90-Ball Bingo
The most common form of bingo in the UK is 90-ball bingo and you will find this at virtually every bingo hall, social club and online bingo site in the country. The numbers all have nicknames that are often referred to when they are called, some of which add to the fun atmosphere of the game by requiring responses from the audience.
Where to Play 90-Ball Bingo
Try out the online 90-ball bingo offerings at 888Ladies, Jackpotjoy and Cheeky Bingo and find out about how the game works at the Online Rules section.
Offline, you will find 90-ball bingo at all Gala Bingo and Mecca Bingo clubs.
90-Ball Bingo Tickets
The card for a 90-ball bingo game consists of three rows and nine columns. Each row contains five numbers and four blank spaces, meaning a total of 15 numbers need to be marked off to win the full house prize.
Each column can only hold numbers from a certain range to make it easier for players to check their cards in a fast-paced game. Here’s how they are spread out on a 90-ball bingo ticket:
| Column | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number Range | 1-9 | 10-19 | 20-29 | 30-39 | 40-49 | 50-59 | 60-69 | 70-79 | 80-89 |
This means a traditional 90-ball bingo ticket will look something like this:
| 6 | 12 | 50 | 63 | 71 | ||||
| 15 | 20 | 67 | 76 | 80 | ||||
| 9 | 28 | 33 | 68 | 81 |
How to Win at 90-Ball Bingo
Whereas 75-ball bingo features more than 300 possible patterns to attempt to match, there are only three winning patterns in 90-ball bingo and they are the same in every game. You can win for being the first player to mark off, or daub, all five numbers on one line, the first to match all ten numbers on any two lines or the first player to match all fifteen numbers on one card - the full house.
One line (1L) winner:
| 15 | 20 | 67 | 76 | 80 | ||||
| 9 | 28 | 33 | 68 | 81 |
Two lines (2L) winner:
| 15 | 20 | 67 | 76 | 80 | ||||
Full house winner:
90-Ball Bingo Prizes
Prizes in 90-ball bingo are usually determined by how many people have also played the game and what the ticket price was. A proportion of the entry money is designated for the one line, two lines and full house prizes, with exact prize amounts settled once sales close.
A single line wins the lowest of the three prizes, with two lines earning the winner more money and the full house acting as the top prize, unless there is a special progressive jackpot. A progressive jackpot is usually won when a player wins with a full house within a set number of calls. The limit is deliberately set low so that the jackpot will increase in every game it is not won, often reaching very tempting amounts.
If more than one player matches the one line, two lines or full house prize on the same call, they each receive an equal share of the prize.