In fact, over the years the brand and the game have merged to become one amazing entity. They must be doing something very right as now Gala lays claim to over 165 land based halls that pay out over 30 million each and every week.
This is probably one of the factors that make them such a fan favourite and helps keep over a quarter of a million people lining up outside their doors for the action. With all this in mind, is it any wonder that we have such high expectations for what they can offer us in their new online home?
When we say “new online home,” that is exactly what we mean. You see, before the early part of 2006 there an existing up and running Gala Bingo hall that was a very happening place.
This old location was opened in partnership with St. Minver and gave players access to their wonderful brand of 90-ball fun. Gala learned the game and then decided that this was not the way for them to go.
So they closed up shop and struck out on their own. A gutsy move no doubt, but can this online rookie still deliver “The Bingo that Gets You Buzzing?”
One area where they have long surpassed rookie status is in that of player security. A company does not get this large or remain this popular if they choose to slack off in this very important arena.
Gala has remained focused from the very beginning on offering their players worry free play any time they look for it. The only worry you have here is which game to play first!
The site is pleasing to the senses and does its job of luring you in rather than blinding you with crazy graphics and sound effects.
We love that the navigation is very easy to follow and won’t leave you scratching your head wondering what to do next. Finding the right answers to all your questions will be a snap, and you will be on your way to the fun in no time at all.
Now if your computer already has Flash installed, and most of them do, then all you need to do is click the beckoning “Play Online Now,” link and you are ready to go.
One very bright spot in our day was that not only did the games load and play on a Windows based system, but we had zero problems using our Mac system.
This is one area where Gala has made huge improvements over their original site, as Gala Bingo was not quite Mac friendly in the beginning.
You will have to go through registration if you want to play. Since you just had to know that it was coming, this shouldn’t put any kind of kink in your plans. It is possible to look into the games and check out the action, but there is no playing and no chatting without your very own account.
When we went through the steps for ourselves we were upset to find that there is no new player bonus currently offered at Gala Bingo. While the Mac issue was a big step forward from the old site, this is a big step back.
It is a small thing to offer your players a sign-up incentive, but it does go a long way to inspire loyalty and excite people about what you have to offer. Gala should rethink this area as it is the first big criticism that we have come across.
While it is very upsetting to not get any kind of bonus, it does not drag down the overall quality of Gala’s gaming experience. The Bingo is always up and running delivered in a great console with fun extras.
It is great to see that even with their instant play format; Gala is still working to offer customization options in their games. We took great pride in silencing the not so wonderful disco music being piped into our games.
The size of your console can also be adjusted to meet your own preferences or screen. As great as Bingo is, sometimes you just want something different, and for those moments Gala offers a nice selection of both casino and instant win games for your enjoyment.
And don’t forget about the chat rooms. The CMs know their jobs and keep everything fun and friendly in their domain. These are some very busy rooms that didn’t seem to slack off no matter what time of day we stopped by.
Back to our one big problem with this hall is that there are no current promotions. We pointed out the lack of a new player bonus earlier, but now we have to extend that to all promotions.
Yes, there are some tempting promises of things to come, but right now they are nothing more than promises. If Gala can follow through then it would really raise the overall level of player experience in the hall.
If you are a diehard Gala fan no matter what the medium, then you should feel right at home at Gala Bingo. The hall is a wonderful reflection on their real world level of quality and customer support. Yes, they need to deliver on a few promised promotions, but we have every faith that they will.
This new hall is an all around solid design that reminds us why Gala is the best at what they do. They prove time and time again that they will always have, “The Bingo that Gets You Buzzing!”