Gala Bingo Review

Gala Bingo underwent a massive software change on 22nd July 2021 which meant their bingo lobby and all their online bingo rooms were given a makeover. To existing Gala players, these changes may have come as a bit of a shock and no doubt many are unhappy with that has happened.

For me, I'm not so attached to the old Gala that I really care too much about the changes. I play on Foxy Bingo enough to know and understand the new layout, but I can empathise with those who are used to the old site and don't like to have to learn all new things.

I fully expect a bit of teething problems as the new software finds its feet, but in the end Gala will come good and players will get used to the new layout and games soon enough.

About Gala

Gala Bingo is probably the most well known bingo brand in the UK (along with Mecca Bingo) as for many years it had a huge presence on the UK high street. The Gala Bingo clubs are no more, but the website is still going strong under new owners Entain and a new site redesign in 2020 has taken the site to a new level.

They certainly know how to run an exciting bingo site with loads of promotions going on all of the time and fair wagering means it gets #4 position in my Best Bingo Sites list .

Gala Bingo was previously part of the Playtech bingo network but is now on the Entain-owned Electraworks software. It also has a bunch of it's own exclusive bingo games, such as the TV soap tie-ins Coronation Street and Emmerdale Bingo as well as The Chase Bingo.

100% a site worth checking out if you haven't already.

Bingo Games Available

Here is a list of all the different varieties of online bingo available at this site:

Bingo Games Available

Gala Timed Jackpots

Gala has a special jackpot feature called Gala Timed Jackpots that is available in Allsorts, Cashpot, City, Coronation Street Bingo and Dreams. Basically it consists of five different fixed and progressive jackpots that can be triggered on any game.

Each jackpot is guaranteed to pay out at different times:

  • Hourly Jackpot: £25 fixed prize - won on average once per hour.
  • Daily Jackpot: £150 fixed prize - won on average once a day.
  • Weekly Jackpot: £300 fixed prize - won on average twice a week.
  • Monthly Jackpot: Progressive from £5k - won on average once a month.
  • Bingo Boss Jackpot: Progressive from £20k - won on average once every 12 months.

Before Gala moved to Entain, these last two jackpots were seeded at £25k and £50k, with the biggest one won every 6 months. They've now been lowered considerably, but the smaller jackpots were all increased slightly.

How to find the bingo games

Since the move to Electraworks software, the lobby no longer appears as a pop up. You simply click on any of the rooms from the main website to get in and the game opens in the same window.

Once you're in a room, if you wish to leave just click on the 'X' at the top to close the room and return to the lobby. Along the top of the lobby you can filter the rooms by number of balls: 90 ball, 80 ball, 75 ball, 50 ball, 36 ball and 30 ball. There is also a tab for 'Bingo Sessions', which is very different to the old session bingo layout on the previous software.

Club Bingo (aka Session Bingo)

If you look on the main Gala Bingo navigation bar, you'll see 'Club' is one of the options. This has nothing to do with the land based Gala clubs, which have long since been sold off and rebranded to Buzz Bingo, but rather it refers to Gala's version of Session Bingo.

Session bingo is when you pay for a whole block of bingo games (in this case 75 minutes worth) for one price. It's a little confusing why they don't just call this page 'Session Bingo' but I guess they still have some people visiting the site who aren't aware the bingo clubs were sold off, so if they call the page 'Club' it can still rank for this in Google.

Unlike other sites with session bingo who usually have four per day, at Gala there is only one in the evening from 7.30pm - 8.50pm. However, they do try to at least mix it up every day, with different promotions depending on what day of the week it is:

  • Everyone Wins Monday: An extra £60 prize pot per game that is shared by all losing players.
  • Nifty Fiftys Tuesday: £50 prize for every 1L, 2L and FH.
  • Double Up Wednesday: If you call full house on a double number (e.g. 11, 22) your prize is doubled.
  • Ton Up Thursday: £100 FH prize guaranteed on every game.
  • Big Money Friday: £1,000 FH prize on the final game of the session.
  • High Five Saturday: £100 progressive jackpot won if you call FH on a number ending in 5.
  • Double Ton Up Sunday: £200 FH prize guaranteed on every game.

T&Cs apply to all these events and are subject to change, so check the Club page on Gala for all the details.

These club bingo sessions take place in the Main Event bingo room, which you can find in the lobby. Tickets for will cost you £2 each, with a maximum of 12 tickets per player. Total cost if you max out is £12. The room also has the regular 5 Gala Bingo Jackpots (more info further in this review) that can be triggered on any game.

How to deposit at Gala Bingo

To make a deposit the best way is to click on the deposit button in the top right which opens up the quick deposit dropdown. This uses the last deposit method you chose. Alternatively, you can click on your account icon (same place where your balance appears to see more options.

Click on Deposit and you'll be able to access more options and other payment types such as:

  • PayPal
  • Debit Card
  • Paysafecard
  • Skrill
  • Trustly

Select your preferred method, enter the amount you wish to deposit and hit the deposit button. The minimum deposit amount at Gala Bingo is £5, except for PayPal which has a £10 minimum.

If you have any issues there is a live help button on the deposit page so you can talk to an advisor.

How to make a withdrawal

If you want to take out any winnings, you get to the withdrawal screen by clicking on your account icon (top right) and then selecting 'Withdrawals'. You will be asked to choose which withdrawal method you wish to use, but typically the requirement these days is that you can only withdraw to the same method which you used to deposit.

Click on your chosen method and it will display how much withdrawable balance you have. Restricted balance will show anything that you may have received as bonus funds and still has wagering requirements attached.

Here the minimum withdrawal amount is £5 for all methods including PayPal. Typically bank transfers can take a few days to process, but any of the e-wallets suchh as PayPal, Skrill and Paysafecard are same day.

Free Bingo at Gala

Gala Bingo regularly has free bingo games connected to some kind of promotion, so our first advice is to check out their promotions page. Sometimes free tickets are given as rewards for bingo play but you may have to opt-in first.

Since the move to the new software, the free bingo games do not always appear in the schedule for each room. I advise to check the promo pages or even ask a chat host when the free bingo is next on.

Gala Live Events

Gala has recently introduced regular live-streamed events with celebrity guests such as Stephen Mulhern and the cast of Emmerdale and Coronation Street. They also had a livestream every Tuesday with drag queens hosting the bingo session.

These events were usually streamed live within Main Event room, but it's unknown at the moment whether or not livestreams will be part of the new Gala Bingo software. My guess is that they will, but for now we have to keep an eye out for further updates.

Does Gala Bingo have an app?

Yes. Gala does have a dedicated app for both Android and iOS available from the Google Play Store and Apple App Store.

I use the Android app and I have to say it isn't very reliable. It appears to crash with 'web page not available' every time I load it up, so I tend to just use the mobile web browser instead. It is far more reliable and there isn't really anything the app can do that you can't do just by using the browser.

Gala Bingo Contact Details

Gala Bingo have a contact us page that you can find in the footer. Since COVID they've stripped this page back and are encouraging players to use the FAQ to solve their issues or to message their customer support on Facebook messenger.

However, if you click through any of the FAQs it will eventually ask if you need any more help. If you select yes it then does give you a few more options including live chat and an email form.

Who owns Gala Bingo?

Gala Bingo is currently owned by Entain Plc who are one of the biggest betting and gaming companies in the world. In addition to Gala they also operate Foxy Bingo, Ladbrokes Bingo, Cheeky Bingo and Coral Bingo.

Gala originally started out as a division of Bass Plc in 1991. It then became it's own company which was renamed to Gala Coral Group after it aquired Coral in 2005. In 2015 the company sold it's 126 retail bingo clubs but allowed the new owners, Caledonia Investments, to continue using the Gala Bingo name until 2018 when they were rebranded as Buzz Bingo.

Gala Coral continued to run the Gala Bingo website and in 2016 the company was bought by Ladbrokes, becoming Ladbrokes Coral. Then finally in 2018 it was bought by Entain who are the current owners.

If you look at the footer of the Gala Bingo website you will also see it is operated by LC International, who hold the UK gambling license. On your bank statement any deposits or withdrawals may appear as Gala Interactive (Gibraltar) Ltd.

Who is the voice of the new Gala Bingo caller?

When Gala switched software in July 2021, all of the bingo rooms got a new voice calling the bingo numbers and no obvious way to change the caller to someone else.

Love him or hate him, the caller is voiced by Redd Pepper - the same voiceover artist who did the recent Gala Bingo TV ads.