Judge Bingo Review

Don’t judge a book by its cover or a bingo site by its judge. Provided you haven’t had a recent run-in with the law and are still mildly traumatised by the inside of a courtroom, you should find Judge Bingo to be a fun kinda place. Sure, there’s a legal vibe going on here, but it’s delivered in a light-hearted way. It’s safe to assume that the average British bingo-playing female hasn’t been sentenced to 10 years at Her Majesty’s pleasure, so should have no qualms about playing at Judge Bingo. Although bingo features first, there’s also room for slots, casino games and scratch cards.

There are very British-themed bingo games in operation all around the clock and there are some very British slots too that appear on the homepage. To call them the best of British would be stretching the truth however as slots like Big Ben and Brittonaire are average at best. There’s a caricature of a judge who operates as the site’s mascot and figurehead. On its homepage, a few lame but faintly amusing courtroom-based gags help to set the scene and at least tie in with the concept being served up here. Why courtroom-themed bingo? Well when you’ve covered every other topic under the sun you’re left with few other options.

About Judge Bingo

Bingo in the UK is dominated by a handful of operators who almost hold a monopoly over the online bingo industry. This allows them to churn out hundreds upon hundreds of sites which are scarcely different from one another. They exist solely to drown out the competition under their sheer weight. Each site might sport a different theme but beneath the surface it’s all identical. Cassava Enterprises are guilty of doing this and so are Cozygames Management Ltd, the operator of Judge Bingo. They’re based on the Isle of Man and are licensed and regulated by its gambling commission.

On its About page, the site boasts of offering over 35 casino games. This isn’t a lot admittedly, but since this is primarily a bingo site, it’s not so shameful after all. Cozygames Management, who were established in 2005, have a wealth of experience within this sector. On all of their websites, they make a big deal of the fact that their servers are located on the Isle of Man. Without being presumptuous, there’s a case for saying that the average Judge Bingo player probably doesn’t even know what a server is. If you’re in need of customer support, you can get hold of the Judge Bingo team by email or live chat.

Banking Verdict

In terms of deposit options, take your pick from Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, Paysafecard, Skrill, Neteller, Boku and Paypal. The minimum deposit amount is £5 and the maximum is £500. Although there’s an FAQ, to learn about withdrawals you have to click through to a separate page that details this stuff which is dumb. Why can’t information about deposits and withdrawals be clearly presented in one place for the benefit of all prospective new players? It’s really hard and time-consuming trying to track down withdrawal information on the Judge Bingo website.

In fact, after much searching to find the simplest of information – how long does it take withdrawals to clear? – while writing this review, the search was eventually abandoned. It’s just too difficult and time-consuming trying to track this stuff down. It’s the sort of information that could be contained in two sentences as well but clearly that was beyond the scope of Cozygames Management’s capabilities. You’d think, given that they’ve got several hundred sites to their name, they’ve have mastered this sort of stuff, but nope, they’re still struggling with the basics.

Bonuses on Trial

There’s a 350% welcome bonus waiting for you when you sign up Judge Bingo and there’s also a £15 no deposit bonus. You’ll need to validate your card to claim the latter bonus and there’s a 4x wagering requirement on bingo and 10x on slots before the cash can be withdrawn – that’s with the 350% casino bonus. With the £15 no deposit bonus you’ve got an 8x wagering requirement on bingo and 10x on slots.

The only other promotion that seems to be available at Judge Bingo on an ongoing basis is free bingo. Pretty much all bingo sites offer free bingo and it doesn’t really serve much of a purpose other than giving you a means of passing the time. Even if you successfully win the paltry prizes on offer, probably a sum in the region of £2, you’ve still got to wager it 8x over before it can be withdrawn, which seems miserly.

Big Bingo Names

The bingo games at Judge Bingo have names such as Big Ben, Buckingham Palace and City Hall. They’re all provided by the Live Bingo Network, which Cozygames Management are a part of. As a result, you’ll be playing online simultaneously against loads of other players across the country. The value of the jackpot available in each of the bingo games is prominently displayed along with the number of players who’ve entered and the amount of time remaining until each game starts. Tickets cost only a few pence each on average and there’s some respectable prizes to be won, such as in the case of Super Jackpot, which pays out £1,000.

Bingo Respite

Once you’ve tired of playing bingo, or are simply looking for some respite from it for a short while, you’ll find a few titles to keep you occupied at the casino. There’s nothing novel or new here – Cozygames have been replicating these same tired games at the same tired bingo sites for years – but they still do the job. You’ve got Aces & Faces, Classic Blackjack, European Blackjack, Jacks or Better, Keno, Aces & Eights, American Roulette and a few others. In terms of scratch cards, it’s the same story: nothing new under the sun whatsoever but some reasonably playable titles in the form of Bargainista, You Bet Your Asteroids and Diamond Dreams. As for the slots, they’re pretty much all ghastly, but if you don’t know any better, you’ll probably enjoy playing them, labouring under the misconception that you’re experiencing a new frontier in casino gaming.

What’s the Verdict?

Judge Bingo, launched in 2017, is a wolf in sheep’s clothing, a site which looks reasonably innocuous on the outside but which is dreary and disappointing on the inside. It’ll still serve its purpose in terms of playing bingo but you wouldn’t go out of your way to play here if you could help it. 12 years of experience within the online gaming sector and their knowledge extends to serving up games like Brittonaire and Cupid’s Arrow a thousand times over.

It’s a dire state of affairs, but these are the sort of bingo sites and casinos that will proliferate if you tolerate them. Of course there are worse sites than Judge Bingo on the web. Of course there are worse games to play than those offered here. It’s still pretty depressing and uninspiring though. Judge Bingo: you deserve better.