Introduction
In 2021, mobile Bingo apps represented the fastest growing subgenre with over 20 million downloads. They have been around for over a decade, with Bingo Blitz being one of the earliest apps to hit the mobile market. With that kind of popularity it would be hard to think of a reason why they would all be a scam, but people are cautious and their legitimacy is still a common google inquiry.
So let’s dive in and explore the Bingo app realm, and whether you should part with your money to participate in the fastest growing casino subgenre.
Types of Bingo Apps
There are really two main types of Bingo apps for mobile devices. To keep this simple I’m going to differentiate between “casino” skill based interactive apps, like the extremely popular Bingo Cash, and “casual” non-skill based apps that are purely algorithm driven.
What are skill based Bingo Apps? Imagine that you went down to the local legion with your grandparents to play a good o’l fashioned round of bingo. Someone calls the ball number, and you daub your bingo card and yell BINGO! when you’ve completed a pattern. Mobile bingo apps are the same concept, except there are bonuses that you can play, such as extra time, free daubs, and point multipliers. The cost of entry ranges from completely free, if you watch a lengthy ad, or minimum entry cash tournaments, for which you would need to deposit money.
Non skill-based bingo apps are purely algorithm driven casino machines. There really is no way to get an advantage over what the algorithm will spit out, although there is technically a chance you can win some money, even a lot. But, you can lose just as easily as you can win. For the remainder of this article I will be solely focusing on skill-based apps.
Do You Need to Pay to Play?
I have put together a list of skill-based bingo apps that are 100% free, and you can indeed win actual cash! For a complete comparison of the most popular bingo apps, check out the comparison table here. There are a few that are focused on players that want to pay money, and there really is no way to play cash tournaments if you don’t make a deposit. Bingo Battle and Bingo Win Cash are two such examples of apps that you will have to inject your own money into if you expect to win anything back. They do, however, have a unique point based system called Skillz points that you can literally use to win prizes like, for example, a friggin’ Porsche!
Most apps do have a way to obtain free bonus cash so that you can enter tournaments without depositing anything. And by bonus cash, I mean “money” that you can never withdraw, but can be used for entry into tournaments that pay cash dollars.
Some of the free ways to win this bonus cash is, sadly, to watch copious amounts of ads that get you into a free tournament. Top players can win a small amount, but it is possible to work your way up through the tournaments incrementally until you’re playing with the pros. On a few occasions I have started the day with an empty account, and worked my way up to as much as $40! Keep in mind that this is a rare occurrence, but it’s not impossible.
Another way to win free cash is with daily gifts and draws. This is a pretty common feature of the majority of Bingo apps, although some only pay in “gems”, which are basically tokens that you build up to apply for cash games, eventually. For example, in Bingo Tour you can enter a tournament to win $3 if you have 600 gems. You can accumulate these gems with daily gifts, and by playing in gem only tournaments.
Can You Actually Win Money?
Remember my distinction between algorithm and skill based bingo games? The key word here is “skill”, and you will be needing a lot of it if you want to make any money. The good news is, most games are tier and level based, so they will match you with similar skill levels to other players online. That’s good when you’re starting out, and you will enjoy some success even as you’re learning techniques. As you get better though, so does everyone else, so you’ll really have to bring your A game when your ranking increases. But that’s what makes it fun!
So can you actually make money with skill-based bingo apps? Well, out of the 12 apps that I tested, I have concluded with 100% certainty that none of them are scams, and all of them offer the potential to win cash prizes. Do you have to invest your own money in order to make any money? That actually depends on the app. There are some bingo apps that have a minimum cash entry, and you won’t be able to play those for free. I’ll discuss the free options below, if you’re like me and don’t easily part with hard earned dollars!
Bingo Apps That Offer Cash Games With Free Entry
If you’re looking for a way to win real money and you don’t want to pay an entry fee with your own cash, here is a list of apps that will appeal to you.
Bingo For Cash
Free daily cash awards (or tokens), plus unlimited free entry cash games unlocked by watching ads. Cash winnings are fully eligible for withdrawal.
World Winnings Bingo
Tournaments and cash games are not free entry, but you can get fairly generous free cash awards on a daily basis! Bonus cash is not withdrawable, but you can use it for cash games tournaments and keep those winnings.
Bingo Tour
Watch ads for free entry into cash paying games, or play token based games and use those tokens for real money winnings.
Bingo Arena
Daily ad based games with real cash rewards, or play for tokens in practice rounds.
Bingo Raider
Get a daily cash or token bonus, or watch ads for free entry into money-paying games and tournaments.
Bingo Stars
Watch ads for free entry into money paying games and tournaments. Cash games are not available in Canada, though 🙁
Conclusion
Out of all the skill based bingo apps I have tested, I’ve yet to have a scammy experience. The closest I have come to a misleading experience was with Bingo Stars when I worked my way up to a couple of dollars by watching ads and playing tournaments, only to find that I could not used the proceeds for tournaments as I am a Canadian. I had some difficulty withdrawing money when playing Blackout Bingo, but was surprised by the quick response from customer support.
Are there a lot of ads and pop ups that you may have to endure? Depending on the app, possibly, but some are worse than others, and I found that the apps with the highest cost of entry actually have the fewest annoying features, like ads.
My conclusion is that bingo apps are legit, and you can definitely make money if you’re skilled!
If you’re interested in a detailed side-by-side breakdown of the best known bingo apps, check out my comparison table here.
And as always, play responsibly and don’t gamble what you can’t afford to lose!