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Bingo software provider and b2b division of 888 holdings bingo and casino operations, Dragonfish, has launched its brand new Stride Gaming onto London’s Alternative Investment Market (AIM) this month.
In the first day alone this new offering saw its initial share price jump from 132p to a generous 171.5p by the end of the trading day. That’s an impressive rise of 30% meaning that a total of £11.2 million was raised in a day. The company’s Chief Executive Etian Boyd is confident in Stride Gaming’s stock market debut and believes that there’s a volatility in the UK Gambling industry which should be taken advantage of. He believes this will allow Stride Gaming to become a major force in the ever growing bingo sector in the UK.
Who are Stride Gaming?
Stride Gaming is a real money online bingo operator focused on the UK market. Having launched in 2012, it is home to a number of brands under its wing including the hugely popular Kitty Bingo, Lucky Pants Bingo, King Jackpot and Jackpot Café. The company began operations in 2012 by launching the Spin and Win brand and successfully managed to acquire the Table Top Entertainment (TTE) sites Jackpot Liner, Jackpot Café and King Jackpot allowing them to grow significantly and then enable them to enter London’s AIM in 2015.
What does this mean for the online bingo industry?
At the start of the year, many feared that the online bingo industry may be reaching its peak, with over 400 active sites in the UK alone. Plus with new gambling licensing and advertising laws in the country, it meant that some overseas brands were either being priced out by a high tax or simply they could not get a license, with many left unsure whether this would put the online bingo world into a state of crisis. However thankfully the damage has been minimal for players at least, with only a few sites falling casualty to these changing laws, and actually an abundance of new sites have launched, all vying for players’ attention.
With existing networks offering new brands with exciting games and offers to set them apart from other sites, not to mention technological advances such as mobile compatibility as standard and even HD games and graphics, it seems a fitting notion that actually Stride Gaming should launch onto AIM. Raising this capital could give the operator the boost it needs to launch some great new bingo sites, or make improvements to its current lot which will see players being offered something more focused and unique.
At a time when other sites are being merged or bought over quite frequently, such as the current bid for Bwin Party by 888 Holdings, or indeed with Stride Gaming who previously acquired 3 bring brands from TTE, it’s refreshing to see a brand holding their own and growing in such a capacity rather than selling out and merging with another company, which may or may not serve to make the bingo brands all similar and stale.
The only other thing this could point to is major warning signs for smaller or independent sites. When bingo brands stand solo, there’s not really much chance that they will result to selling shares to sustain and grow. In this respect the smaller brands could be pushed out of the market thanks to the big money giant companies, merged brands and of course capital raising operators like Stride Gaming.
