Gamesys is a London-based provider of online gaming software, powering brands like The Sun and Jackpotjoy across websites and social networks including Facebook. These are not cookie-cutter games farmed out to every site in the network, but offer brand-appropriate, unique interactive experiences that are engaging for players and help support the overall branding and marketing message of the site on which they appear.
From its home in Piccadilly, Gamesys’ software has reached out across the world – notably including the Spanish brand Botemania, launched in 2007 and now a dominant force in the country’s online gambling industry.
The Innovation Sprint
Gamesys’ commitment to innovation is most plainly visible in the Innovation Sprint, a two-week initiative in the run-up to Christmas in which all of its employees are allowed to work on ideas that don’t really fall under their job description – the only rule is that, at the end of the two weeks, they must have taken their idea far enough that it can be shown to the rest of the company in demo form.
Some of these ideas are good enough that they are taken on officially by Gamesys in order to improve its service – and examples include Jack Bot Joy, a natural-language automated chat bot developed in order to answer frequently asked questions within Gamesys’ bingo chat rooms, and relieve some of the burden on the human chat hosts. Look out for Jack Bot Joy answering your questions if you’re playing in a chat room anytime soon.
Gamesys in Numbers
Gamesys passed the £3 billion annual wagering threshold in 2011, collecting stakes of £3.1 billion across all of its group sites, staked across 3.2 billion individual bets. Compare that with the previous history of the brand and it’s clear that Gamesys is growing fast – bingo launched in 2003 and it was not until 2008 that the network took its four-billionth cash bet overall.
In more recent years, rapid growth and tie-ins with brands like The Sun (not to mention the major television advertising campaign featuring Barbara Windsor) have seen the Gamesys network – and its prizes – expand even further. In 2009 it paid out a jackpot of £1.3 million buff, which was soon exceeded in 2010 with a single prize payout of £1.9 million.
Promotions vary depending on each site, but you can expect to receive £35 of credit for a £10 deposit at Jackpotjoy, £30 for £10 at Fabulous Bingo, and a 200% deposit match up to a massive £400 on your first payment into a Caesars Bingo account.
Gamesys on the Move
Gamesys wasted no time in making the move to mobile gaming as soon as handsets became sophisticated enough to make the best of its bingo software; in 2008, the brand transitioned to offering mobile games in collaboration with portable gaming specialist Rapid Mobile Media, a deal which kept the development of the games totally within the UK. In 2011, the Edinburgh-based developer was bought out by Rank Group to provide mobile apps for its own brands, including Blue Square, Grosvenor Casinos and Mecca Bingo.
