You might remember that back in 2023, InTouch Games surrendered their gambling license having been fined multiple times and then being found in breach of their license conditions once again.
This turned into a very sticky situation leading to a court case which is still going on, and for players, it meant the death of some very popular casino and bingo brands.
Or so it seemed.
I’ll get into how things unfolded shortly, but the main thing to take from this blog post is that mFortune is back.
That’s right, the popular bingo site and casino is back in business operating under a new license and owned by a different company.
It’s not quite the site you might remember, but it’s not a million miles away.
Viral Interactive Limited
Have you ever heard of Playtech? I thought so. The man who founded the company is called Teddy Sagi. He floated Playtech on the stock market in 2006 and gradually sold down his stake to around 4%, using the money to invest in other businesses.
In 2022, Sagi’s company, Skywind, agreed to buy Intouch Games from Simon Wilson for £53 million, as they wanted to increase their B2C footprint in the UK.
It was their understanding that all of the past compliance issues with the UKGC had been resolved. However, less than a year later they were in trouble again for allegedly forging KYC (Know Your Customer) documents.
This, on top of their previous misgivings, was enough for the Gambling Commission to suspend Intouch’s license. Skywind made the decision to voluntarily surrender their license shortly afterward.
Remember, Skywind had done nothing wrong. They bought Intouch in good faith, and the issues they were dealing with occurred under the previous owners time in the saddle, so it was a huge blow for them.
As far as anyone could tell, that was the end of mFortune and all of the other associated brands.
However, Skywind still owned those brands even if they weren’t trading and their license was gone. Instead of letting them die, they used a different company called Viral Interactive to relaunch some of them:
- mFortune
- PocketWin
- Jammy Monkey
This is not some dodgy loophole to avoid the consequences of the UKGC. Quite the opposite. This is a new owner trying to capitalise on the brands’ popularity and give them a new lease of life, ensuring that operating practices are compliant this time around.
Think about it like a bad restaurant that comes under new management. Same place, but different people in the office and in the kitchen, making it a brand new experience.
Do They Still Have Bingo?
Yes! mFortune still have loads of bingo.
However, if you played there before you will notice a difference.
The site used to run on Intouch’s own network, but obviously, with that network going the way of the dinosaurs, Viral Interactive had to find another solution.
They have opted to work with Pragmatic Play to provide their bingo network, so you will see a different set of games and bingo rooms to mFortune’s last incarnation.
It’s perhaps a surprise this is the route they have gone down given Sagi’s connection with Playtech. I would have thought he could have got better terms partnering mFortune with them, but whatever the reason, the brand is no longer on an independent network.
Does it mean the bingo is less unique than before? Yes. Does it also mean the bingo is of higher quality, with busier rooms and more attractive prizes? Also yes.
So it’s the same brand but with a different bingo package – all in all good news for bingo fans.