GoneGambling Changes Ownership
Posted 3/28/11 ; Bryan Bailey's acquisition of popular portal has resulted in an extensive revamp and new management
Earlier this year Bryan Bailey, owner of the information portal Casinomeister.com, announced the acquisition of the formerly Australian-owned portal Gone Gambling.com, promising a new look and fresh attractions. Players will have an opportunity to see how successful he and his team have been in achieving this when the website launches Sunday night.
Founded 12 years ago by Aussie entrepreneur John Abbott, the site probably reached its peak pre-UIGEA, serving up a quirky mix of fun, information and games for its members and attracting industry advertisements and a significant following of players.
That sense of quirkiness and fun will be retained, with the new site describing the experience as: "A virtual ‘amusement park' for online gamblers, filled with games and excitement. Add to this the feeling of a ‘small town,' where everybody knows everybody. The icing on the GoneGambling cake would be all of the online casino bonuses you can earn and win!
"We don't take ourselves too seriously, but I'm guessing the Onions may have already hinted at that!"
The reference to onions is the unusual and comical central theme that distinguished GG from its rivals, and is used in website design, promos and games.
With the advent of the UIGEA and the change of industry marketing emphasis to affiliate methods, business became tighter, and family illness and other complications slowed the action down and ultimately persuaded Abbott to sell the enterprise to Bailey.
Buoyed by his success at Casinomeister, and a commitment from Debbee Silvermann (known to GG fans as ‘greedygirl') to manage the site, Bailey clinched the deal, embarking on an extensive review and revamp of the website, assisted by in-house staffers with a range of technical and creative skills.
Silvermann was no stranger to the company, having worked for Abbott in a marketing capacity for some years in the past, and she has thrown herself into the rebuild and revitalisation program with enthusiasm, says Bailey.
In addition to the vibrant new and more logically constructed website, Bailey's team has expanded the facilities to better embrace modern social networking facilities like Twitter and Facebook, taking the site's traditional ‘community' emphasis to new levels. Members can create their own profile for other members to see, and invite other members into their own ‘home,’ and their own ‘Wall' or personal forum.
Facilities include member profiles and personalised GG onion avatars, private messaging services through ‘GoneGambling Mail' and community pages that include a completely revamped single forum that is easier and more efficient to use and navigate.
The chatroom has also been cleaned up, with pop-up chat removed, and everything on the same page, with Emotic-Onions for members to show their feelings in both forum and chat room.
Each week, Souper Onion will select a game to feature, giving members a greater opportunity to win site rewards, and Bailey's considerable experience in the good and the bad in the online casino space will be felt in site recommendations and the quality of the site sponsors, resulting in better deals for GG members.
Other enhancements will embrace:
* GoneGambling Auctions return, albeit with a few minor changes.
* Who’s Winning – keeping members up to date with how other members are faring on GoneGambling points and casino bonuses.
* Crazy Deals – member notifications on regular and positive deals.
* The Onion Races – not only are the Onion Races back, but they have a brand new look.
* Team Tournament Games – plucked straight from TAG City, now with an Onioney feel.
* The Daily Scoop – giving members the low-down on how much casino bonus money has been won, biggest GG jackpots and upcoming events.
"This is only the beginning of great things to come at GoneGambling," said Silvermann this week.
"Half of the fun of the newly re-launched GoneGambling site will be clicking here and there and finding new things…and there will be plenty of them ahead as our new approach evolves."
