Gaming Realms slashes marketing spend as losses narrow
AIM-listed gaming group to launch RMG Slingo product as losses fall from £4.3m to £2.3m as marketing revenues dominate
Gaming Realms posted a loss of £2.3m in the second half of 2014, down from a loss of £4.3m in H1 after scaling back marketing spend by a third prior to its relaunch on a new technology platform, the company announced this morning.
Revenues were up 29% sequentially to £4.6m for the six months ended 30 September driven by a 65% rise in marketing revenues, which rose to £3.3m in the period, on the back of the acquisition of Bingoport owner Blueberra Holdings.
Real-money gaming revenue from its brands including mobile casino Pocket Fruity and Spin Genie was up 45% sequentially to £960,000 with the firm noting a move of Pocket Fruity to its proprietary platform in the New Year would help boost growth in 2015.
Marketing spend was slashed from £5.1m to £3.6m, a move the firm said was designed to free-up cash to ramp up the development of its new gaming platform.
Daily active players increased 14% to 5,205 during the six-month period, up from 4,576 in H1, which the firm said was due to a renewed focus on retention and acquisition in different verticals.
Gaming Realms also this morning announced a deal with social gaming firm RealNetworks to launch a UK-licensed Slingo product on its real-money gambling platform.
The news follows the launch of its new online casino brand Spin Genie, the first product on its new proprietary gaming platform which features slots and casino games provided by International Game Technology.
The company also recently completed the acquisition of Blueburra Holdings after a deal last year for bingo affiliate and marketing agency Quick Think Media (QTM) for £2.2m.
“We are pleased to report the completion and launch of our platform which is showing good initial growth,” Gaming Realms CEO, Patrick Southon, said.
“We believe the acquisitions of QuickThink Media and Blueburra Holdings, coupled with the monetisation ability of our exciting new ‘feature led’ gambling platform, will enable us to grow revenues even more quickly in 2015,” he added.