Cashcade takes Bingo Operator Of The Year 2009
Foxy Bingo operator Cashcade has won the Bingo Operator of the Year category at this year's EGR Awards, beating off shortlisted competitors including arch-rival Tombola.
FOXY BINGO OPERATOR CASHCADE has won the Bingo Operator of the Year category at this year’s EGR Awards.
Cashcade, acquired by PartyGaming in July, beat off stiff competition from Tombola, Jackpot Joy operator Gamesys, Ladbrokes Bingo, William Hill Bingo and Wink Bingo to scoop the coveted trophy, with judges recognising Cashcade as the “stand out market leader at a marketing brand level.”
Collecting the award last night at a gala dinner and awards ceremony at London’s Old Billingsgate Market, Cashcade commercial director Simon Collins, said: “After trying for five years its great to finally get this award. I want to thank Patrick Southon, my university friend and business partner.”
Cashcade earned the award following a 12-month period during which it increased its number of bingo networks to eight, including launching free bingo room Cheeky Bingo on the 888-owned Globalcom bingo network; and spent more than £6m on offline campaigns, including sponsorship of giant BBC charity event Red Nose Day.
With the financial clout of new owner PartyGaming behind it, Cashcade is now being primed to roll out its bingo brands across continental Europe over the year ahead.
Also shortlisted was Cashcade rival Tombola, which was made the final six after carving an impressive share of the UK market since launching as a customer-facing brand at the tail end of August 2008 following the end of its white-label contract with UK newspaper The Sun, now operated by Gamesys, also on this year’s shortlist.
Jackpot Joy operator Gamesys put itself in the race due to progress made in the last 12 months through its white-label partnership with The Sun newspaper, with offline campaigns supported by the three million daily readers of the UK’s biggest selling daily.
Ladbrokes Bingo was included after achievements including increasing its active players 6% year-on-year, and value per player by 42%. The period also saw the operator open its 90-ball bingo room up to five new languages: Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Finnish and Spanish.
William Hill Bingo made the final cut due to factors such as its above-the-line spend of more than £2.5m during 2008-09 helping it increase its share of the UK bingo wallet from 3-5% over the past 19 months, according to a second-quarter gaming industry survey by search marketing agency Greenlight.
Relative newcomer Wink Bingo broke into the final six after eyecatching promotions combined with high-profile sponsorships of popular peak-time ITV programmes including All Star Family Fortunes, The Cube and Harry Hill’s TV Burp.