POWER 50 AFFILIATES FEATURE
BALLS UP BINGO
Founder/Principal: Chris Brown, Take That Ltd Domains: ballsupbingo.co.uk
Acquired by Take That Ltd from founder Nickie Shute; parent company also runs Lottery.co.uk and Gamble. co.uk sites. Reviews Facebook bingo apps as well as real-money sites.
Phil Goulding Domains: madaboutbingo. com; madaboutcasinos.com; madaboutslots.co.uk
Parent company Mad About Media diversi?ed into casino not that long ago, and has ventured into mobile with the Mad About Slots casino.
P OKER
TIM HEATH
CEO | MUCHOS POKER
eGaming Review (eGR): With online poker moving away from the rakeback model, how have you had to adjust? Tim Heath (TH): We had a very big existing business in the rakeback world (RakebackEngine) and found that there had been changes in the industry which meant that rakeback was not as well received any more by the operators and to a certain degree by the players as well. That forced us to look at our business and look at what the players wanted rather than what everyone else was doing. We needed to look inwardly and realise this isn’t growing as it used to, so what do we need to do to improve our business model and move forward as the times change. It’s no longer about saying ‘here’s your $2,000 bonus, come back and we’ll talk to you in a month’ – it’s ‘here’s your smaller bonus which is released regularly’, to increase customer engagement and satisfaction levels. We’re doing that not just on a vertical level of playing on one network, but also a horizontal level where they can get merchandise, hoodies or free spins at casino if you clear the ?rst-level bonus across every network. It’s very much achievement focused. eGR: How does the model of a single account and single cashier across several networks work? TH: We ideally want people using our application as their home of poker, so anything poker related, that’s where you go, and we’re also in the process of integrating live poker TV shows, casino, live casino and soon sportsbook offers, so when you want to play poker you have this one app whether it’s on the desktop, iPhone or iPad, where you can play on all the relevant networks. Underlying all this is the ability to move the money around and play on any network, but we don’t want to just have a professional on one network riding it out – we want to push them around everywhere and get them back enjoying their poker again. That’s why, even though we don’t work closely with PokerStars or PartyPoker for instance, in our application we still offer those
BINGO
BINGO HIDEOUT
Founder/Principal: Ben Thorns; Tom Thorns Domains: BingoHideout.co.uk; NoBullBingo.co.uk
Run by the Thorns brothers’ Solid Digital Marketing business, main site allows players to compare bingo offers from various sites via Bingo Odds Booster feature. Also has ‘hideout’ – branded sites for other verticals.
OHMYBINGO
Founder/Principal: Ben Starr, 15 Marketing Domains: OhMyBingo.com
Founder Starr launched the 15 Network in February 2012, incorporating a number of UK-facing bingo brands including Starr’s own Lights Camera Bingo and Show Reel Bingo brands.
PLAYINGBINGO.CO.UK
Founder/Principal: David Lloyd Domains: PlayingBingo.co.uk
UK-focused site launched by former bingo caller Lloyd, which also receives contributions from Balls Up Bingo founder Nickie Shute, among others. Offers listings for land-based and online 90-ball bingo.
NEW
BINGOBASE
Founder/Principal: Raj Ramanandi Domains: bingobase.com; bingobase. es; bingobase.it; freebingo.net; casinobase.co.uk; pricelessbingo. com; champagnebingo.com; superfreeslots.com; teaandbingo.com
Veteran bingo affiliate Ramanandi was among the ?rst to move into the operator space through sites such as Tea and Bingo. Hosts localised sites for a number of European markets.
SUNLIGHT BINGO
Founder/Principal: Trevor Edwards Domains: SunlightBingo.co.uk
Launched by Trevor Edwards, brother of Mad About Bingo’s Andrew. Works a lot with UK operators such as bgo, and has a four-?gure Twitter following.
BINGOPORT
Founder/Principal: Scott Logan Domains: Bingoport.co.uk; Dingobingo.com; Bingopals.com
Largely UK-focused affiliate with more than 200,000 unique visitors per month across its network. Primary focus remains with bingo, but Logan is exploring opportunities outside the vertical.
SUPERFREEBINGO
Founder/Principal: Chris Wesson, Little S ??5????????????????????????????????????????????????)??????????????????????????????U,???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????U,????()I? %9