INSIGHT
AFFILIATE PROFILE:
WHICHBINGO
Since launching in 2000 to support Owner Phil Fraser’s (failed) pitch to launch the UK’s first pay-toplay site, WhichBingo has successfully ridden online bingo’s stellar trajectory from insignificant, grey
market niche to huge, licensed, international business sector. We caught up with Phil and Commercial
Director Simon Jones to discuss how their business has adapted and evolved during this time,
including a high-profile move into the awards space.
How did you come to enter the
online bingo space and set up
WhichBingo?
Phil Fraser (PF): I was the person
responsible for launching William Hill’s
first ever online casino, on Cryptologic
software, back in 2000. Whilst at William
Hill we came across online bingo as
a market. At the time there were only
around a dozen online bingo sites, all in
the grey US market, and unsurprisingly
William Hill didn’t fancy it, but I did.
I left Hills with the intention of launching
the UK’s first pay-to-play online bingo
site. Unfortunately I couldn’t raise the
finance for the project but did launch
a bingo comparison site in order to
pull together research to support the
(failed) business pitch. This site was
WhichBingo.com and after a while bingo
sites started approaching me to advertise
and almost by accident it became a
business. We ran the .com site successfully
for five years until UIGEA hit, by which
time we had the UK site (www.whichbingo.
co.uk) ready and waiting for the UK market
to take off. Fortunately we were in the right
place at the right time to take advantage of
the boom in UK online bingo.
Can you tell us a little about
how the WhichBingo business is
structured?
Simon Jones (SJ): Around threes year ago,
Phil took a step back from the day-to-day
running of the business and I joined the
company as Commercial Director. I’m
responsible for staff, sales and strategy and
Phil trusts me enough to leave me alone
to run things. I’m the person you’ll see
at LAC, AAC and BAC etc. Our office
is situated in a pleasant suburb of Leeds
(in Roundhay) and we currently have a
team of 14. The team is made up of four
48
iGB Affiliate Issue 52 AUG/SEP 2015
“We came across online bingo as a market at
William Hill in 2000. There were only around
a dozen sites, all in the grey US market.
Unsurprisingly William Hill didn’t fancy it, but I did.”
Phil Fraser
web developers and three on the social/
SEO team alongside content, marketing,
management, advertising and admin staff.
We’re always on the lookout for energetic
and enthusiastic new team members and
have recently, for the first time, taken on
an apprentice who will be working in our
social team.
What do you see as the most
significant changes in the online
bingo space since you started
WhichBingo, and how have these
affected how you operate and
do business?
PF: I’ve been in the bingo sector since
2000, so have seen it grow from an
offshore, grey, insignificant online gaming
niche to a huge, licensed, international
major business sector. As a business we’ve
moved from being one of the only affiliates
in the market to one of many. Affiliates
have grown from part-time individuals (and
in my situation part-time husband and wife
team) to ‘grown up’ limited companies
and now even PLCs. Clients have also
changed hugely, from owner-operators to
multinational PLCs, with all the culture
changes that entails. I remember attending
an ICE at Earls Court in 2002 or 2003 when
the ‘online gaming’ section was about half a
dozen tables hidden away upstairs. Imagine
that now when you go to ICE or LAC next
time! The two biggest legal effects on us
over the years have been UIGEA and the
UK Gambling Act in 2005, which together
really set the ball rolling in making the UK
the market it is today.
Much has been written about the
bingo market being saturated and
competitive, not leaving much
headroom for growth. What is
your view on this, and is this
reflected in your KPIs?
SJ: I’ve been in this sector for just under
three years, and during that time have
constantly been told about the market being
saturated. To be honest, we don’t see it at all.
There are always new sites launching and
all of the existing sites have to continually
compete, via advertising and competitive
promotions. Yes it’s ultra-competitive,
but that’s driving the market, both on the
operator side and also on the affiliate side,
constantly improving quality everywhere.
Our KPIs remain the same, irrelevant of the
market. We believe we’re number one in the
market, that’s our KPI, and that what drives
us forwards all the time.
Phil, we spoke to you late last
year ahead of the introduction
of the PoCT in the UK. Have its
actual effects tallied with your
expectations, and how has the
regime impacted your margins
and bottom line?
PF: The fallout has been pretty much as
expected. Many of the PLCs that have