Playtech CEO considers brand revamp after “challenging” start to Sun Bingo contract
Mor Weizer says the London-listed supplier is evaluating “how Sun Bingo should be presented going forward”
Playtech is considering a number of ways to improve Sun Bingo’s performance after a “challenging” start to its five-year contract with the brand, including changes to the site’s image and improvements to CRM and marketing.
Playtech reported a strong set of H1 results yesterday, with the only black mark being a 2.1pp hit to EBITDA margin which the supplier giant attributed to the contract with Sun Bingo.
Speaking to EGR, Playtech CEO Mor Weizer said the bingo brand had experienced a number of issues including the migration of VIPs and a traditional summer slowdown.
“Obviously it’s still early days, just one year into an initial five-year period, and while the migration was successful from a technological perspective, we did not manage to migrate all the VIPs and that has had a negative impact on the business and presented us with challenges,” he said.
However, Weizer added that activity should pick up in Q3 with the company set to use specifically tailored data analytics to drive the evolution of its product.
He said: “Obviously it’s the summer time so people are on their holidays but we believe that growth will resume and the project will continue to improve going forward, as and when summer is finished.
“In the course of the year we made lots of changes and even before the summer we saw the first positive signs with improved key performance indicators across the board.
The Playtech CEO also indicated that future efforts would concentrate on the visuals of Sun Bingo, including the way the brand is marketed to The Sun’s audience.
“We are in a constant strategic discussion about how the product should look and how Sun Bingo should be presented going forward,” added Weizer.
“We are very focused on the marketing and CRM capabilities of Sun Bingo but also how the brand comes across to the outside world, considering the audience they appeal to.”
Tom Ustunel, director of betting and gaming at News UK, told EGR the brand was “keen to move forward” after the rocky start.
“We have listened to our players and feel that with the strength of the Sun Bingo brand, the best bingo platform, and Playtech’s product and expertise in the bingo market, we can achieve our goals.”