Company Overview
Bede Gaming Limited began in 2011 when three engineers – Joseph Saumarez Smith, Michael Brady, and Dan Smyth – set out to modernise lottery and bingo infrastructure. Today the company sits inside Germany’s family-owned Merkur Group, yet retains a lean culture and product-led vision. Annual revenue reached £21 million in 2021, and the workforce has grown to 271 specialists split between Newcastle-upon-Tyne, London, and Sofia. A single deployment handles more than five billion player transactions every year, while ISO 27001 accreditation and WLA supplier status confirm its responsible-gambling focus.
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2011 in Newcastle upon Tyne |
| Parent company | Merkur Group (Gauselmann Gruppe) |
| Revenue | £21 million (2021) |
| Staff | 271 employees |
| Wagers processed | £3 billion+ per year |
| Key licences | UKGC, MGA, Ontario, Western Cape |
| Flagship clients | Ontario Lottery & Gaming, SunBet, Rank Group |
| Awards | Regular EGR B2B, Tech Track 100 listings |
Global Footprint & Regulated Markets
Alongside its UK headquarters, Bede runs commercial and compliance offices in London and Sofia, supporting regulated launches on four continents. The Ontario Lottery went live on Bede tech in 2018, SunBet renewed through 2029 after record digital growth, and plans are now underway to extend the platform into Namibia and Botswana.
Core Platform & Integration Capabilities
Few suppliers match Bede’s mix of high throughput and true openness. The comprehensive iGaming platform & front-end (“Play”) merges account management, payments, bonus tools, and a React-based native-app shell that operators can brand without agency help.
Lottery & Bingo Solutions
Ontario Lottery’s migration proved the stack’s suitability for draw games and instant tickets, while hundreds of high-street sites leverage Bede for networked bingo jackpots and loyalty.
Casino & Sportsbook Integration
More than 180 content providers, including Blueprint Gaming, feed straight into the same wallet. For SunBet the team added managed sports feeds, live dealer lobbies, and localised CMS content in under five months.
Technology & Security
Bede operates on Microsoft Azure, pairing global auto-scaling with ISO 27001 and WLA-SCS controls. A MongoDB Atlas refactor in 2024 halved data-storage costs with zero performance impact – proof that the architecture remains future-proof. Behavioural analytics and GamProtect APIs underpin an active responsible-gambling programme.
ISO 27001 Certification & Information Security Standards
Bede earned ISO 27001 via eCOGRA back in 2017 and keeps the seal current – evidence of sustained commitment to responsible gambling and data safety.
Scalable Digital Platform
The move to MongoDB Atlas has allowed Bede to halve our data storage costs for identical loads. Atlas has allowed Bede to migrate millions of events per minute, allowed Bede to halve our data overhead, achieving halve our data storage costs and data storage costs with zero loss – true storage costs with zero performance drop.
Awards & Recognition
EGR B2B Awards 2025 Shortlist
Bede appears on the shortlist three times this year, chasing Platform of the Year and Lottery Supplier of the Year at the EGR B2B Awards.
Previous Accolades
Past nods span the EGR B2B and Operator trophies, plus the Sunday Times Tech Track 100 listing – solid third-party gaming review proof.
Partnerships & Success Stories
SunBet contract extension: Five-year renewal covering casino and sportsbook, plus imminent launches in Namibia and Botswana.
Ontario Lottery & Gaming Corporation: Seamless 16-month migration delivered an entirely new digital channel that now ranks as North America’s largest online lottery.
Why Choose Bede Gaming
As a trusted supplier, Bede empowers operators to merge retail and web on one stack – backed by Blueprint Gaming and 120+ other content studios. From the head of the risk and compliance team (yes, David Bartley has been promoted) to 24/7 tech desks, support is built to accelerate your digital ambitions. Moreover, The Atlas project proves Bede can engineer savings while lifting scale – storage costs with zero performance compromise.
Conclusion & Call to Action
Bede Gaming supplies a flexible stack that meets lottery, casino, sportsbook and bingo needs in one place. Ready to accelerate your digital roll-out? iGamingX will arrange an intro and a product demo today.