Bingo lingo
The abbreviations that fly past in a bingo chat, what each one means, and the two things the room will not let you say
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Chat shorthand
Bingo chat moves fast because the gaps between calls are short, and the shorthand exists to fit a sentence into four characters. These are the ones you will meet in the first ten minutes.
| Short | Means | Used when |
|---|---|---|
| GL / GLA | Good luck / good luck all | At the start of a game |
| WD / WTG | Well done / way to go | To whoever just won |
| TY / TYVM | Thank you | After a GL or a WD |
| 1TG, 2TG, 3TG | One, two or three numbers to go | Announced by the software near the end of a game |
| BRB / AFK | Be right back / away from keyboard | Leaving the chat, not the game — auto-daub plays on |
| CH / CM | Chat host / chat moderator | The member of staff running the room |
| Roomie | A regular in that room | What the regulars call each other |
| SIS | Sorry I’m slow | After missing a chat game answer |
| HB | Hurry back | To someone saying BRB |
Room and ticket words
Daub — to mark a number on a ticket. Online it is automatic, and the word survives from the ink dauber used in halls. Auto-daub is the setting that does it for you, on by default everywhere.
Strip — six 90-ball tickets that between them contain all ninety numbers once. Pre-buy — buying into games before they start. Coverall or blackout — a 75-ball game needing every number on the card. Shutter — a full column in 80-ball. Full house — every number on a 90-ball ticket, the biggest prize in the game. Best ticket — the one the software highlights as closest to winning.
Funded room — a room where the operator pays the prize and tickets are free. Guaranteed — a room with a promised minimum prize. Newbie room — restricted to recently registered accounts. Prebuy cap — the limit on how many future games you can buy into at once.
Offer words
BOGOF — buy one get one free, on tickets. Wagering or playthrough — how many times a bonus must be staked before anything can be withdrawn; capped at ten times on a British licence since January 2026. Conversion cap — the maximum a bonus can ever become in cash. Max win — a ceiling on what a particular offer can pay. Game weighting — how much a given game counts towards playthrough, and the reason a bingo bonus is often a slots bonus. Our page on bonus terms covers all of them properly.
What not to type
Two things get a message removed on every licensed site. The first is your balance — how much you have won or lost. Chat rules prohibit it, and the reason is a licence condition about protecting vulnerable players: a room where balances are posted becomes a room where losses are visible and comparison is constant.
The second is the name of another operator. Sites do not permit competitors in the chat, and hosts remove it quickly. Beyond that the rules are what you would expect — no abuse, no begging, no block capitals, nothing unsuitable for a room with a wide age range in it — and the full list is linked from the chat window on every site.
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Questions readers ask
What does 1TG mean in bingo?
One to go: a ticket needing a single number to win. Modern software announces it automatically, and many rooms pay a small prize to players on 1TG when someone else takes the full house.
What is a roomie?
A regular in a particular bingo room. It is what the regulars call each other, and in a busy room it is a real social group.
Why was my chat message deleted?
Most often because it mentioned how much you had won or lost, or named another gambling site. Both are against the chat rules on every licensed site, and hosts remove them quickly.
What does BOGOF mean on a bingo site?
Buy one get one free, applied to tickets: buy a set and receive the same number again for nothing. It is a room promotion rather than a bonus, so it usually carries no playthrough.
