90-Ball Bingo: Rules, Card Layout and How to Win

90-ball bingo, also called housie, is the most popular bingo variant in the UK.

It’s played on 3×9 tickets holding 15 numbers, and there are three ways to win: one line, two lines and a full house. All three prizes can be claimed in the same round.

90-Ball Bingo Card Layout

A 90-ball ticket is a 3×9 grid. Each row contains five printed numbers and four blank spaces, for a total of 15 numbers per ticket. A full card is a strip of six tickets, and the six tickets together contain all 90 numbers exactly once.

The numbers are arranged by column, and each column covers a fixed range:

• Column one: 1-10
• Column two: 11-20
• Column three: 21-30
• Column four: 31-40
• Column five: 41-50
• Column six: 51-60
• Column seven: 61-70
• Column eight: 71-80
• Column nine: 81-90

How to Play 90-Ball Bingo

If you are new to the game entirely, start with our guide to how to play bingo and come back for the 90-ball specifics.

Buy a ticket and join a room. Online rounds start every few minutes, so the wait is short. Before you buy, the info bar shows the ticket price, the number of players in the room and the prizes on offer for that round.

You can hold more than one ticket in a single game. Auto-daub covers every ticket you own, so the software marks them all without you having to touch the screen. Daubing is automatic by default, and you can switch to manual if you would rather mark your own numbers.

Numbers are then called one at a time and displayed at the top of the screen. A winning ticket is paid automatically. Missing a daub, marking the wrong number or losing your connection does not remove a prize you have already earned. The round continues until every prize has been claimed.

Callers traditionally give numbers their own nicknames, from “legs eleven” to “two little ducks” for 22. Online games display every number as it is drawn, so the bingo calls are atmosphere, not something to memorise.

Ways to Win in 90-Ball Bingo

There are three ways to win, and all three can be won in the same game:

• One line: complete five numbers across a single row.
• Two lines: complete two rows on the same ticket.
• Full house: complete all 15 numbers on a ticket.

The full house takes the largest share of the prize pool. A player who completes a line early is still in the running for the two-line and full-house prizes.

How 90-Ball Bingo Prizes Work

Prize values are not fixed across rooms. In most online games, the prize pool is funded by ticket sales for that round, so a busier room with a larger pool pays more than a quiet one. The pool is then divided between the three prizes, with the full house taking the biggest portion and the single line the smallest.

Some rooms run fixed prizes instead, set in advance whatever the turnout. Either way, the values appear in the info bar before you buy.

90-Ball vs 75-Ball and 80-Ball Bingo

The variants differ in ticket shape and in what counts as a win. 90-ball uses a 3×9 ticket and pays for one line, two lines and a full house. 75-ball uses a 5×5 grid of 24 numbers with a free centre square, and prizes go to players who complete a set pattern rather than a row. 80-ball sits between them on a 4×4 grid of 16 numbers, again with pattern-based wins, and rounds move faster as a result.

90-ball is the standard format in the UK. If you want to compare the rest, our guides to 75-ball bingo and 80-ball bingo cover both in full, and the types of bingo hub sets out every version you will find online.

Key Takeaways

• 90-ball bingo, also known as housie, is the most popular variant in the UK.
• Each ticket is a 3×9 grid holding 15 numbers, with four blank spaces per row.
• A full card consists of six tickets and covers all 90 numbers.
• The nine columns run in fixed ranges from 1-10 through to 81-90.
• The three win types are one line, two lines and a full house.
• The full house pays the largest share, and all three prizes can be won in one round.
• Prize values are shown in the info bar before you buy a ticket.

Play 90-Ball Bingo Online

You can play 90-ball bingo online at William Hill Vegas alongside a full range of other bingo rooms. Sign up, choose your room, pick your tickets and join the next round.

Safer gambling matters. Play only if you are 18+, and visit begambleaware.org for support and advice.