North East online gambling business tombola saw revenues and profits jump in a year which saw its employee numbers drop by almost a third.
Tombola creates and develops bingo software and arcade games from its Sunderland riverside base, as well as offices in Gibraltar, Milan, Madrid, plus local sites in Italy, Denmark and Sweden. The company hit the headlines four years ago when Betfair owner Flutter Entertainment swooped for the business in a £402m cash deal.
The company – initially launched in 2006 by Philip Cronin – has now published accounts for 2024, showing a big lift in turnover from £201m to £255m. Operating profit soared over the same period, going from £48.6m to £73.4m.
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Tombola said it continues to invest in research and development, and accounts show that R&D costs were upped from £2.17m to £4.55m in the year. Notably, the accounts show a 31% reduction in the workforce, from an average of 870 employees to 596.
Just two months before the start of the 2024 financial year, the firm announced plans to make a number of redundancies as part of a review of its operations. Owners Flutter confirmed at the time that around 250 jobs were at risk, amid changes to its customer service teams.
There is no employee share scheme at present, but the directors said they are considering the introduction of a scheme “as a means of further encouraging the involvement of employees in the group’s performance”. The group also made charitable donations of £2.38m – a marked rise on the 2023 figure of £975,559.
A report within the accounts signed off by the board highlighted its focus on boosting its market share.
It said: “The group continues to focus on growing its market share of the bingo-led market in existing territories while looking at opportunities to enter new regulated markets. The strategy is underpinned by plans to continue releasing high quality in-house built products and reaching our customers through exciting promotional offerings.
“We have a strong stance on responsible gambling, protecting our customers and putting them at the heart of everything we do. We optimise value for money, player retention and the potential for harm by having strong responsible measures in place. Our Safeplay team work alongside our 24/7 Customer Service team, where customer satisfaction is paramount. We also engage with our customers in our on-site chat rooms, as well as dedicated player panel sessions.”