From the Players for the Players: Is Coral Bingo Really Reputable?

Coral is a household name in Britain, what with the first sports betting product emerging back in 1926. From high street to online, they are one of the leading operators with five core gaming products, including Coral Bingo, offered under one roof. One of the many advantages offered to customers is Coral Connect, a card that enables online customers to cash-out their winnings instantly via one of their many betting outlets up and down the UK.

It was in 2013 Coral branched out into online bingo via the Virtue Fusion platform, which is now simply known as Playtech Bingo. The move resulted in a plethora of unique bingo rooms, such as Rainbow Riches Bingo, Deal or No Deal in both 75 and 90 ball types and their exclusive cash-out bingo. User-friendly guides provide all the information players would need on how to play, plus there is a community section for bingo lingo, chat game rules, chat etiquette, chat offers, info on the chat hosts and the recent winners.

All of this information is readily available before joining or playing for that matter, but the proof of the pudding is in the eating, so we decided to put them to the test with a deposit, gameplay and a withdrawal request. How did Coral Bingo compare to other online bingo brands in our ‘From the Players for the Players’ project? Stick around to find out!

• Tester of the day: BingoLoverInHouse
• KYC verification: Previously done (existing player)
• Deposit date, amount and payment method: Thursday 9^th September, £150 via PayPal.
• Withdrawal request date: Thursday 9^th September, £350.63p via PayPal.
• Withdrawal received date: Thursday 9th September, £350.63p via PayPal.

The Registration Process

BingoLoverInHouse registered at Coral Bingo some years previously, meaning KYC verification was already completed. The first thing she noticed was despite logging in to the bingo client, she was re-routed to the sports betting welcome page. The latest odds, sports news and betting slip occupied the page. To get to the bingo, she had to click the bingo gaming category at the top of the page.

Once at the bingo lobby, she was able to view the current promotions, upcoming bingo games, prizes and jackpots and the most popular slots at the time.

Initial Deposit

The deposit process was straightforward. Clicking the green deposit button to the top right of the screen launched the cashier instantly, showing her most recent deposit details. PayPal is one of the best ways to deposit and withdraw as it allows for quicker cash out times compared to using a typical debit card. On Thursday 9^th September, our tester made a deposit of £150 via PayPal, only unlike other online bingo sites, Coral Bingo allows customers to bypass the PayPal checkout, so she had none of this having to confirm identity via a text, phone call or by launching her PayPal app.

Gameplay

Before heading to the bingo rooms, our tester of the day decided to check out the latest freebies and offers, in case she could claim something or take part in an enhanced bingo schedule, something that happens every so often at Coral Bingo. The rewards grabber is a free-to-play daily game with a chance to win cash, bonus spins and other games related bonuses. To play the arcade style claw game, press and hold to drop the claw. Classic slot machine icons such as bars, bells, diamonds and cherries are among the symbols offering a potential win. After hooking the single bar icon, BingoLoverInHouse was offered the chance to take it or try for another symbol. Choosing to stay her original choice, she chose to reveal her prize (if any!) and was met with a “You’ve not won anything today” message, along with a little hope, thanks to the “try again tomorrow” encouragement.

The main bingo lobby is a little basic, with the available rooms kept to the left and the side games to the right. Pre-buy options, the number of players in each room, ticket prices, prizes and start times are all on display to help players make the best bingo room choice. Coronation Street Bingo is exclusive to Coral Bingo, meaning you won’t find it anywhere else. The reviewer entered the room and was greeted by the following message:

In addition to the Coronation Street Bingo ‘Golden Cobbles’ jackpot, the room also features Coral jackpots, where players have a chance to win 1 of 5 jackpots alongside all other prizes. Side games are featured in all rooms, however, there were only 24 titles (at the time of the test) available to be played alongside the bingo games, despite being an operator with hundreds of slots on offer. When attempting to play a side game that wasn’t available in split-screen mode, Golden Goddess by IGT to be precise, the bingo room disappeared and the whole screen was needed to launch the game.

Coral Bingo log in allows access to all gaming products and sports betting at Coral. To switch between the games, players need only click the category of their desired gaming destination. One wallet system also allows you to switch between the products. The side games may be sparse, but the gaming section offers a whole lot more!

The bingo rooms weren’t exactly lucky for our tester, so she decided to play Jammin’ Jars alongside her tickets in the bargain room. How much of a bargain is this room? Well, it was only 1p a ticket for prizes of £183.99! Entering the room with little over £160, BingoLoverInHouse struck it lucky when landing £190.75p in the free games feature of the popular cluster-pays slot by Push Gaming.

The bargain bingo room is one of the most popular (and busy!) rooms to play in as it also offers a hot ball feature, where you win more cash by calling on the special number, plus roll-on winners and a last chance scratchcard game. Our tester matched all cherries and picked up a 3p win. Not much, but better than nothing!

Requesting a Withdrawal

Coral Bingo have what’s known as a ‘fast-funds’ feature, which results in quicker withdrawals for Visa Debit users. Despite knowing this, our tester opted for the PayPal route as this too guarantees quick withdrawal turn arounds. To access the cashier, the reviewer exited the bingo lobby and headed back to the main page. On Thursday 9^th September, she cashed out £350.63p via PayPal and in less than 4-hours, she had the money in her account!

How Does Coral Bingo Stack Up?

This operator offers plenty of bingo rooms and bargain tickets, however, the basic selection of side games is a little disappointing. Huge progressive jackpots can be won any time of the day or night and from just 1p a ticket. Playing off-peak may increase your chances of winning. Withdrawals are free and super-fast. Based on our tester’s experience, Coral Bingo ticks all the boxes in terms of how an online bingo site should operate.