Playsafe sells operating division
Playsafe Holding CEO Atle Johansen has said the sale of the majority of its operating division will allow the company to concentrate on its core strengths of developing the products for the B2B busi- ness sector based on its proprietary software. The deal sees Julian International Holdings Ltd, a Sey- chelles corporation representing professional gaming investors, take-over Playsafe’s top tier poker
brands like TigerGaming, PokerinCanada and PayNoRake. The new network is named the Chico Poker Network. Customers from the
ActionPoker.com brand will be transferred, but the domains
ActionPoker.com and
ActionPokerNetwork.com remain with Playsafe. Johansen added: “The sale allows the company to focus on developing the Action Poker brands for new markets.”
Opportunities limited in online bingo
Utilising probably the best bingo URL in the world has become the main aim of
Bingo.com CEO Jason Williams.
BINGO J
ason Williams, CEO of online bingo operation
Bingo.com, believes that the
sector has reached the point where any firms looking to enter the market will do well to find a niche.
Speaking to Betting Busi- ness interactive, Williams commented: “I believe that the online bingo market has reached a point of maturity and that opportunities for new entrants are limited. While
Bingo.com has found success employing a strat- egy of focus, we’ve encoun- tered challenges sourcing campaigns that generate player values higher than the player acquisition costs. Unless there are develop- ments with the opening of any North American
markets, I anticipate low growth in the online bingo sector. Firms will be looking to take players away from each other rather than bring- ing new players online.” Despite being born in the dot-com boom of the late 90s (when it listed on the NASDAQ:BB exchange), the firm didn’t start offering cash bingo until 2005. However, the strength of the company’s web address meant that such a develop- ment was inevitable. “The
Bingo.com URL has tremen- dous value and is our great- est asset,” Williams commented. “Tens of thou- sands of natural clicks per month are generated by the
Bingo.com domain.” Williams said that
Bingo.com will continue to invest in targeted marketing
efforts to attract new players and build the brand. “We also have some devel- opment releases planned including a new website which we hope will improve the player experience and increase performance.
Bingo.com’s restructuring programme was completed in 2011 and we hope to con- tinue to build upon the success of our new strategy in 2012.”
Part of
Bingo.com’s recent renaissance has been attributed to the firm’s involvement with Unibet which has made it possible for the operator to offer a multi-language and multi- currency product. Williams explained: “While we still target the expansive UK market, we have also chosen to focus on Sweden as the
Unibet platform enables us to capably service that bingo market.
“The Unibet Partner Program has been a tremen- dous source of advantage for
Bingo.com. First, the Partner Program supports
Bingo.com’s website, pro- motions, and customer service in more than 10 lan- guages and a multitude of currencies. This enables us to build a much wider and global customer base than would be otherwise possi- ble. In addition, the Partner Program provides, config- ures and supports all of the bingo, casino, and slots games available on
Bingo.com. While
Bingo.com has sourced games successfully in the past, having access to the premium catalogue of
JASON WILLIAMS: ‘TENS OF THOUSANDS OF NATURAL CLICKS PER MONTH ARE GENERATED BY THE
BINGO.COM DOMAIN’
games offered by the Unibet system has enhanced our player values and player retention capacity.”
It seems that
Bingo.com’s decision to partner with Unibet was a wise one. Com- menting on the state of the market in 2010 when the firm began its collaboration with Unibet, Williams said: “With the high number of new entrants providing essentially homogenous bingo products, we wel- comed the opportunity to be a part of a platform that has a differentiated product. In a market where competi-
tion is intense and the switching costs for cus- tomers low, it’s critical to have something unique to provide. When it comes to competition, one of my favourite quotes from busi- ness guru Michael Porter is “business strategy isn’t about being better, it’s about being different.”
Bingo.com appears to have found a strategy that works and can monetise its valuable URL. However, given the state of the online bingo market, will every operator be capable of finding a profitable niche?
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