Picking an Online Bingo Alias

What’s in a name?

So, you’ve decided to join an online bingo site for the first time, or maybe you’re looking to join a second one. As part of the sign-up process, you’ll be required to create a player chat alias. This is usually a different name than the one you use to sign in to your online account, and it’s what other users will see if you type in the chat window or if you win a game. Aliases are used to hide the identity of players for security reasons and, therefore, how you pick yours is possibly a lot more important than you might think…

You probably haven’t even given it a second thought, but did you know that it pays to be picky about what alias you choose? Not only are there security reasons, but there are other things to think about too before you pluck the first name that comes into the top of your head and end up committed to it for the rest of your time at your favourite bingo site.

Be practical

Pick something you can easily remember. If your preferred alias is already taken by another user (e.g., Joanna), don’t be tempted to add a load of numbers or symbols to the end of it just so you can still use it (e.g., Joanna%97$£50). The likelihood is that you’ll forget the jumble and won’t be able to log in without contacting customer service. However, if your heart’s set on using your favourite name, then you could try adding hyphens between each letter (e.g., J-O-A-N-N-A) or an easy number to remember at the end of the word (e.g., Joanna999). We’ll move onto talking more about using numbers in a minute.

Be polite

Your bingo player name is something that will remain with you for as long as you play at a particular site, and represents you to your fellow roomies. You might be the loveliest person in real life, but until people start chatting to you, they won’t know that, so it’s important to pick an alias that gives the same impression as you’d want to make in person. So, by all means, pick a name that’s witty or unique – that may well make players more likely to start a conversation with you. However, be careful that you don’t choose something offensive. Just like the perfect guest at a dinner party, steer clear of references to religion, sexual preference, race, skin colour, sexual innuendo, and anything overly-biased. Even if you’re just poking fun at yourself with your intended alias (e.g. FatGirlsRock), other players may take offence, which could result in you being reported and even banned from playing at the site.

Stay safe

Whilst the majority of online bingo lovers are playing for the same reasons as you, and are mostly a fun and friendly bunch, the internet comes with the downside of attracting some not-so-nice folk. Whether it’s trolls (people that deliberately say things to provoke a negative reaction from others), scammers (who want to befriend you because of a big win), hackers (who might guess your alias and password to gain access to your account,) or would-be stalkers, you don’t want to give too much away with your player alias in case you fall foul of one of these types of people. We hasten to add that it’s highly unlikely you will but as they say, it’s better to be safe than sorry.

In the same way as you’d pick a username for any internet chat-room, try to avoid using your date or year of birth, town or road name of where you live, or any other personal or significant information that you wouldn’t want to share with just anyone. The last thing you want if you win a juicy jackpot is a load of crazed bingo players turning up on your doorstep because you’ve used your real name and date of birth as your chat name!

Ready to play?

Now that you know what to do and what not to do when picking your online bingo alias, it’s time to get your thinking cap on. If you’re really stuck, you could always make a reference to a favourite hobby (e.g., DrummerGirl), rock band, a pet’s name, or type of animal or flower – the skies the limit! However, if you’re still struggling to come up with one, you could try Googling “bingo name generator,” where there are several websites which will help you come up with a random alias. Happy playing!