Gaming technology firm Network Gaming is getting in on the UK prize draws market via the launch of a new B2B platform decade to the space, DrawHouse.
The new B2B brand is headed up by Harry Collins as Chief Executive Officer – Collins also being the founder and CEO of Network Gaming – and aims to tap into what leadership believes is an undervalued revenue stream in the UK.
DrawHouse has cited estimates that the UK prize draws space generates over £1.3bn in annual revenue from over seven million players, but believes there is a gap in the market in the absence of larger players in the scene.
The two biggest British prize draws are arguably Raffle House and Omaze, which specialise in mulit-million pound home giveaways. Broadcaster ITV could be classed as another key player, as its ITV Wins offers holiday and car competitions, though it is also expanding into more traditional style casino gaming and bingo.
“Prize draws are already a large and growing market, but they’ve largely developed outside of traditional operator ecosystems,” Collins remarked. “This isn’t about creating new demand – it’s about capturing revenue that’s already happening elsewhere.
“What’s driving growth is a shift away from traditional lottery-style products. Prize draws offer more variety, more frequent wins, and a more engaging experience – which makes them a natural fit for modern platforms.”
DrawHouse aims to attract larger operators to the prize draw scene, and connect them with it, via a full suite of solutions covering compliance, KYC, payments, draw operations and prize fulfilment.
The firm aims to emulate modern online betting and gaming environments tailored to prize draws.
“Prize draws are a scale game – bigger prizes drive better outcomes,” Collins said. “By connecting partners through a shared network, we’re able to deliver that scale.”
The growth of prize draws in the UK has not gone by without controversy, however. The sector often faces calls for it be regulated to a similar standard to lotteries and other forms of gaming.
The Lotteries Council – the trade body for UK lottery organisations – has been a particularly vocal proponent of this.
GambleAware, the former commissioner of gambling harm prevention and treatment funds in the UK, also voiced concern about the regulation, or perhaps the perceived lack of regulation, around prize draws.
Given their background in gaming, DrawHouse’s leadership are likely not too fazed by regulatory conversations around prize draws. Should regulations around prize draws tighten, experience of working in the betting and gaming scenes will probably come in even handier.
On the topic of leadership, the firm also made a senior hire upon making its market debut.
Jamie Pinner, formerly of Betfair, Oddschecker, and later Oddschecker’s parent company FairPlay Sports Media (FPSM), has taken on the mantle of Chief Commercial Officer at the newly founded company.
Pinner remarked: “There’s a clear opportunity for operators to diversify revenue and reach complementary audiences through prize draws. What DrawHouse does well is remove the operational barriers and make the product easy to launch and scale.”
“We’re not trying to invent a new category – we’re building the infrastructure to scale one that already exists.”