Flash Bingo vs Download Bingo

There are two ways to play bingo online: on your browser (Flash) or by downloading and installing bingo software.

  1. Download bingos must be installed directly on your computer
  2. Flash based bingos do need to be installed and you can play bingo online on your browser window if you already have the latest Flash player installed on your computer.

Note: Although more than 95% of computers have the Flash player already pre-installed, especially if you are using Windows XP, if you are not sure whether you have it or not you can download the Flash player here and following the on screen instructions.

Many UK bingo sites offer Flash based bingo games, although some only offer downloadable versions. It is pretty much up to you to decide which type of bingo play suits you best. However to help you decide we give you the pros and cons of each type of method.

Download bingo

Download versions of bingo games are completely free and have been thoroughly tested so they don’t pose any risks to your computer. The steps to follow are.

  1. Download
  2. Open an account with the bingo site
  3. Deposit money to buy cards
  4. Play bingo or any other games which may be available.

Usually download bingos may not come with every single game included as this could be quite a hefty download. Therefore once the software has been installed with the minimum games, it will carry on installing the remaining games in the background and seamlessly. The file download sizes tend to be between 5 and 10Mb, which is about 3-4 minutes of download time if you have a 512kb ADSL (broadband) connection. Nowadays broadband connections can be a lot faster, so the download time would be cut even further if that was the case. In comparison with Flash based bingos, the downloadable versions offer:

  1. A better environment in terms of quality of the graphics and music / sound.
  2. Greater comfort and less waiting time every time you log in to play, as once it has been downloaded and installed, there is no more waiting or loading up time to be spent as happened with Flash based bingo games.
  3. The downside is for Mac users who cannot install these programmes as they are just for PC users.

Visit our UK bingo download page to find a list of bingo sites that offer this facility.

Flash based bingo

Flash based bingo games do not have to be installed on your computer and are launched directly onto your browser window. The steps to follow are:

  1. Open an account with the bingo site
  2. Deposit funds to buy bingo cards
  3. Play bingo or other games as you wish.

Once you open an account with your Flash based bingo site, you can access it and play from any computer as it does not require any installation. This version is ideal for:

  1. Mac users
  2. Players who wish to quickly check out the bingo site quickly without any commitment or installation of software
  3. Players who use several different computers in different plavers, as you only need your account number / user name and password to access the bingo games.

The only disadvantage to Flash based bingos is that the quality of graphics and sound are not of the same calibre of the downloadable versions. Also access times to different games may be a bit slower (if you are playing slots for example).
At the end of the day it all depends on your requirements and preferences.

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