The takeover of Cashcade by PartyGaming was one of the biggest stories of last summer, with the multi million pound takeover boosting PartyGamings bingo proposition no end. Not only did Cashcade bring Foxy Bingo, Think Bingo, Little Big Bingo and Cheeky Bingo to the table, it also brought a wealth of experience to help PartyGaming’s existing bingo site, PartyBingo. And it seems like the move to acquire Cashcade has meant PartyGaming is already cashing in.
The fourth quarter results released by PartyGaming has shown considerable growth across all of it’s sectors including poker, casino games, bingo and sports betting during the three months up to the 31st December. It looks like the guys at PartyGaming will be giving themselves hearty pats on the back as they look forward to 2010, with total revenue growing to a massive £87.2million from a year earlier, a jump of a third.
Despite the recession, the company seems to have weathered the storm remarkably well, and in terms of the year ahead, looks set to capitalise. Recent industry rumours suggest the company were n talks over a merger with Austrian rivals Bwin, which would create a £2billion internet gaming giant.
Chief executive Jim Ryan said: “With some of the world’s largest gaming sites in poker, casino and bingo, and opportunities to further consolidate the online gaming sector, we are confident about our future prospects.”
But perhaps one of the notable reasons for such an amazing display of growth came from the revelation that PartyGaming had one of it’s players pump nearly half of a £3.1 million jackpot win back into the company – by playing it’s slot machines. The anonymous player scooped the rollover prize on PartyCasino after an overhaul of jackpot rules was carried out earlier in the year to tempt punters with bigger payouts, only to go and try their luck again, and again… and again. Seems like PartyGaming’s plans worked wonders, with the company recouping much of the money it paid out!
Bingo noted considerable growth, no doubt due to midas touch of our favourite, Foxy Bingo. However, rises in revenue seemed to be from increased levels of activity amongst players rather than from increasing player numbers. This was attributed to a lack of TV presence from Foxy Bingo in the run up to Christmas, and shows signs that retention will play a much bigger part in the success of online bingo companies in the next year as the player acquistion market begins to slow. However, with Foxy Bingo recently releasing their latest advert, we are sure 2010 looks set to be PartyGamings biggest yet.
