Bingo Entertainment Tries Its Hand at Sub-Licensing Scheme

Bingo Entertainment, a marketing and management company for online bingo Web sites, made a splash at the International Casino Exhibition in January.

The company, which is based in Cyprus, used the occasion to launch a new service: bingo software sub-licensing.

Bingo Entertainment employs an international staff of more than 60 people and has been in the industry since 1999. It specializes in coming up with unique promotional and marketing opportunities, including e-mail campaigns, bulk e-mail, banner purchasing, per-click programs and traditional media purchasing programs, to bingo Web sites.

Clients interested in bingo site marketing can take advantage of the company's extensive list of news, portal and promotional sites including bingoseek.com, bingofinder.com, bingosearch.com, bingolinks.com, bingowire.com, whatbingo.com, bingoratings.com and bingoplex.com.

Richard Chambers, president and CEO of the company, said the business has been successful because the company carefully aims each of its bingo products to a specific segment of the online bingo population. In addition to maintaining the marketing Web sites, Bingo Entertainment operates six gaming Web sites: bingogala.com, glamourbingo.com, bingomega.com, mainstreetbingo.com, bingosplash.com and bingoblowout.com.

Chambers said ICE would mark the official kickoff of the group's sub-licensing program and that several potential clients were already interested in the product. He said his company has a competitive edge over other I-gaming software companies that offer not only bingo software, but also casino and sports betting games.

"They're new in the business," Chambers said. "They don't have the experience we have. And also their games are not up to the standards of our games."

Sarah Fenwick, Bingo Entertainment's business development manager, said success in the bingo sector is also a matter of knowing what the players want. Bingo Entertainment states that about 85 percent of bingo players are women, and two-thirds of them are between the ages of 35 and 54. Additionally, most of them live in North America.

"It's a question of understanding the mentality and community of bingo players," she said. "It takes a long time to understand that, and that's why it's very key that we have very strong marketing support."

Fenwick continued, saying that one of the most important parts of a bingo site is the graphics.

"What is attractive? It's about color and the depth and appearance of the game. There are all these things that women love to see. It takes experience and a feeling for it--it's not easily quantifiable," she said.

The company is most interested in attracting other experienced companies as licensees, Chambers said.

"Because we consider our software quite exceptional, we won't be selling just for the sake of selling," he said. "We will be selecting our licensees with great care."

The software available for sub-licensing features 75-ball bingo with progressive jackpots, both rotating and fixed patterns, customizable features, auto play, slot games available on the same screen as bingo cards and 24/7 chat hosting.

On Nov. 13, 2002, Boss Media announced an agreement with Bingo Entertainment for a turnkey online casino. At the time, Peter Bertilsson, the CEO of Boss Media, praised Bingo Entertainment and hinted that Boss could learn from the Cypriot company's bingo experience.

"Bingo Entertainment is yet another established operator that has chosen us as its supplier," Bertilsson said. "Moreover, the company has considerable knowledge within the area of bingo, which is of great interest to us."