NetPlayTV Boss Talks To The Telegraph
Published: Sunday, March 16, 2008 Online-Casinos.com
NETPLAYTV BOSS TALKS TO THE TELEGRAPH
"Trust" and "brand" are key concepts for Brit entrepreneur
Martin Higginson, the chairman and chief executive of burgeoning online gambling venue NetPlayTV, talked to the Telegraph newspaper this week on his plans for the business, revealing that television is a key element in establishing trust and branding.
Having founded and sold a raft of successful and innovative businesses, the entrepreneur knows whereof he speaks, and believes that people will increasingly gamble online, via their phones and on interactive television, making the European market an attractive one for his companies.
Higginson told the Telegraph reporter that he is spending GBP 30 000 a month renting satellite space on Sky channel 847 because: "TV builds trust. It shows our customers that there really is a wheel that is being spun and makes them feel comfortable".
The brands that he wants to build are Supercasino and Bigboxbingo. Each will comprise a number of subsidiary games such as LiveRoulette, LivePoker and Jim Bowen's Prize Bingo (see previous Online-Casinos.com/InfoPowa report).
NetPlayTV's clientele is growing each month as a result of intensive marketing efforts and corporate acquisitions, Higginson revealed. Last week, for example, the company announced the purchase of 7 600 mobile gaming customers from a smaller rival, pushing overall player lists to a total of some 70 000 mobile subscribers. Add to those the 30 000 Supercasino customers and the 1 000 people paying GBP 9 each week for bingo, and real momentum is building.
Higginson says he spends between GBP 2 and GBP 100 to acquire each new customer and has mapped out exactly what sort of return each will give, over what length of time. He says, "They normally stay with us for 10 to 12 months and we earn anything between GBP 100 and GBP 1 200 per customer over that time."
His strategy appeals to a number of blue-chip investors including Andy Brough from Schroders, who holds 11 percent of the business. Brokers forecast profits of GBP 2.4 million on sales of GBP 16.3 million in 2008. And with shares currently trading at just 16p, the business is valued at around GBP 12.3 million. The stock is marked down at the moment in anticipation of future news which could lead to a rights issue becoming necessary in the coming weeks.
Money raised via a rights issue would fund the purchase of a rival online bingo business that Higginson is in talks to buy before the end of this (March) month. He refuses to be drawn on who it is, but says that it will involve 50 people joining the company, doubling the present employee base. This move will be a challenge for NetPlayTV, especially if there are any problems with completing the deal and managing the change.
Higginson is also working on plans to move the Supercasino operations to a country with a lower tax rate - possibly somewhere in central or eastern Europe, where people with the talents required by the business are cheaper.
Higginson holds a quarter of the company's shares and is determined to build a profitable and international brand. He believes that if he can get both the online bingo and moving Supercasino out of the UK boxes ticked, NetPlayTV will be on a firmer footing and able to show more than GBP 1 million of additional profit.
