FEATURE
So what is it really like owning a
bingo skin?
Until you have actually got to the point
of launching and running a skin it is very
difficult to decide whether it will be right
for you. To get the ‘warts and all’ view of
white label ownership we asked the owners
of two best-of-breed Jumpman Gaming
and Cozy Games skins for their insights.
Mummies Bingo, owned by Andy Edwards,
won the ‘Cozy Site of the Year’ at the 2016
WhichBingo awards, while Tom Waites’
Rocket Bingo won the ‘Jumpman Site of the
Year’ at the 2016 awards.
Q&A: Andy
Edwards Mummies Bingo
What was your
background prior to Mummies Bingo?
AE: I started as a part-time bedroom
affiliate way back in January 2006, when
I launched Madaboutbingo. I ran this
part-time alongside a full-time job until
January 2011, and I have been a full-time
affiliate every since.
Why did you launch a bingo skin?
AE: I realised that I could make money
having my own skin and retain a higher
rev share commission than advertising
for other bingo sites. It made sense to
launch our own bingo site as we could
market the site on our own affiliate sites
and make more money. As an affiliate,
I was in a unique position of knowing
what works for bingo players as it’s our
business to market online bingo products
to attract players to hundreds of sites on
a monthly basis.
Why did you go with your particular
skin supplier?
AE: When we decided to launch our own
bingo site, we did shop around and we were
approached by a lot of different software
providers. However I liked the look of the
Cozy Games platform, had dealt with them
for many years as an affiliate and knew
that their sites convert well for players. We
worked with them on building the website,
CRM and SEO in order to get the most out
of the site along with their network.
What are the main pros and cons of
owning a skin?
AE: The pros are that you get to earn
anything from 50% up to 70% of the
NGR revenue. When you compare this
to a standard affiliate deal or even a flat,
top-end rev share deal of 40%-45% you
see a greater ROI. You have a lot more say
on how to market to the players and what
welcome offers you can use. If done right
you have the chance to compete against
multi-million-pound companies with your
own bingo site and own marketing budget.
The cons are that you are limited in
what you can and can’t go into beyond the
standard CRM marketing, and have very
little say as to what games will be added or
taken away. If you need the site amending
or anything technical changing, this can
take many weeks as you are reliant on the
software provider’s tech team to make the
changes you need.
You also need a strong marketing budget
to begin with, otherwise you will struggle
to stand out from the crowd.
How have you marketed your skin?
AE: We initially soft launched the site and
marketed it on our own affiliate sites. We
then gave the site a push with the affiliate
“You get to earn anything from 50% up to 70% of the NGR
revenue. When you compare this to a standard affiliate
deal or even a flat, top-end rev share deal of 40-45% you
see a greater ROI”
Andy Edwards, Mummies Bingo
30
iGB Affiliate Issue 59 OCT/NOV 2016
programme and got a lot of top affiliates
onboard really quickly. From here, our next
task was SEO which, with my expertise,
has helped get the site to the high ranking it
now has two years later.
What tips would you give someone
planning to launch a skin?
AE: Shop around and approach different
software providers as you can negotiate
deals based on what other providers are
offering in terms of set-up fees, management
fees, min rev share amounts etc. Also use
your own marketing expertise. As affiliates,
it’s our job to market sites in such a way in
order to drive traffic to the operators for us
to earn our commission. Treat your own site
the same - this is your biggest earner and
you can market this site better then most
operators, so use this to your advantage.
Also contact your fellow affiliates and ask
them to promote the brand for you or agree
to push their brand in return.
Finally, slow and steady wins the race,
I know you will all want to make as much
as you can, as quickly as you can but if
you come speeding out of the starting
blocks you are likely to make mistakes,
and if you go too aggressive on your SEO
without first building the brand then you
stand to get penalised by Google, which
will undo all your hard work.
Q&A: Tom Waites Rocket Bingo
Tell us a bit about your background
TW: Growing up in Ripon, North
Yorkshire, my first memory of bingo
is courtesy of Whitby’s amusements!
Flashing lights, excited callers and big
prizes - it looked like fun and this 10-yearold wanted in! However, my first taste
of marketing bingo came years later
whilst studying business at university in
Newcastle, where one afternoon, in the
Toon, my first portal was born! Looking