SHOWING HOW
IT'S DONE
As most operators struggle to make a success of the vertical, some bingo-centric
operators are growing in a competitive market Andy Roocroft finds out more
F
or many years online bingo was one of the
most pigeonholed verticals in the egaming
industry – a game dominated by a much
older, female audience – and often found
itself towards the bottom of an operator’s list
of priorities. But as bingo grew in popularity, so
did the competiton and multi-vertical operators
have found the going very tough recently.
With many operators seeing revenues from the
product decline over the past six months, talk of
whether the online bingo industry had peaked was
once again on the agenda. Some comparisons were
being drawn to poker which was once the darling
of the egaming industry but has since gone on to
experience a long-term slump.
Rank chairman and CEO Ian Burke claimed in
October there is no growth in the UK online bingo
market after the operator’s Mecca brand recorded
a poor Q3, which saw a 3% year-on year decline
in the vertical. Multi-vertical operators, some
of which are the most established names within
the egaming industry, were some of the biggest
sufferers in the quarter with UK operator William
Hill recording a 6% fall in bingo revenue and 888
posting a 21% fall.
However, some bingo operators such as
Tombola, Gamesys and Costa Bingo continue
to perform well in comparison to many of their
market competitors, showing that the vertical still
has the potential for growth if it’s done properly.
www.egrmagazine.com
Winning the war:
BingoGodz has spent big
on its ad campaign
So what can those operators with less than
inspiring results learn and what will it take to turn
it around?
Bucking the trend
Where bingo operators have an advantage over
their multi-vertical competitors is through a sole
bingo focus, brand and identity, which Alison
Digges, director at Gala Bingo, believes puts
companies such as hers in a strong position. “Bingo
operators are able to give 100% focus on the bingo
customer experience and are not having to fight
the same challenges for budget and resources that
multi-vertical operators often have,” she says.
Bingo operators are currently winning the war
through a stronger product portfolio. Tombola and
Jackpot Joy are two brands which have been able
to differentiate through innovation and are now
reaping the benefits. With little focus on product
differentiation from other operators, the likes of
Rank and Hills are having to pump more cash into
branding and promotions to stand out from the
crowd. Jason Williams, CEO of bingo.com, believes
that in a mature market product innovation is one
of the main strategies for success.
“I think in general the online bingo market,
particularly in the UK, has reached maturity in the
current cycle,” Williams says. “The groups that are
still recording strong revenue and customer growth
have distinct competitive advantages through
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