Last month PlayOJO unveiled plans to expand beyond its traditional online staples of slots, table and casino games for the first time after detailing plans to take on the UK’s bingo scene in collaboration with Pragmatic Play.

Citing research which highlighted that a significant percentage of the group’s players already play bingo online, PlayOJO said that the opportunity provided itself to “significantly increase its share of wallet”.

“There were three key factors that led us to launching bingo, firstly we knew around 25 per cent of existing OJO players played bingo elsewhere so there was an obvious share of wallet and retention opportunity, explains Andrew Steddy, head of bingo at PlayOJO, on the opportunities identified in the bingo sector.

“Secondly, bingo opens up day part marketing opportunities and the ability to reach a new audience and demographic, and lastly we felt that the OJO brand values of fairness and transparency would resonate as well with UK bingo customers as they have with casino players.”

Guaranteeing over £300,000 in prizes every month, as well as progressive and community jackpot games with big-win potential, the launch also sees the firm target a new player demographic, specifically 35-55 year-old females.

Picking up on the initial points highlighted, Steddy delved a little further to look into the specific opportunities presented by the UK’s bingo scene, and what PlayOJO is proposing to do differently than what is already on offer.

“We’re fully aware that the UK bingo market is highly competitive, a lot of great operators, and great products many of whom have been established for 10+ years and making an impact in this market will be a real challenge,” he says. 

“That said, we feel the core brand pillars of PlayOJO of no wagering requirements, money back on every bet, no complicated terms and conditions, no minimum withdrawals together as a complete package are unique in the market and a very strong proposition.”

“…we feel the core brand pillars of PlayOJO … are unique in the market and a very strong proposition

Adding on how this move represents a natural progression for the group, and if we can expect the PlayOJO ethos to be manifested within the bingo offer: “Absolutely. The core RTBs I’ve just mentioned create a really strong proposition for our bingo audience, but for bingo were taking this further with an attractive welcome offer of 50 free tickets and 10 free spins, an enhanced OJO+ money back offering of 10 per cent on every bingo ticket you buy and also we’ve launched an exclusive bingo room called Equaliser, where all players play with the same amount of tickets so everyone has the same chance to win. Plus there will be plenty of promotions and bingo games all designed to reinforce our fun and fair ethos.”

Furthermore, the debut of PlayOJO Bingo will be supported by a seven figure UK marketing campaign across digital and ATL, featuring a TV campaign from advertising agency McCann.

The extensive campaign is said to be “very important” to complement the debut of PlayOJO Bingo, “particularly during a launch phase and in light of the competition I mentioned earlier,” Steddy continues 

“Even though PlayOJO has consistently been one of the top spenders on TV and radio for the last 3 years, and established itself as one of the top gaming brands, bingo will be fully supported in its own right by a substantial 7 figure ATL budget, as well as significant paid search, display and social campaigns. 

“We held a ‘Drive In’ bingo launch event in Manchester last week for OJO players hosted by TOWIE’s very own Gemma Collins and also featured Mr Motivator and performances from East17. The event was a great success and earned a lot of coverage across all the major national tabloids. 

“And finally, we’ve just launched a rather unique social campaign featuring a series of face painted characters announcing the launch of PlayOJO bingo in their own very amusing styles and this has generated a lot of positive engagement.”

After outlining the PlayOJO Bingo strategy in some detail, Steddy concludes by looking at if the UK represents just the first step of a wider international strategy: “International expansion into regulated markets has been a key part of PlayOJOs strategy and will certainly continue. We’ve been live in Sweden for some time now and have just launched PlayUZU in Spain. 

“Both these markets have their own regulatory challenges but we’re confident we can maintain and grow successful businesses there and bingo is certainly a consideration for both. Further afield Latin America is an interesting territory, particularly for bingo where there is a strong heritage for the game, so watch this space!”