888 to bring online bingo to South Africa

The two companies will set-up a joint venture in South Africa, initially with a licensed offering in the regulated sportsbook arena. The partnership is to continue with the launch of casino, poker and bingo once a more developed regulatory regime is in place in South Africa.

Dragonfish will provide TSG with comprehensive gaming solutions; including games, technology, payment processing systems, call center, customer relationship management, online marketing and business analytics. This cutting edge collaboration between a world-class online gaming provider and a leading land based operator, will also enable the joint offering to include services such as: integrated databases for CRM and marketing, the combination of online payment methods with membership cards

As part of the venture the two companies will market both 888's brand in South Africa as well as a new on-line brand for Tsogo.

TSG has significant reach across a wide audience of people in South Africa, with average annual footfall across the group's seven casinos exceeding 21 million people. Distribution through TSG casinos and hotels will therefore provide Tsogo and 888's B2C products with a large user-base in South Africa and a strong presence in the country.

Gabi Campos, Managing Director of Dragonfish, said: “Dragonfish's technology infrastructure provides an excellent platform for partnerships with land based casinos.  This partnership is the first of many targeted at regulated markets, where Dragonfish's partners operate under local licenses and enjoy the benefits of such regulatory arrangement. TSG's casinos provide a world-class, personalised gaming experience, and through partnering with Dragonfish we can provide them with the expertise and cutting-edge online gaming solutions to convert their strong brand into a successful position in the online gaming world.”

Marcel von Aulock, CFO of the Tsogo Sun Group, said: “Tsogo is a dynamic and innovative leader of gaming in South Africa so our move into online gaming is a natural progression for the business. Dragonfish has a proven pedigree in online gaming technology delivery and this partnership provides an excellent platform to expand our offering.”