Virgin Games Sister Sites

Virgin Games sister sites include Jackpotjoy, Monopoly Casino, Rainbow Riches Casino, Deal or No Deal Casino, and Bally Casino. These sites share the same parent company – now Intralot S.A. following their acquisition of Bally’s International Interactive division in October 2025 for €2.7 billion. The group holds licences from the UK Gambling Commission and Gibraltar Gambling Commissioner.

Important for Irish readers: Virgin Games currently only accepts players from the United Kingdom. Irish players looking for similar experiences should consider Paddy Power Casino, Betfair Casino, or 888 Casino, all of which accept Irish players and offer comparable slot and bingo options.

Quick Facts About Virgin Games

What Makes These Sites Worth Checking?

You might be wondering why we’re covering a UK-only brand. Here’s the thing – Virgin Games operates within one of the most impressive casino networks in the industry, and understanding that network helps Irish players identify where similar experiences might be found. Plus, these restrictions occasionally change as operators expand their licensing.

🔹 Jackpotjoy – The flagship bingo brand of the entire network. Jackpotjoy predates the Gamesys acquisition and has been running since 2002, making it one of the longest-established online bingo sites in existence. It’s the brand that essentially built Gamesys into an acquisition target worth billions. Jackpotjoy focuses heavily on bingo with substantial jackpot games, hence the name. The community aspect is stronger here than at other network sites, with active chat rooms and community moderators creating a social bingo experience. Regular players develop genuine connections with chat hosts and fellow players.

🔹 Monopoly Casino – Built entirely around the Hasbro board game licence. This site leans into the Monopoly theming hard, featuring branded slots and Evolution’s Monopoly Live game show. If you’ve ever wanted to pass Go and collect more than £200, this is where you’d do it. The UK exclusivity is particularly frustrating for Irish players given Monopoly’s universal appeal. The live casino game in particular creates an immersive experience where the familiar board game aesthetic translates surprisingly well to gambling entertainment.

🔹 Rainbow Riches Casino – Dedicated to Barcrest’s legendary Rainbow Riches slot franchise. Now here’s something most people don’t realise – Rainbow Riches was originally released in 2006 for land-based fruit machines and became so popular that it spawned dozens of sequels and an entire casino brand. This site offers every variant in the series, from the original classic to newer releases like Rainbow Riches Megaways. The Irish theme is ironic given that Irish players can’t actually access the dedicated site.

🔹 Deal or No Deal Casino – Another TV show tie-in, this time based on the Endemol game show format. Features the Evolution live dealer version where you can actually open boxes with a live presenter. The theming runs deep throughout the site, not just as a bolt-on feature. The tension of choosing between the banker’s offer and your box translates remarkably well to online gaming.

🔹 Bally Casino – The more general-purpose casino offering in the network, branded under Bally’s corporate name. Less themed than its siblings, focusing instead on a broad game selection without the novelty branding. This is where players who want straightforward casino gaming without character mascots or TV show tie-ins tend to end up.

🔹 Double Bubble Bingo – A bingo-focused site with a fun, bubbly aesthetic. Smaller than Jackpotjoy but appealing to players who want a slightly different community atmosphere. The sites share the same Gamesys platform but maintain distinct personalities.

The Company Running the Show

Here’s where the corporate history gets interesting. Virgin Games has been through more ownership changes than most players realise. The brand launched in 2004 under Virgin’s own gaming division, operating under licence from Richard Branson’s Virgin Group. In 2013, Gamesys acquired the operations while keeping the famous Virgin branding under licence.

Then in 2019, JPJ Group – the company behind Jackpotjoy – acquired Gamesys in what was technically a reverse takeover, renaming the combined entity Gamesys Group. That made Virgin Games a sibling of Jackpotjoy rather than a competitor.

Bally’s Corporation entered the picture in 2021, acquiring the entire Gamesys Group for $2.7 billion. This brought Virgin Games under the umbrella of a major American casino operator with land-based properties across the United States.

The most recent twist came in October 2025 when Bally’s sold its International Interactive division – including all these UK-facing brands – to Intralot S.A. for €2.7 billion. Intralot is a Greek company listed on the Athens Stock Exchange, primarily known for lottery operations across Europe and the Americas. Bally’s retained a 58% stake in Intralot as part of the deal, so there’s still American ownership influence, but day-to-day operations now sit under Greek corporate control.

What does this mean for players? Honestly, probably not much immediately. The brands continue operating on the same Gamesys proprietary platform that’s won multiple industry awards. The “Red Hot Rewards” loyalty programme remains in place across the network. Corporate reshuffling at this level rarely filters down to player experience quickly.

Finding Your Ideal Alternative

Since Virgin Games won’t accept Irish registrations, the practical question becomes: where can Irish players find similar experiences?

🔹 If you want bingo focus – Paddy Power Bingo and Betfair Bingo both accept Irish players and offer solid bingo networks. They’re operated by Flutter Entertainment rather than Intralot, but the core product is comparable. Mecca Bingo also accepts Irish players and has significant heritage in the bingo space.

🔹 If you love branded slots – Rainbow Riches slots are available at numerous Irish-accepting casinos including Paddy Power, Betfair, and 888 Casino. You don’t need access to Rainbow Riches Casino specifically to play the games themselves. Same applies to Monopoly slots – the individual games are widely distributed.

🔹 If the Virgin brand appeals – Interestingly, Virgin Bet (the sports betting brand) is operated by a completely different company – LiveScore Group – and does accept Irish players. It’s not a casino, but if the Virgin name carries weight with you, that’s an option for sports betting.

🔹 If you want Evolution live games – Monopoly Live, Deal or No Deal Live, and other Evolution game shows are available at virtually every major Irish-licensed casino. The games aren’t exclusive to these themed sites.

What Irish Players Should Know

The UK-only restriction stems from licensing rather than any technical limitation. Gamesys historically focused on UK Gambling Commission and Gibraltar licences without expanding into Irish Revenue Commissioner regulation. When operators do hold Irish licences, it’s typically because they’ve made a deliberate commercial decision to enter that market.

🔹 Why the restriction exists – Operating legally in Ireland requires either an Irish Revenue Commissioner licence or reliance on EU mutual recognition of other member state licences. The Gamesys/Intralot network chose to focus on UK licensing, which creates a clear boundary at the Irish Sea. The commercial calculation presumably concluded that the Irish market size didn’t justify the additional licensing costs and compliance requirements. Larger operators like Flutter and Entain have decided otherwise, but network size affects these decisions.

🔹 Could this change? – Potentially. Intralot’s primary business is lottery operations, and they’re active across multiple European jurisdictions including Greece, Italy, and several smaller markets. If they see commercial opportunity in Ireland, adding Irish licensing to their existing UK/Gibraltar setup wouldn’t be technically difficult. However, there’s no public indication this is planned. The focus seems to be on consolidating the acquired brands rather than geographic expansion.

🔹 Irish alternatives with similar features – For slot-focused play similar to Rainbow Riches Casino, try Paddy Power Casino or Betfair Casino. For bingo similar to Jackpotjoy, consider Mecca Bingo or Paddy Power Bingo. For live game shows like Monopoly Live and Deal or No Deal Live, 888 Casino has excellent Evolution coverage. The individual games are widely distributed; only the themed site wrappers are UK-exclusive.

🔹 The Virgin Bet confusion – Don’t confuse Virgin Games (Intralot/Gamesys) with Virgin Bet (LiveScore Group). They’re completely separate companies that happen to licence the same Virgin branding from Richard Branson’s Virgin Group. Virgin Bet is sports betting focused and does accept Irish players under Irish Revenue Commissioner licensing. The brand licensing creates understandable confusion, but the corporate separation is complete.

🔹 Accessing the games themselves – While you can’t register with Rainbow Riches Casino or Monopoly Casino from Ireland, the actual games they feature are available elsewhere. Rainbow Riches slots appear at any casino offering Barcrest/SG Gaming content. Evolution’s Monopoly Live and Deal or No Deal Live are available at virtually every Irish-licensed casino with live dealer sections. You’re not missing the games, just the branded destination sites.

🔹 Network loyalty programmes – The “Red Hot Rewards” programme that operates across Gamesys sites is obviously unavailable to Irish players. Irish-licensed alternatives have their own loyalty schemes – Paddy Power’s rewards programme, Betfair’s promotions, 888’s VIP programme. None offer cross-site network benefits comparable to what UK players can access across the Intralot brands.

Our Take

Virgin Games sits within an impressive network of themed casino brands, but the UK-only restriction makes it irrelevant for Irish players in practical terms. The good news is that the actual games – Rainbow Riches slots, Monopoly Live, Deal or No Deal branded content – are all available through Irish-licensed alternatives. You’re not missing out on gaming content, just the specific site wrappers.