Gala Bingo
Bingo is a very popular pass time in the UK, and of all the brands out there running real world halls the name Gala is always at the top of the list. Part of the reason for this fact is just the sheer size of the empire that Gala commands. They claim 166 land based halls to their name that host an amazing 200,000 players every week. Why are they so popular? Well for one thing they don’t skimp on the prize money as they pay out over 30 million in cash and prizes weekly to their players. So with all this in mind there is no doubt that Gala knows how to run a game. But they may not know how to run a site. Gala has turned on the power to their very own online Bingo hall and they can’t wait for us to stop by.
Don’t get this new hall confused with the old Gala Bingo. You see, before the early months of 2006 there was a Gala Bingo operated in partnership with St. Minver. Yes, we are talking about the very same Gala, but now their site is all their own. They have cut all ties with St. Minver and are taking this new path one step at a time.
When a company has this much real world history behind them then they bring their players a great sense of security. This is very important as you are trusting complete strangers with information that you wouldn’t give to your very best friend. Gala is no back street operation and they take this area of their business very seriously.
We have to give it to them; they know how to make a good first impression. The site looks great, with clean lines and eye catching designs. And, as an added bonus, the great look doesn’t interfere at all with the clear navigation. This is one hall that really put together the whole package in this area.
All you need to do to make your way to the fun is click on the “Play Online Now,” button located right front and center. In no time at all you are whisked away right to the main gaming page. The games are powered using the Macromedia Flash software package, and are an absolute blast to play. Well delivered in an interactive console, we couldn’t ask for anything more. The great part about Flash is that it is such a widely used program that it is available for just about any computer system out there today. So for all you Mac users out there, Gala Bingo is waiting for your call.
It is possible to poke around the site as a visitor, but you can’t get in to any of the fun. You can look at the actual games, but all chat and actual play is blocked until you sign up. We went through the process and found no unnecessary road blocks. Unlike most other sites there is no new player bonus to reward you for your registration. In fact promotions period here are a bit of a problem, but we will cover that later. For those of you who don’t know, at the old Gala Bingo they treated players to a small welcome bonus when they signed up. It wasn’t much, but it was enough to get you up to 10 free games depending on how you played it.
When you get past the whole promotions issue and really look at the site as a whole, this is a very nice place to play. Gala Bingo has created an inviting space that will appeal to players of all levels. The Bingo its self is a great time and it loads right up every time. For those of you who enjoy the social aspect of the game that chatting brings to the table, you will be happy to know that the rooms at Gala are among the busiest we have seen anywhere. We really enjoyed that even though the games are instant play, the console is still customizable. And to top it all off, there are minigames as well, served to you in the same great style.
You may have noticed us talking about promotions a few minutes ago, and if the site has a really weak area then this is definitely it. At the time of our review there were no promotions being offered at Gala Bingo. This is something that we hate to see as promotions can be a strong draw for new players as well as inspire player loyalty. We have to point out that there were some very interesting promises scattered around the site, but they have to be in place before they can count for anything.
If you have enjoyed spending time in a land based Gala hall, then there is no reason you shouldn’t love them in this form as well. Gala has out done themselves and put together one great site all the way around. They need to fill up their promotions pool, but other than that we found nothing to complain about. And for us, that’s really saying something!
