Best Online Bingo Awards for 2011
By all accounts, 2011 was a huge year for online bingo and as bingo players, we have many a reason to celebrate. Plenty of new bingo sites made their debut in 2011, some of them even brought forth their own software. We saw payment processing improve and some of the biggest bingo sites stepping up their promotional offers. We also observed the beginning of what we believe will be the “next big thing” in terms of the evolution of the bingo site.
In addition to bingo sites raising the bar, we also experienced an emphasis on accountability. Both inside and outside of the online bingo-verse, we have heard the call for protection of the player, their well-being, and for protection of their hard-earned funds. Thus, doing business with quality, reputable, and properly licenced sites has become of paramount importance. The sites with stellar reputations have rose in popularity, whilst the less reputable and unlicensed bingo operators have moved further into the shadows. This flight to quality has resulted in a focus on who we’re doing business with and calls for sites such as our own to do their part in educating the players. This in turn causes us to do extensive research before even thinking about recommending a site to our visitors. For this reason, we personally evaluate the candidates and determine a winner. Our awards are not a popularity contest but instead they are an assessment of who is truly the best.
As we move into 2012, we take a look back at the best the online bingo world had to offer by recognizing the best of the best in the online bingo realm by presenting the 2011 edition of the Internet-bingo.co online bingo awards with the theme “quality matters.”
2011′s Best of the Best in Bingo
This year, we judged bingo sites through nine different categories in issuing the 2011 version of our Online Bingo Awards. Each bingo operator and bingo site was critiqued on the appropriate factors in deciding the winners. Feel free to look further into our winning bingo sites by reading our reviews or visit the bingo room through our links and know that you are about to play at the best 2011 had to offer. Onto the awards!
Best Mobile Bingo Site
The game of bingo has evolved from live play to online and now to mobile bingo play. The mobile bingo movement ushers in the need for faster, lighter, and more responsive bingo software and a need for bingo apps and games that are compatible with all types of mobile phones, tablets, and smart phones.
In 2011, iBingo wins the award for the best mobile bingo site category. Whilst their entire bingo site is designed around playing bingo from the iPhone, we find that all types of mobile phones and web browsers can get in on the bingo games here. Not only can you play bingo here, but you can also get in on slots games, casino games, scratch off games, and video slots games – all from your mobile phone! Even better, they give £15 free to try them out! A big thanks and congratulations go out to iBingo for being the best mobile bingo site of 2011.
Best Bingo Software of 2011
Whilst we have long regarded Dragonfish to be the best software platform around for bingo games, 2011 ushers in a newcomer. In terms of innovation, unique offerings, look, feel, and definitely being user-friendly and player excitement – XBingo debuts as the winner of the best bingo software award winner of 2011. This bingo site put their mark on our bingo world in a big way. Not only did they make their debut in 2011, but they even brought their own unique software with them! There is no other bingo site where you can play the same games or compete for the same prizes that XBingo brings. This newest bingo software platform has captured our attention and earned our respect and XBingo’s software is by far the best software for bingo online in 2011 and thus XBingo unanimously pulls off the surprise victory over Dragonfish and the field for the 2011 edition of our award.
Click to try them for yourself.
Best bonus offer of 2011
One of the biggest criticisms of playing online bingo revolves around the bonuses. Bingo site after site place emphasis on their bonus offerings, only to find that most bonuses have all kinds of restrictions on them in terms of what you can play. Add to the fact that the majority of the bonuses can’t even be cashed out!
For 2011, we salute Bet365 for offering a straightforward and attractive bonus. Whilst their bonus is small in size (£25), Bet365 Bingo proves that size doesn’t always matter. Their bonus is simple, yet attractive, and doesn’t come with all the handcuffs that most of the other bonus offers present. Simply put, deposit and play £5, get £25 in bonus money that can either be played or cashed out straight away. Moreover, you can use the bonus money on any type of game – slots, betting on sports, casino, scratch games, or any game/event that Bet365 Bingo offers! Due to the flexibility of their bonus, Bet365 Bingo wins the award for the best bingo bonus of 2011.
Click here to get your Bet365 Bingo bonus now.
Best free bingo bonus of 2011
Whilst size wasn’t an issue in the best bonus category, size certainly matters here. The more free money, the better and Ruby Bingo is a step ahead of the rest in their free bingo bonus. Ruby Bingo brought forth a free £16 bonus, which is the biggest free bonus offering of all the reputable sites we cover. Add to the mix that they award players an additional 300% bonus if they deposit, and you can clearly see that they are quite a gem of a find! We’ll let the free bonus speak for itself whilst we recognize >Ruby Bingo for having the best free bonus of our 2011 bingo rooms.
Best Choice of Side Games
While most networked bingo sites offer the same side games as the other sites using the same software, XBingo hosts slot games you won’t find on other bingo sites. Most of the Brigend powered sites share the same slots games and other instant games just as the Virtue Fusion and Dragonfish sites do – XBingo hosts their own unique menu of slots games for players to enjoy.
At XBingo, you can play slots games such as Lara Croft Tomb Raider, Lord of the Rings, Wilf Wolf, Mad Hatters, £100,000 Pyramid, and Star Trek – just to name a few! In fact, of the 35 slots games that are offered here, 31 of them cannot be played on any other Mandalay, Ignite, or Dragonfish bingo site!
For those keeping score, that’s 2 awards for XBingo thus far and we have more to go.
Best Choice of Casino Games
Short and to the point, whilst many bingo sites have casinos attached to them, none of them currently offer the extensive games selection that 888Ladies does. Sure, William Hill, Bet365 and a slew of others offer sport betting, casino games, and slots – 888Ladies raised the bar by introducing their professional Live Dealers. Such an introduction tipped the scales in 888Ladies favour to win the best casino games selection of 2011.
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Best option for depositing
In 2011, we were able to welcome a “long lost friend” back into the mainstream marketplace. PayPal had excused themselves from dealing with gambling related money, however 2011 saw PayPal emerging as a leader in payment processing and quite frankly, the online bingo world could not have been happier. After all, PayPal is the leader in online payment processing and considering their market share, they clearly made depositing and cashing out that much easier for bingo players. Thus, we recognize PayPal as 2011′s best way to pay for online bingo play.
Best New Bingo Site of 2011
If you have read this far, you surely know who the best debut of 2011 is going to be. Bringing their own software to the dance, XBingo by far made the biggest and best debut of 2011. They boldly cemented their spot as not only the best new bingo site but also amongst the biggest bingo site in terms of active players. Is it their software, their “out of this world” promotions, their familiar ownership, their superior games selection – or is it perhaps a combination of all the above? Whatever the reasoning, XBingo had the most eXplosive debut of 2011 and thus captures the “bingo treble” by bringing home their third Internet-Bingo.co award for 2011.
Best established bingo site of 2011
In 2011, Costa Bingo turned 2 years of age. Whilst this is not necessarily “old” in “bingo years”, they have certainly been around long enough to consider them an established bingo site (and well established they are). Costa Bingo made their mark by offering free bingo games and whilst many a site turns away from the very free offerings that “made them famous”, Costa Bingo continues offering free games all day long.
Free games, however, are not all that this veteran site brings forth – as they focus on keeping the funded player happy and healthy as well. Every Friday, funded players can join the £10K freebie jackpot game – as just one example on what they’re doing to keep the real money players happy. An attractive and revamped VIP Program also highly rewards loyal and regular play and to up the ante even further, they offer regular reload bonuses that make Costa Bingo a very attractive and enticing bingo site to make as your home. In sheer admiration, we applaud Costa Bingo in being the best established bingo site of 2011.
Click to play at Costa Bingo.
Make your vote count
We welcome you to comment and give feedback so that we can consider your picks for 2012′s best bingo sites. If you know of a bingo site worthy of consideration, drop us a line and let us know all about them. Tell us what you like (or dislike) about the various online bingo sites so that you can steer everyone towards the best bingo sites of 2012 and beyond.