24 B 2 B Back office New licence
The Isle of Man Gov- ernment has intro- duced a Network Services Li- cence for
b2b e-Gaming operators which gives gaming operations in the jurisdiction the opportunity to make their platform available to business customers around the world.
B2B capability
Garth Kimber, head of e-Gaming Development at the Isle of Man Government, said: “The introduc- tion of this level of licence gives us the ability to satisfy every model of gaming business in the Isle of Man from those selling their platform ca- pabilities to other businesses to those with direct customers.”
Keeping ahead
Minister for economic develop- ment Allan Bell MHK, said: “The strengths of the Isle of Man as an e-gaming licensing jurisdiction continue to match the needs of some of the world’s leading gaming businesses but we cannot af- ford to rest on our lau- rels.”
MARKETING
The joy of text
rish bookmaker Paddy Power has revealed it has been reaping the benefits of an SMS marketing campaign both in its retail outlets and online. The company has been working with mobile specialist Oxygen8 Communica- tionsto deliver broadcast and interactive SMS campaigns that are improving customer engagement, facilitating cross selling and in- creasing revenue across every part of the business.
I
Paddy Power retail marketing manager Fiona O’Connor explained: “Retail betting is an incredibly mature and competitive market. It is therefore very important to continue to en- gage customers and ensure they are not lost to other channels or to another competitor. “Within retail, a large proportion of our business comes from either horse racing or greyhound racing. So there is a clear opportu- nity to cross-sell and encourage customers to place bets on other sports such as football or golf.” The retail customer base for Paddy Power
is predominantly male, and an older demo- graphic than the online customer and typical- ly less technically confident. They do, howev- er, use mobile phones, providing the company
Paddy Power has been benefiting from SMS campaigns masterminded by Oxygen8 Communications across all aspects of its business.
with a clear opportunity to improve customer engagement. O’Connor added: “SMS is a great way for Paddy Power Retail to touch base with individual customers to cross-sell and extend betting behaviour.” In 2008 the retail arm of the company start- ed to build up its database of customers’ mo- bile numbers, using opt-in promotions and campaigns. The initial focus was on delivering broadcast SMS campaigns to provide cus- tomers with information about forthcoming promotions or events, such as offers related to Cheltenham or the Irish National. Having successfully proved the value of the SMS model, in 2010, the decision was made to extend the model to create a more interactive engagement. Working with Oxy- gen8, Paddy Power embarked upon a series of interactive SMS campaigns based on the offer of a free bet.
Oxygen8 developed a solution that enables Paddy Power to both securely send out free bet offers via SMS and ensure secure, track-
able redemption. The Oxygen8 SMS solution enables Paddy Power to track the perform- ance of an SMS campaign in real-time; whilst in depth analysis has revealed which shops achieve the highest redemption levels. “The plan is to do a lot more SMS promo- tions in 2011,”,said O’Connor. “Redemption rates to date have been very positive and we have seen the cross-selling value of interac- tive SMS campaigns.”
Over the past 12 months, the telephone business has run a number of broadcast and interactive campaigns, ranging from free bets to customers who reactivate accounts, to in- teractive offers of cash cards - similar to an ewallet - that allow customers to make use of non retail accounts within the Paddy Power retail channel. The success of this campaign has encouraged Paddy Power Telephone Betting to expand its use of SMS campaigns. Commercial manager Brad Taylor comment- ed: “This promotion could not have been run any other way. And it was highly favourably re-
ceived, with redemption rates running at 23 per cent.”
The bookmaker has also been carrying out mobile betting campaigns, which focus on both customer acquisition and increasing revenue from existing customers, with offers of free bets to entice customers into new sports book market areas, including casino, poker and bingo. The results to date have been very positive, with some campaigns achieving response rates up to 15 per cent. The company also uses the SMS model to encourage customers towards higher mar- gin products such as multiples. Oxygen8’s campaign reporting also includes the num- ber of messages sent, cost per message and response via the number of hits to the mobile landing page. Mobile innovations in the pipeline include video, audio and geo- location services based on greater cus- tomer segmentation - such as the offer of a free bet as a customer arrives at a football match for example.
Working together
Alex Downie, the Depart- ment of Eco- nomic
Development member rep- resenting e-
Gaming, added: “The delivery of the Network Services Licence is a prime example of the collabo- rative approach that the Isle of Man adopts in developing the e- gaming sector.”
BettingBusinessInteractive • AUGUST 2011
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