We have 888 to thank for the Dragonfish bingo network.
Founded almost at the beginning of the internet revolution, 888 was one of the first beneficiaries of online gambling, growing to be one of the biggest gambling brands in the industry.
Bingo wasn’t 888’s first or main focus, though. They began life in 1997 as one of the first online casino operators, gradually expanding to enter the bingo market later.
Dragonfish started life around 10 years later, but it wasn’t long before it was the biggest bingo provider in the market through B2B and B2C services. At one point the firm was running or supplying more than 200 sites.
In late 2021 888 announced they were selling Dragonfish and its associated brands to Saphalata Holdings Ltd, part of the Broadway Gaming Group. They gave it a good old refresh and the network now powers fewer sites, but better sites, all run by Broadway Gaming Ireland DF Ltd.
It’s a fantastic network with an ever evolving portfolio of games and bingo rooms, which players come back to time and time again.
New Bingo Sites on the Dragonfish Network
Dragonfish Was Part of 888
When it was first established in 2007, Dragonfish was essentially an internal merger of 888’s development team to take care of the technology needs of all their brands.
In other words, it was created as an in-house software company in order to create content for 888 properties across all gaming disciplines.
On top of this, they were already devising a strategy to become an external software supplier to the wider iGaming market in their own right. They had therefore begun to identify where they might be successful from a B2B perspective, and that space was bingo.
So it was also in 2007 that 888 entered the bingo space, with the $43.4 million acquisition of online bingo giant Globalcom Limited. The company’s bingo business made $14 million in revenue in their first 6 months.
It soon became evident that by combining their bingo vertical with the capabilities of Dragonfish, 888 could build a significant network of bingo sites.
While 888 had already started to develop their own bingo brands, they could utilise Dragonfish and sell their services as a third party provider to other brands requiring access to a larger network.
In the years that followed, Dragonfish expanded exponentially and became something of a name in their own right. Soon they were providing technology and software solutions for hundreds of brands across the industry. Some of the biggest online bingo brands such as Wink, Cheeky, and Foxy signed up to Dragonfish.
Over time though, 888’s strategic vision moved away from bingo, and Dragonfish’s platform began to feel old fashioned and their reputation waned.
Bought By Broadway Gaming
In 2021, 888 bought the European assets and brand of William Hill from Caesars, an American company.
This was part of a major change in direction for 888, and another part of that was to offload their bingo vertical.
For Broadway Gaming, a small bingo company with a handful of solid, well respected brands, this was a perfect opportunity.
They deal was done for around $50 million, and by 2022 Dragonfish had a new owner.
Where 888 had left Dragonfish to gather dust, Broadway Gaming had plans to give it a shot in the arm. They redesigned the interface, brought the network into the modern day, and took an axe to the huge list of white label sites on the network. Only the best were allowed to stay.
David Butler, founder and CEO of Broadway Gaming, said:
“We are delighted to reach an agreement with 888 to acquire its bingo business and platform. By combining these with our existing business and brands, which include ‘Butlers Bingo’, we will be able to achieve an even stronger global footprint in key regulated bingo markets.”
Now, Dragonfish is back on top as one of the most respected and sought after bingo networks by brands and players alike. Because Broadway Gaming have a strong focus on bingo the network get regular updates and the attention it deserves, and all associated brands feel the benefit.
Timeline of Key Moments
Although Dragonfish was so closely linked to the fortunes of 888 in the first part of its life, it now has a history of its own.
Here is a timeline of all the key moments neatly summed up in a few sentences:
- 2007 – 888 Holdings acquires Globalcom Limited, a bingo platform provider powering ~45 sites. This forms the foundation of what will become the Dragonfish network.
- 2008 – Dragonfish technology rapidly scales through white-label deals, powering dozens of third-party bingo sites under the Globalcom/888 infrastructure.
- 2009 – Dragonfish brand is officially launched as 888’s B2B division, providing software, support, and player liquidity to third-party bingo operators. The platform is already widespread by this time.
- 2009 – 888 acquires Wink Bingo, Posh Bingo, and Tasty Bingo, all of which are integrated into the Dragonfish bingo network, strengthening its core offering.
- 2010s – Dragonfish experiences major expansion in the UK bingo market, becoming one of the most widely used platforms, powering hundreds of white-label brands and developing a shared liquidity network.
- 2019 – Dragonfish absorbs more major brands as 888 acquires the Costa Bingo portfolio (Costa Bingo, City Bingo, Sing Bingo), consolidating them onto the platform.
- 2020–2021 – Dragonfish begins to show signs of ageing and over-complexity, leading 888 to consider divestment amid a strategic shift toward sports betting and casino.
- Dec 2021 – 888 Holdings agrees to sell the entire Dragonfish bingo division, including all B2B deals and B2C brands, to Broadway Gaming (via Saphalata Holdings) for ~$50 million.
- July 2022 – Sale completes. Dragonfish operations and contracts transfer to a new Broadway subsidiary called Grand Battery Holdings Limited.
- 2022–2023 – Grand Battery Holdings continues to operate Dragonfish under Broadway, retaining the brand name and existing white-label deals while streamlining the portfolio.
- Sept 2023 – Grand Battery Holdings Limited is renamed to Broadway Gaming Ireland DF Limited. The Dragonfish platform and all associated sites now operate under this UKGC-licensed entity.
- Present Day – Dragonfish remains a core part of Broadway Gaming’s business, powering over 100 UK-facing bingo sites. Despite the change in ownership, the Dragonfish name is still in active use as the network and software brand.
A Player’s Insight
So you know all about the journey of Dragonfish, but what about the player experience?
As far as their bingo network goes, Dragonfish sites are perfect for beginners. With lots of low stake rooms, simple game variations, and 24/7 game availability, they offer a very accessible product.
The layout between sites comes in a few templates, but they are all fairly standard. On the one hand this means they can feel a bit ‘samey’, but on the other they are incredibly easy to navigate. It also makes them excellent for mobile players.
The games themselves come in variations of:
- 90-ball
- 75-ball
- 52-ball
- 80-ball (in the pipeline)
The number of rooms is very manageable, and Dragonfish have a Bingo Factory which brands can use to create exclusive games and game features, so this can spice up the rooms from one site to another. They even offer free bingo from time to time.
Their main strength, though, is simply the size of their network. With hundreds of sites and hundreds of thousands of players, the rooms are always busy enough to find someone to chat with in the chat rooms, the prizes always worth playing for, and the promotions eye catching. Sites can even run site specific promotions or plug into network wide ones, and that goes for jackpots too.
For players then, it’s the scale of the network combined with its reliability and ease of use that make Dragonfish a favourite.
Slots and Games
Dragonfish actually used to make their own slot games. This was never their main focus, but they did it to fill a gap on 888’s own sites.
They don’t do this anymore, but they have built an industry leading game aggregator that allows brands to choose from a huge selection of games from 30+ top developers.
These include slots, Slingo, scratch cards, table games, and even live casino games, adding up to well over 800 games in total.
This allows brands to tailor their side game packages to suit their theme and the tastes of their target demographic. Some might avoid more mature games, for example, sticking to the colourful cuddly themes. A brand with a specific theme, like Sailor Bingo, might put nautical themed slots front and centre.
It’s just another way Dragonfish can help their bingo sites establish themselves from a unique position, and target a specific part of the market.