Mercia Fund Management has invested £150,000 in a game developer as part of a funding round worth nearly £700,000.

The Henley-based investor has backed Dab Gaming which builds and operates mobile free-to-play games on smart phones and tables.

It recently launched its debut game BingoDab which aims to bring the excitement of playing real world bingo to electronic devices.

It features real dabbing of bingo cards and rewards for the speed and accuracy of dabbing along with other surprises, awards and challenges.

In the future, the company is looking to develop further free-to-play mobile products in the casino and sports betting genre.

Dab Gaming already has a business-to-business sales agreement with Nektan, a Gibraltar-based real money casino provider, which will see the resale of games to clients throughout Europe and the US.

The £150,000 came from Mercia's Seed Enterprise Investment (EIS) while a team of private investors has injected a further £520,000 into Dab Gaming.

Other recent investees of Mercia Fund Management include VirtTrade, Crowd Reactive and Canary Systems.

Darren Clarke, co-founder of London-based Dab Gaming, said: "The funding from Mercia provides the financial boost we need to launch our business-to-consumer venture and realise our growth ambitions.

"Marketing, user acquisition and app store optimisation are our main priorities leading up to the launch of our mobile free-to-play games.

"In addition to this, the investment enables us to effectively support our team of developers, technical and marketing professionals."

Mike Hayes, head of Mercia Fund Management's digital and e-commerce division, said: "Funding provided by the Seed EIS has made it possible for exciting and scalable businesses like Dab Gaming to progress.

"Fortunately, in the recent budget, the Chancellor has backed SEIS funding for start-ups, so we envisage more gaming companies to benefit from this funding, just as Dab Gaming is."

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