888 Holdings announced that it is selling its Dragonfish subsidiary to Broadway Gaming. It got announced in an unexpected twist of events like a bolt out of the blue. Dragonfish Bingo sites are particularly active in the United Kingdom. 888Ladies Bingo, Wink Bingo and Costa Bingo have entertained players for years.
Broadway Gaming – Who Are They
Strictly speaking, Saphalata Holdings has done the deal for Dragonfish. It is apparently worth US$50 Million. Saphalata is either a part of or owns Broadway Gaming Ltd and has a long and varied history in the UK Bingo market.
Broadway ran and managed multiple bingo rooms on the now-defunct Microgaming Bingo software. You might remember them as they have now switched to Pragmatic Play Bingo. Bingo rooms included Butlers Bingo, Rosies Bingo and Dotty Bingo.
Broadway will not assume ownership of some iconic UK Bingo sites. We mentioned them above, but no harm in doing so again. Fantastic brands with loads of players, like Wink Bingo & Costa Bingo, will now belong to them. Acquiring mature Dragonfish bingo sites up for £38 Million might seem to be a bargain, but it is not without its risk.
We say this as the UKGC has recently levied a record fine of over £9 Million on 888 Holdings. The UKGC is steadily ramping up its compliance aspect with operators in the United Kingdom. 888 wants to focus on its core business, Casino & Sportsbook, rather than have the added complication and headache of managing a bingo business.
From a player’s perspective, nothing will change, only a bit of text at the bottom of the site when Broadway finally takes over. There is an agreement for the Dragonfish management team to continue working for a while.
What will be interesting is to see what and how Broadway develops the bingo network further. The UK is the most mature bingo market online, with a lot of competition. We look forward to seeing what plans Broadway has for this ever-maturing market.
Bingo players on the network will also be contacted due to the bingo license name change on the Gambling License. At this stage, we believe a UK Gambling Licensed company named Grand Battery Holdings Limited will take responsibility for the bingo network.