First gaming ad for Betfred iGaming
Operating one of the UK’s largest bingo estates is helping Rank Interactive’s progress for online bingo, despite the diverse demographics.
BINGO T
he relationship between Mecca’s online and offline bingo operations is
becoming ever closer according to Rank Interac- tive’s head of Bingo and Games Claire Osborne. Cur- rently, the demographic of the retail bingo player and the online bingo player are only five years apart, but developments in Rank’s bricks and mortar bingo estate is reducing the average age of visitors every year and bringing it closer the typical age of the online player.
Osborne explained that
Mecca’s ‘Full House’ initia- tive, which has been rolled out at six Mecca bingo clubs so far, broadens the appeal of its club to a wider audi- ence offering female-
friendly social gaming in a relaxed and safe environ- ment. Customers can choose to play in the tradi- tional ‘quiet’ area or in a relaxed ‘hush-free’ lounge either using traditional paper books or using the company’s electronic hand- free terminal, Mecca Max. Osborne commented: “It has had a significant effect on our bingo demographic - as it has widened the appeal to a younger audience, par- ticularly in the evening when customers can enjoy After Dark Binglo, Rock and Roll bingo and live enter- tainment after the normal bingo session has finished. This has made it a lot easier for us to cross sell and tie in the online bingo with the clubs.”
Being able to recruit cus- tomers from its own busi-
Probability has TV advertising ‘breakthrough’
MOBILE M
obile gaming opera- tor Probability has described its Lady-
Luck brand’s trial TV adver- tising campaigns as a ‘real breakthrough in our mar- keting to new consumers, offering an attractive and scalable returns on invest- ment’.
CEO Charles Cohen explained: “Importantly, our customer research has found that the majority of the players who are attracted to our low-stakes, direct-to-mobile offering are not existing users of PC based on-line gambling and betting services. They are looking for new types of entertainment through smartphones, which for many people is now their primary means of access- ing the internet. With smartphone adoption con- tinuing apace, this makes
the opportunity very excit- ing indeed if we can reach it through TV.”
Cohen said that the company will continue its TV advertising, but warned that it will hit financial results at the listed company in the short term. He said: “Television airtime tends to be paid for as it is used and we now know that it takes around five to six months to recoup that initial investment. This will inevitably impact prof- itability in the short term whilst that initial outlay is recovered. Indeed, this is exactly what happened in the first half, as we aired (and paid for) some test campaigns quite late in the period, turning what would have been a profit for the half year into the small loss reported. However, we time these campaigns for
8 BettingBusinessInteractive • JANUARY 2012
when the marketing will have the best effect.” The loss Cohen was talking about was £65,000 for the six months ended 30 September 2011, pre- tax, although this in itself was a vast improvement on the £745,000 loss over the same period in 2010. Net gaming revenues were up 41 per cent and in line with expectations to £3.3m and the cash deposits made by cus- tomers up 74 per cent com- pared with the corresponding period. Cohen described it as an ‘excellent’ first half for Probability with ‘strong momentum that has con- tinued into the second half with record player deposits in October’. “Our direct to consumer business has developed thanks to increased player recruit-
PROBABILITY’S LADYLUCK TV AD WENT DOWN WELL
ment and improved yields. In particular, we have deployed our mobile CRM systems to great effect this year, increasing per-player deposits by 65 per cent in this six month period com- pared to the same period in the last financial year.” Chairman Graham Parr added: “The unsolicited takeover approach which we received from William Hill plc recently was, we feel, a validation of our leading position as a mobile developer and operator. It also demonstrates the importance attached to mobile by those in the gam- bling industry who have their eye on the future and are smart enough to see where the technology is heading.”
Bookmakers Betfred has launched its first TV campaign for casino and games products on Sky TV. Rakesh Chablani, commercial director of
Betfred.com, said: “We wanted to make punters aware that we have a far bigger offering than just sports betting and we have some of the best and instantly recognisable branded games and slots such as Monopoly, Deal or No Deal and Gladiator, as well as offline favourites like Rainbow Riches and Cleopatra.”
Bringing bingo’s club players online
RANK IS LOOKING TO CLOSE THE GAP BETWEEN ONLINE AND LAND-BASED BINGO
ANALYSIS
Rank Interactive is another gambling operator seeing incredible growth on mobile. One year on from launching its Mecca Bingo iPhone app which is fully integrated with its online bingo games, the firm is now
ness is no doubt a great boon in a competitive mar- ketplace. While Osborne said that a large jackpot was a good method for attract- ing headlines, recruitment- wise it is not as effective as it might seem as many cus- tomers just don’t believe they will drop a big money prize. It is for this reason that
Meccabingo.com offers a lot of guaranteed smaller pots to give all players a fair chance of picking up money.
According to Osborne, one of the more effective recruitment methods has been to provide new cus- tomers with a dedicated channel to try things out. In their first week, new players are offered free bingo for a couple of hours a day with dedicated chatroom staff in order for them to get to know their surroundings. It is an approach that has been so successful that the company is even consider- ing transferring the concept
of free bingo for beginners to the land-based operation. Osborne said that chat- room moderators are quite an overhead; the firm takes a 24/7 approach to modera- tion and has over 60 person- nel, supplied via Virtue Fusion. However,she said that they are worth the cost as they can help teach people how to play, provide early dispute resolution and, perhaps more impor- tantly, provide entertain- ment to customers.
seeing 20 per cent of its revenue from the mobile channel. It appears that a lot of the mobile play is actually coming from tablet computers too, providing Mecca with the confidence to develop an application fully optimised for the iPad early this year. Claire Osborne commented: “Given that the number of tablets being shipped out are starting to
outnumber PCs, it is important for us to be seen to lead the way in mobile bingo.”
Boylesports launches casino site
CASINO B
oylesports, Ireland’s largest independent bookmaker, has
launched its new online casino
Boylecasino.com. Powered by software provider Playtech, the firm is extending its relationship with Playtech which already includes poker and bingo. The Boylesports Casino, which will include a
flash/web-based and down- load casino, launched with the full range of branded, progressive and classic slots along with table and card games. Furthermore,
Boylecasino.com will utilise advanced player manage- ment, bonusing and loyalty tools.
John Boyle, CEO at Boyle- sports, said: “I am delighted to have launched Boyle-
casino.com with Playtech’s cutting-edge technology. We’re in a strong growth phase at Boylesports and the launch of our new casino is testament to our constant innovation and develop- ment.”
Ruairi Boyle, head of
RUAIRI BOYLE: ‘CONSTANTLY REVIEWING OUR OFFERING
gaming at Boylesports, added: “We’re constantly reviewing our offering as it’s paramount we have best-in- class product offering across all the verticals; and with our new casino and website we can confidently state we have a truly fantas- tic product range, user experience and interface which will help us to keep growing and moving forward. I’m looking forward to presenting our players with some the best games in the market and developing our promotional and market- ing strategies that will reward and engage both old and new players at Boyle-
casino.com.”
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76