Can Relaunching Bingo Brands Help Online Bingo?
Published On 5th September 2024
Over the years it's not been unusual for a bingo brand to switch from one platform to another. Sun Bingo for example started life as an independent then moved to Gamesys before finding it's current home with Virtue Fusion. Similarly Foxy Bingo used to be one of the biggest brands operating on Dragonfish's platform but now resides, alongside Gala and others, on the regenerated Cozy Games set-up which we now know as Entain. Other movers include Heart Bingo (Gamesys to Pragmatic Play), Bet365 Bingo (Virtue Fusion to Pragmatic Play) and Kitty Bingo (Independent to Virtue Fusion). For bigger brands this merry-go-round often doesn't make that much difference. The moves are usually well executed and players, perhaps after initial unfamiliarity, quickly settle back down into their new environments. For smaller brands though moving home can prove a much tougher nut to crack.
Dream Bingo Relaunch On Jumpman
Dream Bingo has been operational for many years now and upto 2020 offered players bingo games thanks to Microgaming. However Microgaming decided to mothball their platform leaving a few sites in search of pastures new. Butlers Bingo and it's sister sites opted to move to Pragmatic Play but Dream Bingo adopted an intriguing and bold strategy by not offering bingo at all. We're not sure it paid off for them because four years later the brand has relaunched on Jumpman Gaming. It now has bingo, thanks to Pragmatic Play, as well as slots and casino games that are found across 150+ similar sites on the same platform. Dream is a new kid on the block again and perhaps doesn't have the marketing budget that it once did. Will this relaunch workout for Dream? Only time will tell but other brands such as Mirror Bingo, Star Wins and Carlton Bingo have all migrated to Jumpman from other platforms and are still active which Dream can take as a positive.
Chit Chat Bingo Relaunch On Grace Media
When we learnt Chit Chat Bingo were on the move (again) from their Dragonfish/Broadway Gaming home we predicted that, like Dream Bingo, they'd opt for Jumpman Gaming as their new home. However we got that wrong because they decided to surprise everyone and join BOGOF Bingo on the former Nektan platform now known as Grace Media. Like Jumpman Gaming it's bingo rooms are powered by Pragmatic Play but the network consists of a handful of sites rather than 100s. It's probably safe to say that with Grace Media Chit Chat is the big fish albeit in a very tiny pond. Our view of Chit Chat Bingo is that it should be a better bingo brand that it actually is. It started life in a similar fashion to Tombola. Gala Bingo moved house and Chit Chat Bingo became the name of the brand left behind. However networks and poor platform changes have diminished it's history and it's never really become established amongst the big boys. Like Dream, it's latest move is basically a start all over again one.
Relaunch - Same Network
A relaunch of course isn't confined to a bingo brand moving from one platform to another. Sometimes a brand is sold on and the new owners decide to keep it on the same platform but hope a swift makeover will offer a new lease of life. Bingo Loft for example was going absolutely nowhere fast as part of the 888 Group/Broadway Gaming Group that consisted of Wink, 888 Ladies and others. In it's previous life it had been Big Brother Bingo although the name change didn't stop it's downward trajectory. It's recently been given a new lease of life alongside Chit Chat Bingo's former sister brands such as Pink Ribbon Bingo, Bingo Ireland and Bid Bingo. Interestingly brands that have all been shunted around in previous times. All are currently still active with Broadway Gaming although none of them are doing anything noteworthy with respect to player offers and promotions.
Can Relaunched Sites Succeed?
Big brands, as we have seen, can easily switch players from one platform to another and more often than not - eventually - carry on regardless. Gala and Foxy are great examples of that! Less well known brands however have an uphill battle as often they relaunch after a period of decline on their old set-up or ownership. Dream Bingo discarded bingo altogether, Chit Chat was stuck on Broadway Gaming which as a platform hasn't done much positive since it's Dragonfish days (when it wasn't that great either), and ditto for Bingo Loft. Financial limitations also mean there's little room for manouvere when it comes to marketing. Gone are the days when a brand such as Dream Bingo would offer a new car as a way to incentivise new players. Many relaunches are therefore acting like brand new sites but sadly following the same approach to why they ended up relaunching in the first place. They're not standing out from the crowd and they're hoping the Wayne's World approach of "build it and they will come" will work. It is good that there's still life in these old names but old names alone aren't going to get bingo out of the rut it's currently stuck in.
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