Sign up

Signing up to Gala Bingo takes a matter of minutes as you simply need to enter your contact details along with a valid email address, password and username. You don't need to enter your payment details straight away so this sign up process is a little less committal than others as it gives you the opportunity to take a good look around the site first.

If you're already a member of a Gala bingo club you can fast track your online application by entering your date of birth and special reference number (as detailed on your membership card) where requested on the sign up page.

As part of the sign up process Gala Bingo offer you the opportunity to set up deposit and session time limits on your account, while they aren't compulsory and you can later amend them, these limits can be really useful if you tend to overspend.

Design

Gala Bingo is a really clean looking site, based on a white background with details picked out in Gala's signature bright blue and yellow colours, it's really easy on the eye and makes finding information really simple.

Once you're inside Gala's mini bingo site things get a little busier but no less clear. Each of their twelve 90 ball, two 75 ball and one 80 ball bingo 'clubs'have their own quirky theme, ranging from aliens in 'Area 75', rubik cubes and power dressing in club '1980s' to flamboyant wigs and parasols in the 'Society' club. This gives each bingo room its own unique feel and after you've tried them all out you'll definitely find a favourite (I love Sharon's deliciously pink club room myself).

To help make you feel even more at home Gala Bingo let you personalise the site to fit your own tastes. Rather fantastically you can chosen everything from the overall colour scheme to what your dauber looks like and what shaped stamp it makes on your cards. This is a great feature as it helps you to turn the site your own little bingo haven.

Usability

Gala bingo's website is very easy to navigate around with games and information readily available. All of your account information is accessible via a drop down list in the top right hand corner of the site and this is where you go to arrange deposits and withdrawals as well as to amend your account settings.

Buying tickets takes seconds thanks to Gala's 'quick buy' system that allows you the choice of buying a strip of tickets (in 6,12,18 and 24 multiples), specifying the number of tickets you'd like, or specifically hand picking the tickets you'd like to play with. What's more, games are automated so you simply need to sit back ,relax and chat.

Navigating between clubs is very straight forward, you simply click on the 'Club Selector' tab and an up to date list is displayed detailing information such as the rooms available, time until the next game, current jackpot and number of people playing.

Gala also offer an astounding range of instant games which provide great entertainment if you fancy a bingo break. Games open up in a separate window making it easy to return to your bingo game, however the window is a large one and can't be resized so it is a bit tricky to chat simultaneously but it doesn't provide too much of a problem.

If you have pop-ups blocked on your computer you will need to allow them for this site before you play as Gala's 'Play Bingo' mini-site opens in pop-up form. You may also need to install a new version of Flash on your computer if yours isn't up to date but this is simply a matter of pressing the 'OK' button when prompted.

Games

You really can't fault Gala Bingo's selection of games. With 15 different clubs they're one of the rare bingo sites that offer 90, 75 and 80 ball options, not to mention their extensive selection of instant games that covers slots, roulette, scratch cards and much more. On top of this Gala run frequent bingo promotions and now offer free games of Bingo (with real jackpots!) for all members on Thursdays.

Jackpots

Gala bingo are famed for their impressive jackpots and boast having a winner every 10 seconds and giving away over £15million in prizes each week. They run regular 'guaranteed jackpot' promotions as well as impressive progressive jackpots that could help you to win really big.

Chat

Gala has a different chat room in each of their bingo clubs and 18 friendly CMs who will make you feel welcome (profiles of which are all available in the 'chat' area of the main site so you can get to know them a little better). Gala's CMs are full of information and should be your first port of call when you have a question about the site (no matter how big or small).

The CMs organise a whole host of chat games in each club and these are run both between and during bingo games (as cards are marked automatically) giving you the opportunity to earn a little bonus money and to have a bit of a giggle while you're waiting to win the jackpot.

Each and every room has a fantastically chatty vibe and, as Gala is such a busy site, whatever time of the day you log online to play there is always someone to have some bingo banter with.

Support

Gala Bingo have a very efficient customer support team that are available to answer your questions 24/7. You can contact them via email, fax or a free phone number, all of which are detailed in the 'Contact Us' section of their site. It's also possible to get a Gala Bingo operator to call you by completing the 'Call Back' form on the site.

However, the most convenient way to get in touch with Gala Bingo once you're logged in to your account is to send an e-message. To do this you simply need to select 'Messages' from the 'Account Options' tab in the right hand corner of the site, click on the 'Send Message' link and enter your query.

Whichever contact method you use Gala Bingo aim to get back to you within 30 minutes.

Security

Gala Bingo use secure 128 bit encryption technology to protect both your personal information and credit or credit card details and, for added reassurance, their security processes have been verified by BT Trustwise and Verisign, globally recognised indicators of 'safe' websites.

If you are planning to use a Visa card to make deposits you have the option of setting up a 'Verified by Visa' account for added security. Using Verified by Visa is a bit like having an online PIN number as it prevents other people from using your card.