Online bingo in Australia can be quite the tricky subject to wrap your head around thanks to something called the Interactive Gambling Act.
To cut a long story short, this act means that it is currently illegal to both advertise and operate an online bingo site in Australia, but that doesn’t mean that players aren’t able to find a way. With a loophole granting Australian players access to offshore sites, bingo players are free to enjoy the beautiful game online without risk of prosecution.
But with a little grey area in the law, the question of which Australian bingo site is the best, the pros and cons of online vs landbased bingo and what games are actually available arises.
Best Australian Online Bingo Sites
There’s a handful of really great Australian online bingo sites out there, you’ve just got to go out there and find them – or just check out the table below to save on research time!
It’s important that players know exactly what sort of site that they’re signing up for and thanks to some sticky legal situations surrounding online bingo in Australia, there’s a handful of sites that players will be best off avoiding.
To ensure that you’re in good hands, it’s best to check out the sites in the table below to guarantee a great site.
Is online bingo legal in Australia?
Thanks to the 2001 Interactive Gambling Act passed in Australia, operating and advertising an online bingo site in the country is illegal.
However, although it is illegal to both operate and advertise online bingo in the country, it is not illegal for players to join an offshore/foreign bingo site. Therefore, as it’s legal for players to join and play at bingo sites, it means that Australians have plenty of choice when it comes to picking a site to try out.
With the somewhat grey surrounding the law in online bingo, unsuspecting players may find themselves signing up to some pretty questionable sites. To prevent this, it’s vital that any site of interest is thoroughly checked out and researched via a trustworthy independent source (like ourselves).
There are two key points to check out on any new online casino or bingo site in the gambling license shown and the gambling regulations followed. There are four main licenses that players should be keeping an eye out for when visiting the sites in the UK Gambling Comission, Gibraltar Gambling Comission, Alderney Gambling Control Comission and the Isle of Man Casino Control Comission.
If the site is not licensed under any four of these main bodies, it might be time to look elsewhere.
Bingo games available
When it comes to the options available, players will have access to plenty of different bingo-based games depending on the site that they choose to sign up to.
The best sites offer everything from the typical 75-ball and 90-ball bingo to slingo and other smaller bingo-based mini games to enjoy. There’s also the benefit of live chat in some bingo lobbies allowing players to chat amongst themselves as the game unfolds.
In addition to the bingo, the majority of sites come packed full of video slots to keep things interesting between games. Software providers, again, will vary between casinos, but players can usually expect to find some of the biggest slot games available today at the best bingo sites.
Pros of playing online bingo vs landbased
As with all forms of internet gambling, there’s plenty of pros of online bingo when compared and contrasted with the land base equivalent.
Convenience is the biggest benefit with players able to jump on and play a little bingo whenever they feel like it. There’s no need to head to a bingo hall, it’s unecessary to get dressed up and you’re more than welcome to bring your own snacks if you feel like it.
Thanks to the development of the mobile casino, players that like to game on the go will find plenty of benefits with the ability to play on the bus, at work, from your sofa or wherever else you can think of. The smaller screen adds for ease-of-use and lets players enjoy the best of bingo from anywhere they can find an internet connection.
In addition to the convenience, some bingo sites allow for an ingame chat, creating a community atmosphere where players can interact with others from around the country/world.
Cons of playing online bingo vs landbased
There are, of course, some disadvantages of playing bingo online vs the traditional landbased equivalent.
The first of which is the lack of personal contact and although some sites do try to emulate the bingo community in the chat rooms, this isn’t always perfect and some players much prefer the traditional bingo hall meetings.
It’s also true that the landbased casinos are much less addictive than the online equivalents and more of an event or hobby than online play. However, with so few bingo halls available today, moving the game online is the next best thing for countless players across the globe.
Summary
Cutting the long story short, advertising and operating a bingo site in Australia is illegal, but there’s still a great selection of bingo sites available to players thanks to offshore options.
There may be a selection of bingo sites available, but not all are safe for players to use and so checks should be complete to ensure that there’s a good gambling licencse issued for the site. Ensuring the site follows the gambling regulations is also vital, but time can be saved by choosing a site from the list above for a top-quality site.
Ultimately there is a selection of pros and cons that players are able to consider before deciding whether or not online bingo is for them or whether traditional landbased games should be the go-to.