What Is Slingo?
Slingo (sometimes also called Prizelines) is a popular online casino game that combines elements of both Slots and Bingo - hence the name Slingo!
Casinos often run promotions that involve wagering or free spins on Slingo games, so it's a good idea to have an understanding of how they work in order to make the most profit from these casino offers.
How to properly play these games can be a little unclear when you load them up for the first time, but we're here to help!
Here, we'll go through all the information you need to know about playing Slingo and the best strategy to to help maximise your profits.
Standard Format
Slingo can come in a few different shapes and sizes, but we'll take a look at the most popular style of Slingo game to get you familiar with it.
When you load up most Slingo games, they'll look something like this:
On the left hand side, you'll see a place to adjust the game’s stake and also a paytable, which shows the different potential prizes for that stake size.
On the right is a button to start the game. It will also display how many spins a game involves (in the case of the above image, the game involves 11 spins).
In the centre is a 5×5 grid of numbers, which acts a bit like a Bingo Card - you're looking to make lines, or even better, the holy grail of a full house!
When the game begins, numbers will be drawn. Your aim is to match up as many of these numbers to your grid as possible. The numbers drawn are displayed along the bottom, like this:
If a number that's drawn matches a number in your grid, then it's crossed off.
Win Lines
Crossing off as many numbers as possible to complete lines is the aim of the game. A win line is a set of 5 numbers in a row; these can be horizontal, vertical, or diagonal lines.
On the standard 5×5 Slingo Grid, there are 12 Win Lines. The more lines you complete, the bigger the prize that you can win.
As you complete whole win lines, you'll start to see your progress towards prizes:
Additional Symbols
While playing some Slingo Games, you may see other special symbols that impact the gameplay:
Joker - Allows you to cross off any number of your choosing in the column above the joker - a very powerful symbol.
In some Slingo Games, getting 3 or more jokers in a single spin will award a Joker Bonus for an instant cash prize!
Super Joker - Allows you to cross off any number of your choosing in the entire grid - an even more useful version of the Joker symbol.
Devil - A blocking symbol that effectively just means no win from that spin - you want to avoid these!
Free Spin - Adds an extra spin to your game.
Coin Award - Gives an instant cash prize.
Return To Player (RTP)
The Return To Player, or RTP, of an online casino game is how much you, as a player, can expect to get back, on average, over thousands and thousands of spins of that game.
For example, if a game has an RTP of 97% it would mean that, on average, over millions of spins, for every £100 you spend, you would expect to get back £97. In this example, the casino would expect to make a £3 profit on average for every £100 you spent. This margin, 3% in this example, is the casino’s house edge.
Most Slingo Games have an RTP of approximately 95%. The variance, speed of gameplay, and stake sizes can vary, so some versions of Slingo can be better for offers than others. We'll take a look at some of the good options below.
Slingo Games Compared
In the following table, I've compared the key characteristics of some of the different Slingo games. Other games are also available.
| Game | Notes | Minimum Stake | RTP (Return To Player) |
| Slingo XXXtreme | Spins automatically | £0.20 | 95% |
| Slingo Extreme | Spins automatically and is relatively low variance | £0.20 | 95% |
| Slingo Riches | £0.20 | 95% | |
| Slingo Rainbow Riches | £0.20 | 95.6% | |
| Slingo Cascade | £0.20 | 95% | |
| Slingone Fishin' | £0.20 | 95.24% | |
| Slingo Super Spin | A high RTP option | £0.20 | 96.71% |
| King Kong Cash Prizelines | £0.10 | 96.03% | |
| Slingo Starburst | A high RTP option | £0.10 | 96.66% |
| Slingo Lucky Larry's Lobstermania | £0.10 | 96.38% |
Slingo Extreme is a good option to choose for Slingo offers if it's available, due to the easy way the game plays and its lower variance. Slingo Starburst is also a great choice due to its high RTP.
Best Strategy
The jokers and super jokers give us a choice of which numbers to select. Your choices will impact the RTP of Slingo Games so it's important to have some understanding of the best strategy. You don't want the house to have a bigger edge!
The jokers and super jokers should always be used where they will move you closest to completing a win line. Where many positions will achieve this, the preference should be to select the number that covers the most win lines.
General Priorities
If there's no clear line to complete, you want to select a number in the best possible general position. But what is that position?
Centre Number – The number in the very centre of the grid should be prioritised. This covers four win lines: horizontal, vertical and two diagonals.
Diagonal Numbers – Next the numbers on the diagonal lines should be prioritised. These cover three win lines: horizontal, vertical and one diagonal.
Other numbers – These only cover two win lines: horizontal and vertical so are the lowest priority.
Purchasing Additional Balls
Before we get into what purchasing additional balls even means, I'll give the advice on it right away. Don't do it.
With that off my chest, I can actually tell you what the extra purchase is all about.
Once you've completed your set number of spins and any free spins that you won along the way, you may be presented with a choice. This choice is to either end the game immediately and collect any prizes you've won, or buy yourself some extra balls for the opportunity to complete more win lines.
The price of the spin will depend on how many numbers you have left to complete, and how close you are to extra prizes. You may feel tempted to buy extra balls, but I would recommend avoiding this. It can get very costly.
When purchasing extra spins, as you get close to prizes, the cost of an extra spin can get extremely expensive, and you could end up with very large losses. Purchasing extra spins will also often reduce the RTP of your gameplay, giving the casino a larger edge, which is never a good thing!
Summary
You'll now have a firm grasp on the weird and wonderful game of Slingo. Unlike conventional slots or bingo, your decisions can have an impact on the profitability of the game, so it's important to have learned how to do that.
Pick the correct positions, don't buy those extra balls, and you're all set!
Interested In Getting Started Matched Betting?
You can start learning for free with our free trial and make your first profits today!
Updated: 4 Jul 2024
The Author
Ollie has been working for Outplayed for over 7 years and Matched Betting for many years before that. He provides a wealth of insights into every asset of this amazing side hustle, from the very basics to the most advanced and profitable bookmaker promotions. If you’re interested in the maths behind Matched Betting, Ollie is your guy!