company responsible for a lot of the leading online casino games. It is therefore not a surprise to see that Virtue Fusion is a brilliant software provider for online bingo sites. Paddy Power is just one of the many online bingo sites in Ireland that uses the Virtue Fusion platform.

Cozy Games

Variations such as American 75-ball bingo and the more traditional British 90-ball bingo are available on the Cozy Games online bingo platform. A lot of different leading Irish online bingo sites use Cozy Games, which is known in the industry for being solid and reliable.

Jumpman Gaming

An online bingo software provider that has been in the business for about a decade, Jumpman Gaming is a highly respected name within the world of online betting. Mirror Bingo is just one of the many Irish online bingo sites built on the Jumpman Gaming platform.

Dragonfish

Wrapping up our selection of the leading bingo software providers at Irish online bingo sites is Dragonfish. This company is a part of the 888 online gambling giant, which is one of the top names in the industry. Sites such as 888bingo and 888ladies use Dragonfish software.

Which Bingo Sites and Games Have the Highest Payouts?

Irish bingo lovers will probably want to join the sites that have the highest payouts, or choose the online bingo games that offer them the best chance of winning a large amount of money. It goes without saying that online bingo is all about luck, though, so it just depends on what numbers come up during a game whether people are going to be able to make a profit from online bingo.

Back in 2012, a man called John Orchard from Lincolnshire in England won almost £6 million when he was playing a game on an online bingo site. At the time, this was a record for online bingo sites in the UK, but he is far from the only millionaire to have been made by such games. Many online bingo sites also have slot games and he was playing the Dark Knight video slot.

Mecca Bingo is one of the sites known for big payouts, with one lucky player becoming a millionaire after she landed two massive wins within a few weeks of each other. Anita Campbell had been receiving Universal Credit payments when she was able to celebrate a win of more than £500,000 online at Mecca Bingo. Not long afterwards, she spent some of her windfall on more bingo tickets on the same site and was rewarded with another big win of £552,000. That meant that she had been able to win more than £1 million from playing games at Mecca Bingo.

Among the first online bingo millionaires was a UK woman named Lisa Potter, who was left celebrating after winning over £1.3 million from £5 worth of online bingo tickets at Ladbrokes.

A Beginners Guide to Online Bingo in Ireland

Anyone who is a beginner to online bingo in Ireland might not have any idea of what they need to do to get up and running. After all, the large number of different online bingo sites that are out there in Ireland can make it hard to even make a decision over which of them is best to join.

The good news is that many of the top online bingo sites in Ireland are very welcoming to newcomers. Many have guides to online bingo that are simple to follow. Others give their newest customers to a special type of newbie bingo room where they can learn the ropes. In these bingo rooms for beginners, games are usually free to play to let people get up to speed.

When joining online bingo sites in Ireland, users will also be able to claim a welcome bonus. Deposit match bonuses are among those that are commonly available to claim at many of Ireland's leading online bingo sites. Free spins for online slots games could be up for grabs too.

As a result of these bonuses, it can be a good idea to join a number of online bingo sites. However, users should keep in mind that some sites are run by the same overall operator. When this is the case - for example, both 888bingo and 888ladies are part of the 888 gambling giant - they will probably only be able to claim the welcome bonus offered at one of the sites. It is also recommended to take some time to go over the terms and conditions of a welcome bonus.

Beginners to online bingo should look out for key terms such as a wagering requirement. This refers to how many times customers have to bet the bonus money they are given before it is unlocked and can be withdrawn as cash from an online bingo account. It is also sometimes the case that operators of online bingo sites put a maximum win limit in place for bonus wins too.

Signing up with accounts on a few different online bingo sites in Ireland can help people to decide which is the right one for their needs. Some sites, for example, are very strong when it comes to mobile bingo. A lot of Irish people would probably prefer to be able to use a mobile device such as a smartphone or a tablet to play online bingo, so a mobile app would be handy.

Mobile bingo apps are often available for both iOS and Android and they are free to download. Some of the top online bingo apps also give their customers access to a wide range of other betting options. A lot of leading sportsbooks in Ireland have a bingo site these days, as well as an online casino offering games like poker, baccarat, blackjack, roulette, slots and so on. Having an account with a site like this makes it easy to switch between bingo, slots and online betting.

Unlike when bingo lovers take their seat at a traditional bricks and mortar bingo hall, in online bingo their cards will automatically be marked every time one of their numbers comes up. This lets players sit back and relax, having the chance to chat to others who are also playing in the bingo social rooms as they wait to see whether or not they are a winner. Various types of online bingo games can be played, with everything from speed bingo 30-ball games to the standard 90-ball bingo games that are usually played in Ireland, the United Kingdom and around the world.