Who and What are Dragonfish Bingo Sites
If the name “Dragonfish” were to be mentioned to a room full of online bingo players, you should expect to witness a bit of an argument. In fact, “a bit of” is a bit of an understatement. It is almost as fatal a mistake as raising the subject of Brexit at a party, or maybe deciding to start a conversation on the subject of religion on the Tube.
You see, Dragonfish is without doubt the marmite of the online bingo community. This is less of a problem when it comes to the casino world. Dragonfish slot sites are a welcome addition to a diverse pool of casinos, with so much variety and alternative designs and games to choose from. But with bingo, the opposite is the case.
The situation is not helped by the relatively low number of alternative formats. With slots, there are hundreds, maybe even thousands of different titles to choose from, sometimes a thousand or more on a single site. But with bingo, there are, maybe at a push, a dozen different formats in total. Alternative innovative formats are being developed, like “Slingo”, which as the name suggests, is a hybrid of slots and bingo. Some other games involve the use of playing cards instead of bingo balls to produce a 52 “ball” game. But in reality, there are only two main favourites: the traditional “British” 90 Ball game and the “American” 75 Ball version.
In Bingo, Dragonfish is the Tesco of the market. And this is in fact, a very appropriate comparison. Just as in food retailing – some people love the familiarity and reliability of Tesco. Prices are reasonable, there is loads of choice and they rarely sell out. It is a reliable store, where the layout rarely changes and you always know where you are, no matter which particular store you happen to be in.
Substitute the word “Dragonfish” for “Tesco” and you sum up how many players feel about the dependability of Dragonfish bingo sites. They almost all have a similar lay out, with similar features, pretty much identical games (90 Ball, 75 Ball and one alternative “Speed” bingo version, like “High 5”), the same payment options, identical terms and conditions… you get the point. You certainly know where you are with Dragonfish. And just like with Tesco, their loyal customers love them. The feeling of familiarity; the knowledge that you are virtually guaranteed fun games of bingo: a smooth experience and lots of friendly roomies – an all-round reliable service. These are the Marmite lovers.
And Dragonfish’s popularity amongst online bingo players is unrivalled. They are by far the most successful of the bingo platforms and players flock to them more than any of their rivals.
But that, of course, is the problem. Just like Tesco, they have become so successful that sometimes they seem to have driven out the competition. To its critics, the Marmite haters, the whole bingo world can seem like a featureless wasteland of identikit bingo sites, all with the same layout and the same tabs and the same choice of games. Just like some local population centres have become Tesco Towns, with almost all the competition driven out, so it sometimes seems as if every new site is a Stepford Wife of the site that came before. The marmite haters long for variety. They want something new. They want a new challenge.
Well bad news marmite haters. Guess what… This article is not for you. Maybe there are a few more Dragonfish sites than are strictly necessary, but that is the price of success. There is still plenty of variety for players desperate for a new thrill and the next big thing.
Meanwhile, us Dragonfish fans can continue to enjoy the quantity AND the quality…
So what is the secret of their success? Why are Dragonfish by far the biggest fish in the bingo sea? Well, for all the reasons previously discussed. But it also pays to dig a little into the history of the online game.
The History of Dragonfish Bingo Sites
Dragonfish may be great at what they do, but how did they get there in the first place? Well the truth is that this did not happen just by accident, or by pure force of talent. Dragonfish are backed by one of the biggest names in the online gaming business: 888 Holdings.
888 Holdings was founded barely twenty years ago back in 1997. Today, it is a member of the London Stock Exchange FTSE 250, so it really is a big player in the gaming industry. The precise corporate structure of the company is opaque to say the least, but what is known is that it operates several wholly owned subsidiaries, such as GlobalCom and Cassava Enterprises, which both also operate entirely in the same industry. These names also regularly appear in conjunction with Dragonfish powered bingo sites. And Dragonfish is also owned by… 888 Holdings.
This big money backing and industry experience has helped the company grow so that it now can be seen to dominate the online bingo sector of the market.
As far as regular bingo players are concerned, Dragonfish are the company which provides the software which powers the actual sites: the architecture if you like. The actual games themselves are almost always provided by someone else. But businesses and operators who wish to start and run a new bingo site know that Dragonfish will produce for them a beautifully designed site which works smoothly and which most players will love: which is so much easier than having to start from scratch and design the whole thing themselves.
It is not purely a matter of design though. Dragonfish can also take on all the administration and managerial functions required to run the site. This can include all the customer service requirements like helplines and chat hosts; marketing and analysis of player spending; banking and payment facilities; security measures and data and fraud protection… the list goes on.
The technical jargon for all this which is often used amongst industry insiders is that Dragonfish are a “white label provider”. This means that they design the site as a kind of template, for the operator to put a “skin” on (which is the specific name and brand of the site). They operate Business to Business (B2B), which means that they deal with other businesses (usually site operators and other games design companies) and not directly with the players themselves.
This back story goes some way toward explaining the “Marmite” nature of the company’s bingo sites. Site operators and their players both like Dragonfish sites for similar reasons. They are reliable, easy to navigate and provide great games which people want to play.
But the nature of the “template” means that they can appear quite similar below the branding (or “skin”). This frustrates the thrill seeking players and critics who are looking for something a bit different.
So what do Dragonfish sites have to offer?
If there is one thing you can most definitely rely upon with Dragonfish powered bingo sites it is reliability. And that reliability includes the bingo. You always get several rooms of the standard bingo formats: 90 and 75 Ball, plus usually at least one other. This is often “High 5”, a form of speed bingo often referred to as “Swedish” bingo.
Then there is always a great range of slots to play. These include a standard range of in house designs and licenced games. A licencing deal has been done with top game software designers Microgaming, so many of their top titles will also be found on Dragonfish powered sites. Other big name designers like NetEnt can also appear depending on the site operator’s preferences, so you should always get a good selection of games to choose from. Finally, you can expect a decent choice of scratch cards and other instant games to play.
Payment facilities are also always excellent on Dragonfish bingo sites. Visa and MasterCard credit and debit cards are accepted. You can also always pre-pay with Paysafecard. Electronic payment options include Neteller and Skrill, while some sites (but not all) will accept PayPal. There are usually a few other alternative options for payment too.
Withdrawal facilities are of a high standard too. Claims will normally take around a week to reach your account and the minimum withdrawal amount is usually £20. However this can vary from as little as £5 up to as much as £30, depending on the individual operator’s terms and conditions.
Customer support facilities are also excellent. All sites provide a phone support service which is free to UK landline users. This service is available for most of the day but may not operate in the early hours of the morning. An e-mail address is always available for confidential or technical issues and the chat hosts can also help with many queries.
Finally, another thing you never have to worry about with Dragonfish bingo sites is licencing arrangements. All titles in the Dragonfish stable are covered by 888 Holdings’ registration on the UK overseas territory of Gibraltar. This means that all sites are fully regulated by the UK Gambling Commission, and are therefore regarded as safe to play for players within the United Kingdom.
Summary
And there you have it. When it comes to playing bingo online, Dragonfish can truly lay claim to being the best in the business. A good selection of great bingo; plenty of other great games to play if you want more than just the traditional fayre; an easy to follow, smooth running site design; good payment and withdrawal facilities and some excellent customer service facilities if you get stuck.
You can’t please everyone of course. But for the majority of everyday players, Dragonfish offer a friendly, reliable, entertaining and secure service with loads of different games to choose from.
So let the Marmite haters carry on their hate. Let the Tesco tormentors continue their hostilities. But please leave us Dragonfish defenders to enjoy our favourite game in peace.