Gamesys Network – An all you need to know guide

1. Introduction to the Gamesys Network

Our guide to the Gamesys network is the first of a few in-depth looks at the major bingo networks over the next few weeks. And it’s the perfect place to start, with Gamesys growing into one of the UK’s biggest independent gaming networks  in just twelve years.

Bingo networks are becoming increasingly commonplace in the world of online bingo. As the industry keeps growing, more and more sites are launching under the umbrella of a parent company or bingo network. These networks supply software and help to run multiple sites smoothly.

There are of course plenty of positives in this for both players and site owners. But we’re still surprised at how little the world of online bingo networks are known to those outside of the loop.

There’s plenty of variations on networks to be found. These range from white label sites that act as a portal to a single playing room to some shared activity and promotions between sites to standalone bingo sites that are totally independent. With so many small difference, it’s easy to see that bingo networks are becoming an increasingly tangled knot to unpick.

Yet for players, it’s always important to keep yourself in the know about what is going on, where the best games are and when they are being played. And so onto our first in-depth guide, which focuses on the Gamesys network.

They may be owners of the hugely successful JackpotJoy Bingo site, but there’s definitely more to the Gamesys network than just one successful name.

Don’t forget! If you fancy taking a more general look at bingo networks, you can swot up on our overview on bingo networks right here.

(i) Gamesys at a glance:

• Founded by: Noel Hayden
• Established since: 2001
• Number of sites: 6
• Parent Company: Gamesys (Independent)
• Software Provider: Yes
• Total Profits: £21m per year (2009-10)

Take a quick peek over Gamesys’s stats and you’ll find quality rather than quantity seems to be the mantra of this network.

Over the last eleven years, Gamesys have managed to build up one of online bingo’s most respected stable of brands. Play at enough sites and you’ll soon find out that some online bingo networks prefer a larger number of sites operating on their network i.e. Dragonfish has 100’s of sites operating under their umbrella. Gamesys tries to keep things smaller, believing that bigger doesn’t always mean better.

So who are Gamesys and what exactly do they do?

(ii) Gamesys Timeline:

1.1 Gamesys Timeline 

The above screengrab from Gamesys’s website provides a great at a glance timeline to some of their major achievements.

The group was founded in 2001 by Noel Hayden, who reinvested money made from the sale of a previous venture, Internet Digital Media, into Gamesys. Based in London, the company first set up shop within the online bingo world with the launch of their flagship bingo site, Jackpotjoy bingo.

To this day, Jackpotjoy Bingo have remained relatively standalone in terms of their bingo games. JackpotJoy is operated by a Gamesys offshoot known as Profitable Play and offers it’s own bingo games, promotions and exclusive offers away from other Gamesys sites.

But there are plenty of other online bingo sites to choose from on the network.

2. Who do Gamesys operate?

As an independent company, Gamesys manage to offer several different services under one roof. This includes various operators and technology solutions as well as their own in house marketing.

Within that, these various companies look after sites or brands running on the network, which includes:

Basically, it means that any bingo site wanting to use Gamesys can take their pick from a complete bingo proposition.

We’ll go through the subsidiary companies stage by stage now:

(i) Gamesys Software/Technology:

At the core of the business is the Gamesys technology service. This basically underpins all bingo sites and allows them to run bingo games on their site. All Gamesys sites operate on the Gamesys platform, which you can see when you sign into the site. It’s a bit like having a site run on WordPress or similar – the backend of the site (which handles all game functionality when you hit the play now button) is maintained by different versions of the same program.

In addition, Gamesys make several bingo slots and online slot games for their sites. These can technically be licensed out to other sites, but generally, you’ll only find them on Gamesys sites. Alternatively licenses can be purchased from 3rd part slot companies and hosted on the gamesys network, for example

Examples of Gamesys games include:

Wonderland Slots

Wonderland Slot: A huge 100-payline slot game with interactive bonus rounds.

Jungle Jump slots

Jungle Jump: A cascading style slot game that features multiple wins from a single spin.

Jalapeno Racers Slots

Jalapeno Racers: A multi-window slot game, featuring interactive bonus rounds.

(ii) Gamesys Operators –

Although all the sites on the network share the same the software, Gamesys have a number of different operators. These all take care of the day to day stuff for their sites. All of these are licensed in Gibraltar and so are subject to the regulations there. A quick rundown of operators show Gamesys own the following:

a) Profitable Play – operator of Jackpot Joy Bingo

b) Entertaining Play – operator of “spin-off” bingo sites such as Heart Bingo, Sun Bingo and Fabulous Bingo

c) Leisure Spin – operator of non-UK Gamesys bingo sites like Botemania and JackpotJoy in Sweden.

(iii) Gamesys Marketing services – Mice and Dice:

Mice and Dice help market Gamesys’ bingo sites such as Jackpot Joy Bingo and are the ones that send out press releases and arrange advertising. When you see ads such as this one with Jackpotjoy bingo’s partnership with Barbara Windsor, it’s falls under the remit of Mice and Dice.

3. Key Characteristics of Gamesys Sites:

There’s a couple of ways you can spot a Gamesys site – and not just through checking their terms and conditions or through that little bar at the top of the page.

Identifying Gamesys sites

Gamesys aren’t the most bonus facing site (offering generally a 200% welcome bonus). By the same token, they don’t really go for no-deposit bingo offers in the same way as other networks. However, there are plenty of positives to expect by playing at a Gamesys site, including:

• High-level production values
• Large jackpot sums
• Big name tie-ins for spin off sites and promotions
• Cash and prize giveaways
• Large player numbers
• Relative independence between sites

We’ll go into each of these in a little more detail now.

a) High Level Production Values:

Gamesys aren’t afraid to splash the cash a little with their games. Sure enough, their instant games are a testament to the high-level production values of the company.

Graphics are of great importance to the network, making Gamesys sites generally pretty darn eye-catching and also easy to navigate around from the front end.

Take a look at these screen grabs from a few of their big name bingo sites, and you’ll see what we mean.

Sun Bingo Homepage

Heart Bingo Homepage

Fabulous Bingo Homepage

It’s the same deal in the lobby, with larger graphics making for a much more streamlined and user-friendly experience.

JackpotJoy Bingo Lobby

b) Large Jackpot Sums

When your flagship site is known as JackpotJoy, it’s perhaps no surprise that jackpots are going to be pretty large. Most of the large sums come via the instant win games, which operate on a white label basis. This basically means they use players from all Gamesys sites to generate bigger prize pots.

The current record jackpot from Gamesys stands at a whopping £1,9m, which was won in 2010. But a quick look at press releases and news from JackpotJoy Bingo over the last few months shows £25k jackpots scooped on a frequent basis through bingo games.

c) Big Name Tie-Ins

Whether it’s their spin off sites that offer bingo for big names like Heart FM, The Sun or Caesars Hotels and Casinos or through some of their promotions which offer things like holiday voucher giveaways and win a car a day promos, Gamesys sites aren’t ashamed to flash their big name ties.

d) Cash and Prize Giveaways

A frequent promo you can find at Gamesys sites are prize giveaways, particularly over at Sun Bingo. Instead of focusing on players buying tickets for specific games, there are many prize draws instead. You gain entries by wagering a set amount of money per day, with weekly prize draws offering more wins for a greater number of players.

e) Large Player Numbers

With Jackpotjoy Bingo boasting an estimated 4 million registered users and Gamesys celebrating their 4 billionth bet in 2009, it’s safe to say that there are plenty of players who are more than happy to have a spin on one of the several Gamesys sites.

Although the player numbers might seem off-putting, surprisingly, it’s still not too crowded on the sites. This is because there are plenty of rooms to accommodate demand. And because Gamesys sites maintain a certain degree of independence from each other, there aren’t too many players unknowingly flocking to the same rooms.

f) Relative Independence

Despite sharing instant win games, and a few software similarities, perhaps one of the biggest draws of the network is that each site has it’s own flavour and feel. As a result, playing at multiple sites on the network is a) possible and b) helps you avoid that same old same old feeling.

Other things to expect:

Refer a friend bonus, free bingo games, 90-ball and 75-ball bingo, plenty of progressive slot games.

4. Gamesys – The Verdict:

As far as a network goes, Gamesys are one of the best out there in our opinion. There’s enough diversity to encourage players to sign up to multiple sites as each offers their own distinct take on online bingo. Backed up by their industry leading software, Gamesys show us that smaller can indeed be beautiful when it comes to online bingo.

And finally…

You can check out reviews of some of our favourite Gamesys sites by heading over to our online bingo reviews section – we’ve gone through each with a fine toothed comb so you don’t have to!

And of course, you can always check out more information at Gamesys’ website:

www.gamesys.co.uk