How does bingo compare to slots games for fun and for winnings? Here’s our quick roundup of bingo vs slots differences and similarities:
These days, who doesn’t need some more fun and more money? Thankfully, websites and mobile apps for bingo and slots games are easy ways to pass time, have fun, make new friends, and also win some cash if you’re lucky. What’s more, the technology and creativity in online or mobile bingo and slots games is pretty cool and exciting.
But with your time and money limited, which is better when comparing bingo versus slots? The answer depends on what you like. To help you decide, let’s look at the differences and similarities between bingo vs slots:
Main bingo vs slots differences & similarities:
In lots of ways, bingo and slots are similar, which is why you’ll often see gaming companies offering both bingo and slots, and encouraging you to play both games.
One important similarity for mobile fans is that most bingo and
LibertySlotsCasino.co games are now mobile-friendly, and many also offer secure mobile apps. With some quick web searches, you’ll find no shortage of annual lists for “the best” or “top ten” apps and mobile-friendly sites.
Another similarity is that just like at real-life casinos, online and mobile slots offer lots of fun themes. For example, many popular slots game themes are designed around fantasy adventures, history, sports and TV shows, just to name a few common themes. And if you get bored playing any of those, it’s easy to switch to another slots game, or to another game like bingo.
As with slots games, today’s online or mobile bingo games also offer lots of fun themes. It’s easy to find games with creatively designed bingo boards, fun themed bingo lingo, and themed prizes. Common bingo themes for example, are cat and dog themed games, exotic places, holidays, and party themes.
If you already spend lots of time with your smartphone, then slots are ideal for you. That’s because most mobile slots games don’t need much screen space, so they’re designed to play
perfectly on your phone. On the other hand bingo apps or sites are better played on a good-sized tablet or laptop, where you have the extra screen space to see all of your bingo cards at the same time.
What does it cost to play slots vs bingo?
Although many mobile bingo and slots apps are free for basic play, you’ll need to pay if you want certain extra features like lots of extra cards, extra plays, or power-ups. Plus, some slots games with bigger jackpots require “maximum coins” bets, and similarly, many bingo games with better prizes and features are pay-to-play.
To motivate you to spend a little money, most gaming services will give you a welcome bonus after you set up a new account. These welcome bonuses are usually a set amount of money to play with, and/or a certain number of free games in your first month or two of signup. Welcome bonuses can vary widely, but they often range from double to quadruple the minimum deposit amount.
Like most good things in life, great gaming services and welcome bonuses come with “fine print” — aka terms and conditions that you should read carefully. Most require that you make a small minimum deposit when registering, and then bet a certain amount more before you can withdraw anything you win. Also, keep in mind that whenever you get free bonus plays, those are usually for basic play, so optional in-game purchases are extra.
Winning and payout differences in bingo vs slots:
In both bingo and slots games, all of the players contribute to the jackpot until someone wins it. So, your odds of winning will depend on the number of players, among other factors.
When you play slots, you’re playing alone, but not really. In fact, you’re competing for the current jackpot with thousands of players who are playing at the same time, and who’ve each paid a little bit to play, except for those who are using their free plays. But on the plus side, slots usually offer big jackpots that include contributions from all of those players, and from the gaming company.
In bingo on the other hand, you’re not playing alone unless you’re using a bingo app that allows for solo play. In most bingo games, you play along with others — whether they’re your friends you’ve invited, or other players around the world.
Though unlike slots, bingo games limit the number of players, and you can usually see the number of players who have joined a game before you decide to join or not. This means that if you choose to join a game with a small number of players, your odds of winning will be higher. But on the other hand, the jackpot for that game will be smaller, because fewer players contributed to it.
As for game winnings, both bingo and slots offer two kinds of jackpots: either progressive jackpots that increase each time players don’t win, or preset jackpots that increase based on the difficulty of the winning play.
One common preset jackpot in a slots game is when you win more money by matching objects that have higher points values. If you’ve ever played the old-fashioned slots game with fruit and bars (
which were originally designed to look like packs of gum), you know that you win more when you match two or more bars than when you match cherries, lemons or other fruity gum flavors.
Similarly in bingo, you’ll win higher preset jackpots by matching enough numbers called within a shorter time, or by matching all numbers in predesignated squares, such as a Z-shape.
Luck, strategy, or both?
Both slots and bingo are mainly based on luck, because you can’t predict or control each spin or numbers call. But there are some strategies you can use to stack the odds more in your favor.
For example, you can decide to play during days and times when there are fewer other players, even though the jackpots might be lower. And in bingo, other common strategies to improve your odds are to buy more bingo cards, and to keep playing the same cards in each game, if you’re allowed. (The logic is that you’ll start to memorize your cards and then find numbers on them faster.)
Also in bingo, you can join player chat rooms where you can learn tips from other players, tell them what seems to work well for you, and make new friends. Unlike slots or solo bingo apps, you’ll find that most bingo games are social and even chatty. This is especially true for popular women-focused bingo apps and sites like
888ladies mobile bingo.
So unless you get strategy-savvy or get lucky often, you might not always come out ahead when playing slots or bingo. But after you find a reputable company with great games and loyalty rewards, you’ll still have lots of fun and be able to play for a long time. And these days, fun, safe activities can be priceless.
You can find more of the latest in mobile betting tips and trends
here on MobileVillage.