Fancy Bingo Review
Fancy Bingo comes from the same camp as City, Costa and Sing Bingo. When it originally launched in April 2011 it pitched up against the now defunct Little Big Bingo offering penny games. The idea was to be a bargain bingo brand offering players just 1p and 2p a ticket games. Fancy's strapline of 'Play Small, Win Big' remains to this day but it's no longer exclusively about cheap games. These days players can enjoy free games, daily jackpots and exciting slots. So do you fancy play bingo at Fancy Bingo?
Introducing Fancy Bingo
When it first arrived, Fancy Bingo adopted an Alice In Wonderland theme. The Mad Hatter was the brand's main character. However these images were deemed too child-like and unfortunately the Mad Hatter was shoved back down the rabbit hole. It's safe to say that Fancy doesn't really have a theme although it's one of the few Costa brands to have benefited from a much needed modernisation. The site's revamp does give a few nods to past glory days such as The Mad Man Money jackpot but little else to hang your oversized hat on. The site is designed for mobile and accessible on handheld devices. No app is required to play at Fancy!
Fancy Bingo Welcome Offer
New players to Fancy Bingo are welcomed with a 300% first deposit bonus and free spins. In the past it has offered a no deposit bonus but more recently free bingo tickets and no wagering terms but all these great offers have now gone. Today newbies can register, login and make a deposit of £10 in order to receive a £30 welcome bonus plus 30 free spins on the Fruit Blast slot. Free Spins winnings are in real cash and therefore have no wagering requirements but wins are capped at a total of £3 (10p per spin). Wagering terms do apply to the bingo bonus and this is x4 the amount of deposit plus the bonus.
The Bingo Academy
Treasure gives you the chance to try it's games for free with a no deposit required offer. To give the games a try all you need to be is be registered with the site then login to the lobby to access The Bingo Academy. This can be found under the 'free' tab. All newbies get two days access without having to fund their account. Every 20 minutes (7am to 10pm daily) you can play a 75 ball game that has a full house prize of £1, £2 or £5. Be aware that prizes may be paid as a bonus and therefore wagering terms will apply. A further five days in The Academy are awarded after you make your first deposit.
Treasure Bingo Rooms
As well as free bingo, Fancy Bingo offers four variants on the popular numbers game. These include 75 ball, 5 Line 75 ball, 90 ball and 52-5 ball. The latter is All The 5s and involves playing cards instead of traditional bingo balls. A number of progressive jackpots are available when you play in the rooms. Most days you'll find a jackpot game at Treasure including the £1.5K Tuesday Chill and the £50 Daily Deal. There's also a Mystery Jackpot Room and a £1000 prize to be won every Thursday. Ticket prices vary from 1p to 5p but some of the jackpot games can be a little bit more expensive.
Featured Slots
All the top slots are available to play at Fancy Bingo. These are categorised by Popular Picks, Top Games, Megaways, Daily Jackpots, Drop & Wins and New. Suprisingly there isn't a tab for Slingo but there are plenty of versions of the popular slots meets bingo game to play. The slots area in the Dragonfish lobby isn't the easiest to navigate and feels very clunky. The good thing is you can favourite games to make them easier to find. Top slots include Cleopatra, Rainbow Riches, Gonzo's Quest, Monopoly, Slingo and Starburst. Although there's a tab highlight casino games this actually only includes a version of Keno and the live Dream Catcher game.
Player Promotions
Fancy was quite a good brand for exclusive promotions when it launched but that's no longer the case. It does have share some exciting promotions and jackpots with it's sister brands (e.g. Costa, Sing, Angry etc) and a few with The Dragonfish Network. For example there are free bingo games such as a daily £10 bonus room for funded players, Freengo also for funded players and a £1000 free Monday jackpot. The Friday £7K is another big promotion that's well worth checking out. This consists of 7 x £1000 jackpots that play every hour from 5pm to 11pm. Tickets are only 1p each too. Look out too for the Bingo Shop which lets you pick up rewards for playing at the site.
Our Verdict
When we last reviewed Fancy Bingo we said that it "looks fantastic and is still one of the best looking sites around". Unfortunately due to UKGC interventions The Mad Hatter theme that helped Fancy stand out has now gone. Losing this as well as the brand moving away from it's original blueprint of being a "cheap bingo site" makes it less fanciful. Throw in the fact that exclusives are a thing of the past and Fancy's stock drops further. That said, we've always liked Fancy Bingo and there are still bargain games on offer including those 7 x £1000 games every Friday. Most certainly we think that it's worth a look for the free bingo.
