Free bingo is one of the many ways bingo sites attract new players to try their sites. There's usually a fanfare when there's a big new offer on the table, but a quiet shuffling around when there's a bonus drop. April 2009 has kicked off with one big fanfare and a few shuffles too!The fanfare comes from The Mirror Bingo who for the first two weeks in April are offering all new players a £20 no deposit bonus. This runs until the 15th April and all you need to do is register to claim your bonus.
However, there's more bad news than good news on the free bingo bonus front. Not only have 888 Ladies kicked Vic Reeves in to touch they've also halved the no deposit bonus from £5 to £10. The site now says get a £20 welcome bonus on your first £10 - which is fine, but £5 is free and £15 is the deposit bonus. Exactly what was on offer before - so in fact you're now a fiver worse off!
A fiver has gone AWOL too over at one of our favourite bingo sites Wink Bingo. New players now only get a £10 no deposit bonus. This isn't too bad though as Wink have also launched penny bingo and free bingo games for all players.
Also heading downwards is Gala Bingo who have changed their deposit bonus from £20 to £10 when you make a first deposit of £5.
Bingo players shouldn't be overly concerned by these changes nor should it put you off trying these sites - the free money is merely a bonus and rarely will you be able to withdraw any winnings without a real money deposit!
The recession may well be part of the reason for limiting the amount of freebies on offer, but remember it's not unusual for bingo operators to use different methods for attracting players and changing promotions from time to time. This helps generate new players or brings back old ones.
Foxy Bingo for example have regularly switched their free bingo offers on and off at various times. Sometimes it's a free bingo day, others a no deposit bonus and the rest nothing at all! We expect more bingo sites to follow their lead as 2009 progresses.
