The company’s chief product and business development officer, Ian Catchick, lifts the lid on this year’s development strategy before looking ahead to 2022.

CasinoBeats: The recent relaunch of BetGames’ flagship lotto product has been a great success; how much of that revamp has been influenced by the changes on a technical level?  

Ian Catchick: We’ve been focusing on a number of areas in which we can make our games more appealing. From a technical perspective, our aim is to continue to provide a stable, resilient and flexible solution that will delight our customers. Our goal is to always adapt and evolve and with that comes changing and optimising our technology.

Overall, we’re delighted with the technical advances we’ve deployed as part of this ambitious relaunch. It was vital that all the hardware we used was state-of-the-art and this is reflected in the end result. 

CB: With the industry focusing heavily on providing mobile and online services, what challenges does this bring to product development and how does BetGames leverage the modern technology resources available?  

IC: The advent of mobile-facing content has caused a lot of suppliers to think hard about ways in which they can offer premium content without sacrificing quality, as mobile and PC platforms require different solutions.

At BetGames, we’ve adopted a philosophy that allows us to overcome these hurdles, through the offering of simple, yet engaging products that focus on the players gaming experience rather than implementing or forcing too much content. 

We are also starting to evolve our products based on a ‘less is more’ philosophy, so that we can provide a clean and compelling gaming experience to our end-customers. 

We place a lot of emphasis on trying to simplify and streamline content, so that a customer has a simple and fun playing experience. This often means a lot of care, thought and attention – all of which is needed to look into ways in which we can enable mobile play to be entertaining and accessible to players on all device types, which adds a few layers of complexity for us to work with, but really brings results.

CB: From a supplier perspective, how much of a shift have you seen from retail to online in recent times? Does that influence the R&D that goes into creating new products?  

IC: Unsurprisingly, we have seen strong growth across online, although we are very fortunate to also have a strong and loyal retail customer base who will continue to enjoy their gaming experience. For us, this proves that there’s a healthy demand within that channel, which shows no signs of changing.

From an R&D perspective, more focus has shifted towards our online offering, and we have more tools available to help us develop and test concepts and understand player behaviours ahead of any major launch. We always focus on developing products that are appropriate for all channels, and we have specific plans and solutions to ensure we have a strong retail product in addition to our delivery. 

It’s crucial that industry-leading suppliers do not neglect retail operations, simply because there’s been an increase in activity online – it’s all about delivering a product that can work flawlessly across every channel.

That being said, our current portfolio serves around 1500 web platforms worldwide. Therefore, it’s vital that we keep an eye on any developments or shifts that occur within the igaming industry. This is of course something we take very seriously at BetGames, and we’re always committed to delivering the very best.  

CB: Having spent over 20 years in the gambling industry, leading product development for a number of major companies, how are you channeling your experience into BetGames’ ambitious product strategy? 

IC: The BetGames product strategy for the year ahead will be transformative, with a lot of ambitious, exciting, and innovative projects ahead of us. As a team, we are relishing this, and with such a large transformation programme, it can become very easy to work on too many things. My experience helps us to prioritise and ensure that we keep completely focused on delivery, while maintaining focus on world-class execution. After all, this is what’s expected from a tier-one supplier. 

Additionally, we will drive activities to ensure that the company continues to progress and evolve, whilst maintaining its record of creating immersive live dealer products, as with the Lotto Reloaded re-launch. I truly believe the company is entering a new chapter whilst continuing to reinvent itself as an igaming supplier – which I’m delighted to be a part of.

CB: BetGames has been expanding rapidly in recent times; does that make your job easier or more difficult? What challenges does such growth present?  

IC: The pace of expansion adds more pressure to keep innovating, to meet the growing expectations that arise from this, so I would say it’s a great challenge to tackle. So far, I would say that we have managed to strike the correct balance of optimisation, innovation and new product development. 

This has allowed us to continue focusing on improving our existing product portfolio, whilst also ensuring we can continue to recognise and address the growing needs for the evolving demographics we serve. 

To add to the excitement, we are also working on something completely new that we will share more details on in the New Year. While I can’t say too much yet, I am confident it will drive the BetGames proposition into an exciting new era, significantly impressing consumers and partners alike.

CB: There have been several product overhauls for BetGames in the last year. Is this set to continue with the remainder of your products?  

IC: There will be an ongoing focus on optimising, improving and innovating in all of our existing games across the portfolio, and this level of intensity and pace of change will increase further in 2022. With our recent relaunch and product overhaul, we plan to continue reinforcing ourselves as a supplier to maintain rapid growth. A good example of this is how we will continue to develop our bespoke solution opportunities to our partners, which have proven extraordinarily successful in recent years.

CB: Looking at 2022, what does the BetGames roadmap look like? Can you give us any insight into new product-based or market directions that you have in store?  

IC: We have great ambitions, and a committed board willing us to push even harder in 2022. Our plans will focus on three areas – simplification and optimisation of our existing products, development of customer loyalty/engagement tools, and innovation and development of new products with the launch of an exciting new product vertical, which we’ll share more information on in the new year. 

Looking ahead, there are many exciting milestones in our roadmap that will be introduced in 2022, and this will allow us to continue enhancing our portfolio and ensuring we hit our ambitious growth plans with ease.

The post Relaunched and revitalised: A tale of 2021 for BetGames appeared first on CasinoBeats.

CasinoBeats: For those who might not know, what is Uplatform? And what is your unique contribution to the betting and gaming industry?

Kate Romanenko: Uplatform is a comparatively new technical solution on the igaming market; it provides a few business services – you can use it as a turnkey operating platform for your existing business and apply your own licence or just integrate our Usports API, and support your existing operations.

Our platform consists of the following units: Usports – namely, sportsbook in iframe with all traditional sports and esports feeds, Ucasino online casino games portfolio of must-have content for successful operations in the right jurisdiction and tailored for each client, Utools – technically, the fundamental solutions for running and analysing your business performance and supporting business growth.

Uplatform’s unique offering, in my opinion, is that it was developed with a focus on regulated markets first and foremost, as Europe and the rest of the world is moving closer to regulated gaming and implementing specific localised rules and tax regimes on a daily basis; as a result, we put this at heart of our strategy. 

As for the role, we are looking into settling in the industry as a trusted long-term brand and provide maximum flexibility for our clients as we expect the industry to keep changing more and more in the future, so we must ensure our clients will have all the needed tools and solutions at their fingertips.  

CB: From a casino product perspective, what has changed the most in recent years? If we matched up the typical casino portfolio of today with one from a few years ago, what would stand out as the key differences? 

KR: Today’s portfolio is definitely broader than the one a few years ago. Although this is a very predictable trend – the number of game studios is growing, people are leaving game development companies and starting their own studios. In turn, they release their own portfolios, which multiplies the number of games overall in the igaming industry. 

What’s interesting though is that there are more unique mechanics present nowadays than a few years back – there are Pop Wins, Infinite Reels, which I find extremely engaging. Speaking of mechanics, it’s great to see that BTG have licensed their Megaways mechanics and the whole niche of game suppliers has benefited from this licence. 

Last but not least, it’s amazing to witness the development of the live games niche – finally, we can see emerging competition in this sector, regardless of quite a larger cost involved, when compared with RNG game development.

CB: And how big a part does live casino now have?

KR: I’d say it’s amazingly bigger than it used to have just a few years back. There is definitely a greater number of Live Games suppliers nowadays, like On Air Entertainment, Provision Games, Swintt Live, Stakelogic Live, EGT Live – as some RNG game providers also expanded into the Live Games niche. 

On the other side “of the screen” we can also admit that the overall playing interest in live casino has grown to a considerable extent. Partly due to pandemic and restrictions to access real land based casinos, so far, these two reasons – growing player appetite for live games and the emerging amount of such content and choice have developed this vertical noticeably during the past few years. 

Online gambling is growing as an entertainment vertical in general. Live games are a great leisure activity with social elements, so it definitely remains to be popular among players.

CB: What is your approach to servicing players in different countries? In your experience, what is the bigger pull for slots players – the theme/premise of the game or the individual game mechanics?

KR: In this regard, year-or-year statistics and continuous market research of online casino businesses is helping us decide what content to add and promote into a specific country or region. Players are actually showing what they prefer to play – and operators just need to listen and look thoroughly at their requests and the statistics. 

The stats and knowledge we possess, for example, is that players in the CIS region are more into traditional classic themes and often are not even using the buy bonus feature, while most of EU players are very active in the buy bonus feature and are attracted to slots with “Progress Bar” mechanics, when there is game-in-game, and so on.

CB: Speaking of games, do you have any thoughts on what to look out for in 2022? Are you expecting some new innovations?

KR: To be very honest, yes, I think we will see some new content coming in 2022, I expect some new Live Games titles – targeting Asian and South Asian markets in particular. I’d also expect new Live studios to see the first results after their launch this year and acquiring some of the market share – this trend is quite interesting to monitor, I’d recommend watching the live casino market share changes in 2022.

As for RNG games, speaking mainly of slots, I think a couple of new studios will likely arise. Hopefully, we will see new mechanics coming or a new player engagement tool. I’m sure there is space for innovation in slot games development; we just need to put the right talent into the right conditions, and the magic will happen. As for the studios to watch in 2022, I’d keep an eye on Nolimit City, BTG, High5 Games, Stakelogic, to name a few.

CB: How has the splurge of M&A activity (both on the studio and platform side) impacted the casino sector? Might we see more of a closed shop for smaller companies wanting to break in if the trend continues?

KR: Honestly, I personally see it as a positive trend, as long as M&A does not bring massive redundancies that impact human lives and wellbeing, and as long as they promote variety and differentiation in products and work approaches. 

At the end of the day, it shouldn’t matter who owns whom – as long as the iGaming industry itself blossoms with innovation and diversity and business is constantly developing and growing – this will be more than healthy and empowering for all of us. 

Although, if the impact would be negative, bringing about limitations, imposed decisions, politics and unprofessionalism, then our industry would face an unhealthy situation, and we will lose or discourage great minds that could deliver great things.

CB: And finally, how successful has 2021 been for Uplatform? And what would constitute a successful year in 2022?

KR: In fact, we spent the year quite busy polishing every process and detail – legal and compliance departments have been actively working all year long setting a solid basis for our business, the technical parts are being polished, and even the designers have been busy working on the tools’ look and feel. 

We exhibited at our first expo with a Uplatform stand at iGB in Amsterdam this year, which we are very proud of. We attended other industry events, met up with our existing partners, and acquired future partners. 

Long story short, everybody has been busy in 2021 so far. In 2022, we are expecting to boost our presence and launch new clients into regulated markets, keep working on our portfolio and offering, and just keep following the industry trends and appetite.

The post Uplatform: A platform to meet fast-changing <br>regulated market demands appeared first on CasinoBeats.

All casino brands operating under the TruePartners.io affiliate program now utilise Affilka, including TrueFlip.io, TrueFlip.com and Emojino.com, as well as the group’s new brand Lucky Nova.

CasinoBeats: Firstly, could you please tell us a little bit about the flagship brand Trueflip.io and your affiliate marketing program? 

Bohdan Temnyk: The True Flip casino offers a variety of games that are available for instant play on multiple devices. The clean interface of the platform gives off a theme park vibe, and it is really easy to navigate through. 

The category selections sort the games, while the search bar lets you find any game you would like to play. The intuitive interface is packed with extensive selections of games, rewarding bonuses, and the ability to use cryptocurrencies as a payment method. 

True Flip offers over 2000 online casino games, and new games are added each month! The casino offers dice games, video poker, jackpot slots, video slots, classic table games, card games, live casinos, and much more. The slots include a variety of themes: oriental, space, Irish, fairy, Egyptian, and many others.

True Flip offers a great bonus program with additional perks to make players feel appreciated while simultaneously enhancing their possibility to win. The casino has a variety of payment methods to choose from, all fast and easy.

Our Affiliate program is named TruePartners. We offer only top converting brands in a broad GEO spread. Generous bonuses, memorable design, and a player-centric retention system –  that makes promoting our brands easy and enjoyable. The program features four large casino brands.

CB: You started partnering with Affilka just under a year ago. How did this collaboration come about?

BT: We loved the experience of a fruitful and very productive partnership with Affilka. Today’s market is full of companies that make big promises, but do not always fulfill them. Affilka is a team of highly professional workers who know exactly what they are doing. We were always provided with constant support, all our questions were answered at any time. 

This cooperation allows us to build a really good product. We will be happy to continue working with Affilka, and strongly recommend this company to anyone willing to receive high-performance marketing tools.

CB: Before collaborating with Affilka, True Flip worked on another affiliate marketing platform. Why did you make this decision and what attracted you to Affilka that you lacked before?

BT: First of all we were satisfied with Affilka’s payments module. It saves us a lot of time and the auto payment option helps us to settle payments much faster than before. Affilka’s settings were especially useful for working with multiple brands within a single affiliate program. Not all affiliate platforms offer this option. When all the information is collected in one place, it makes it much easier to manage and analyse your activities.

CB: One of the main advantages of Affilka is its flexible commission constructor. What would you say about this?

BT: The commission constructor in Affilka is one of the best I’ve seen so far. You can build cascade commission plans for your affiliates and exclude users from GEOs which you don’t target. Also, if you ever had an issue with paying commission for a multi-account, Affilka will solve it. One of my favourite features is the way you can update a partner’s commission plan without changing their link. Affilka’s commission constructor has many more features to use, so you’ll probably find the best feature for yourself. 

CB: Affilka allows you to export reports and track detailed statistics regarding your affiliate programme. How useful is this feature to you and how do you use this information in your work?

BT: Report export feature gives us the ability to access a wide range of information, stored in the Affilka. The information obtained from the exported reports allow us to analyse user’s actions more deeply, build predictive models, find fraudulent traffic and make the necessary internal calculations for our company. Also, reports help us to have a clear picture of relationships with our partners, see the results of cooperation with them, and make our company more effective.

CB: The TruePartners affiliate program now features four of your online casino brands. How convenient is it to run so many projects on one affiliate platform?

BT: As Affilka has flexible reports I’m able to sort each brand separately, so I don’t face any issues dealing with four brands within one platform. Affilka builds bills separately for each brand; negative revenue of one brand won’t affect other brands, so you won’t have any issues with brand bundling.

CB: Could you share any figures, statistics or achievements during your cooperation with Affilka? 

BT: During cooperation with Affilka, our 1st brand got two awards. First is the AskGamblers award. We won The Best Casino 2020 nomination. Second one is the SiGMA Award. We got The Best Crypto Casino 2021 title. 

CB: And finally, what are your hopes for your collaboration with Affilka in the coming future?

BT: As we’re growing day by day and Affilka adds new features and upgrades twice per month, we’ll continue our cooperation and four brands within one platform won’t be our limit. For one I can tell it became much easier to manage affiliates with the Affilka software. 

We don’t spend time on invoices – Affilka does it for us. We don’t spend time sending new links to affiliates, we just update existing ones. So I hope that Affilka will save us much more time in the future.

The post TruePartners reflects on productive <br>Affilka partnership appeared first on CasinoBeats.

Heading up the development of the new studio is experienced industry professional Joey Hurtado, who joined the Pariplay team in September 2021.

Before that, he spent two years as Head of Product Operations at Gamesys, while his decade of industry service also includes time at 888 Holdings, Unibet Group, GVC and Betsson, where he was managing director of operator brands including Casino Euro, Norges Automaten and Suomiarvat.

CasinoBeats spoke to Hurtado about how sitting on the operator side of the table will help him to hone Wizard Games’ value propositions and its vision for the future. 

CasinoBeats: During your time working in the industry, what are the major changes you have seen in the igaming industry? 

Joey Hurtado: The industry is constantly changing which is a big part of what makes it such a fun and interesting place to work. Over the last few years, the one major change has been regulation. 

This is a challenge for operators and studios alike with requirements on features and functionality as well as the introduction of gaming taxes forcing us to take a new approach to both game design and commercial strategies. 

All these changes present several challenges, but also a lot of opportunity for those willing and able to adapt to them and evolve, something I believe we are well positioned to do at Wizard Games.

CB: What challenges do you think gaming studios have to overcome today to be successful in the years to come?

JH: As regulation evolves and increases, we see a lot of different requirements and restrictions on certain game elements. The flexibility and agility to be able to develop in a way that can accommodate multiple regulatory models without having to create bespoke versions for every market is critical. 

In addition, taxation has squeezed margins for operators which have had a knock-on effect on pricing. To maintain profitability, we have to be more innovative and creative in the way we build games as well as invest in value-adding features such as our engagement features and more recently our ‘buy bet’ solution.

CB: You have, up until recently, worked on the operator side. What are the most valuable lessons that you will now apply as the managing director of Wizard Games?

JH: Having been on the other side of the table, I understand first-hand the competitiveness of the slots market and the sheer amount of content available to operators. This puts pressure on studios to create better games but also to push the boundaries in terms of innovation, the commercial side of things, and service. 

The operators own their players, and it is critical we understand this and cater to their needs and requirements in our roadmaps whilst leaving space and freedom to try new things and be creative.

CB: What is your vision for the future of Wizard Games?

JH: I want to see Wizard Games take a seat at the top table with other tier one studios. We have already done a lot of groundwork with our platform, features and distribution so now it’s time to elevate our content and portfolio to not just keep up with industry trends but to be the one setting them.

CB: Okay, so what is the major value proposition Wizard Games has for its partners?

JH: We are a service focused business. We rely on our partners to push out and promote our content to their players and we aim to ensure there is no better provider to work with than Wizard Games. We work closely with all our partners and find solutions to their problems and try to create a service style bespoke to them and their players rather than a one size fits all approach.

CB: Why rebrand? What is it about the new brand that reflects where the studio is going towards?

JH: Despite already having a portfolio of over 100 games and an existing presence in the industry, we felt that it was time to give our studios their own identity, independent of the Pariplay brand. We really wanted to create a tier one business outside of Pariplay’s already established and successful aggregation and distribution platform.

CB: And what is Wizard Games keeping from its former experience as Pariplay games and what is being changed/improved?

JH: As much as we value our new independence, we would be mad to ignore the highly talented teams and amazing platform that Pariplay has. Whilst the games studio has rebranded and we are investing in new talent and leadership, we will still be working closely with teams at Pariplay and using their state-of-the-art of aggregation, engagement and service elements to support Wizard Games.

CB: From the operator perspective, what will the period of change look like?

JH: The transition will be seamless. We were conscious that our operator partners should not be affected by the changes we’re making. In the mid to long term, they can look forward to a host of new content, development of features and a renewed focus on our commercial partnerships, supporting them in helping their players experience the magic. 

CB: Are there any new products ahead to surprise the industry? 

JH: Most definitely, but if I told you, they wouldn’t be a surprise.

CB: And finally, what can you share about your plans for the studio in 2022?
JH: In simple terms, our 2022 plan is to continually improve. We would like each game to be better than the last, and we also want to introduce new and exciting firsts for us which we hope to share further down the line.

The post You’re a Wizard, Joey: Meet the man leading Pariplay’s rebranded games studio appeared first on CasinoBeats.

“The fish rots from the head. If we as a management team don’t get it right, we can’t expect other people in the company to do so either.”

Ulle Skottling, deputy chief executive officer at Videoslots, references a favoured quote of his new chief people officer to underline the operator’s approach to leadership.

In an interview with CasinoBeats, Skottling said that Videoslots has emerged “bigger and better than ever” from the challenging COVID period by reacting to the here and now, while also looking ahead to what it wants to represent as a company.

He also talks about entering Spain, expansion plans for Mr Vegas – which showed an impressive growth in a short period of time – and the “small matter” of a football World Cup for its proprietary sportsbook. 

CasinoBeats: The last 18 months have brought about a number of significant changes for the gaming industry. How has Videoslots managed during this period?

Ulle Skottling: It has been a challenging period for everybody, but I’m happy to say Videoslots has emerged bigger and better than ever. We have grown significantly in our core markets, launched in Italy and we’re about to launch in Spain. We’ve also debuted our own sportsbook and new casino brand Mr Vegas. The latter in particular began performing very well very quickly. 

At a less visible level, we have managed to maintain productivity as a team despite the restrictions placed upon us by the pandemic. We were and remain very conscious of the changes made on the lives of the 250 people we employ at Videoslots. Working from home has many advantages, but it can be disruptive too and we moved quickly to make sure people were getting the breaks they needed and weren’t spending every hour of the day thinking about work. 

“It is very easy when you’re working remotely to sit back and look at the numbers and forget about the people”

Without wishing to sound complacent, I think we achieved that and hopefully what we’ve managed to roll out as a company is a good demonstration.

CB: What have been the biggest changes at Videoslots since the pandemic began and how has the company as a whole evolved in the face of these changes?

US: The most obvious change was the inability to meet up and engage with colleagues in person. As good as video calls can be, you can never recreate that human interaction. Bonding and promoting company culture is not easy either, particularly when you are onboarding new people. I’m aware that some companies saw the pandemic as an opportunity to cut costs. 

We took the opposite decision and decided early on that we wanted to make sure our employees were not disadvantaged by having to work from home. We made sure they had the right equipment and similar working conditions to what they were used to in the office. 

We also invested in the office itself, creating a fantastic new space where we’re now able to offer our employees free breakfast and lunch each day. We reacted in the here and now, yet also looked ahead to what we wanted to represent as a company – and we have received excellent feedback from our employees.

CB: On a personal level, in what ways have you had to adapt your leadership style to keep the sense of company culture while everyone has been working from home?

US: It is very easy when you’re working remotely to sit back and look at the numbers and forget about the people behind those numbers. You have to be disciplined about making sure you make time to talk to people and listen to their opinions and suggestions, as well as sharing your own. 

The bottom line is you need to try harder, otherwise you risk people becoming disengaged or isolated by the circumstances they find themselves in. We’ve all found ourselves in the situation where we haven’t got back to emails or messages for a while because we’ve been on back-to-back calls, but the time invested in the people on those calls is hugely beneficial. I’ve always tried to make time to listen and explain, but I redoubled my efforts during the pandemic.

“Spain will become a market for us any day now”

CB: Will this leadership style change again now that people are starting to return to the office?

US: I don’t think so. It has always been important to talk the talk and walk the walk, and I think if the pandemic has taught us anything it is that we need greater transparency and communication. Anne Muscat Scerri recently joined us as chief people officer. Anne has experience of working with building company culture based on strong values. 

We want to make sure that we are not only offering the best working environment but also the best employee benefits within our industry. We know that employees today look for solid and honest work environments based on trust and respect. Malta can be a tough employment market for an employer like us as people have options. We talk about retention of customers in casino, but retention of valuable employees is just as important. 

And we as a management team need to keep them engaged, empowered and entertained in equal measure. HR and leadership around HR is more important than ever. The Maltese have a phrase, which Anne likes to quote, that the fish rots from the head. If we as a management team don’t get it right, we can’t expect other people in the company to do so either.

CB: Looking forward to 2022 and beyond, can you give us a sneak peak of any new developments / products that you have in the pipeline?

US: As I’ve hinted earlier, Spain will become a market for us any day now. We very much want to maximise our opportunities there and in Italy. There is so much scope to expand Mr Vegas too. We have big plans to give it an exciting new design, which we didn’t quite have time for when we launched. It is performing very well already, but the new look will give it an extra push. 

There’s also the small matter of a football World Cup next year, so I’m sure that will give renewed impetus to our proprietary sportsbook. We’re excited about its growth potential. 

Lastly, those readers with longer memories may remember we bought the assets for poker company PKR some time ago. We are hoping to be able to unveil some exciting developments with that later in the year. Watch this space, as they say.

“People don’t take a new job or leave their existing job purely for salary reasons”

CB: What are your key goals for Videoslots over the next 12 months? 

US: We need to upgrade our vision and mission as a company because the growth we have experienced in the last 12 months, not to mention the growth we expect in the next 12 months, has really changed our horizons. There are lots of exciting opportunities in different markets and with different products and we need to make sure we have a coherent plan to make the most of them. 

With those opportunities come challenges, with changes in regulation being an obvious one. In some cases that will be markets opening up, in others it will be markets changing what we are able to do as an operator. Needless to say, compliance is a big focus for us, but so too is having the technical and commercial teams to cope with our expansion. 

CB: How do you ensure that you are an attractive employer within the igaming industry?

US: We’re very proud of our offices and excited by the additional plans for the building. We think that will continue to prove to be an attraction. Yet, from a company culture point of view, we are very aware that employees follow their leaders. Our leadership needs to be on point at all times, as a result. 

We’re very proud of our employees old and new, but they need to feel they are safe and seen, whether that’s in the office or working from home, and that they can grow within the company. 20 per cent of our new appointments are internal promotions, something we take great pride in. We want our employees to feel that they can grow and develop a successful career at Videoslots. 

No job is just about the money. People don’t take a new job or leave their existing job purely for salary reasons. They need to see there is a strong company culture that values them as individuals within the team. If we can keep that front and centre, I think we can achieve our goals.

The post Ulle Skottling: Strong company culture key to Videoslots success appeared first on CasinoBeats.

The landlocked, neutral nation – famous for excellent chocolate, superb skiing resorts and attractive international banking laws – has traditionally maintained strict rules and regulations regarding gambling, particularly when it comes to online casinos. 

Little by little, the situation is changing and Switzerland is becoming an increasingly welcoming place for online casinos and is home to numerous land-based casinos as well. The regulations are gradually being reformed and liberalised, allowing for a proliferation of online casino outlets, albeit strictly licensed and supervised by a government body. 

Due to these changes, there are now many places to play roulette in Switzerland, both online and at licensed casinos. 

Best Swiss casinos for roulette 

Switzerland is home to 21 land-based casino operations. According to Swiss law, each canton can host only one casino. Since Switzerland has a total of 26 cantons, there are five cantons that do not have a casino. 

Many Swiss casinos are known for their extensive poker options, including regular tournaments and daily cash games. However, they also boast a wide range of roulette tables for customers to enjoy. 

The Grand Casino Bern, located in the country’s capital, is a small but prestigious casino that offers American roulette from Sunday to Wednesday. The Grand Casino Bern also has electronic roulette and 18 TouchBet roulette stations. 

Meanwhile, the Grand Casino Basel, which is famous for its staggering number of slot machines, has eight roulette tables, along with electronic roulette. The live table roulette games can be played from 2pm until 3am during the week and from 2pm until 5am on the weekends. 

For lovers of English roulette, the Casino Trans Montana has three live tables open from 7pm until 4am everyday, as does the Casino Barrier Fribourg, while Casino Barrier Jura offers one live English roulette table.  

Best online casinos in Switzerland for roulette

While Switzerland’s online casino industry is still in its early stages of development, having only recently been properly legalised and licensed, there are plenty of websites offering a decent selection of online roulette games, including French roulette, American roulette and European roulette. 

According to roulettesites.org/switzerland/ the best roulette websites in Switzerland for RNG (random number generation) roulette games are those with an eCogra certification. 

eCogra is an independent auditing company that checks the randomness and fairness of computer managed games. Unsavoury online casino outlets will certainly not be certified by eCogra and should not be trusted. Those that are eCogra certified can be trusted to provide a fair and honest gambling experience. 

Casino777 is one such online casino. Casino777 is fully certified and regulated by the Swiss gambling authority. What’s more, it offers an exciting range of RNG roulette games and a generous welcome bonus, as well as a smooth, enjoyable user experience. 

For players who enjoy live online casino games with a real-life dealer who you can engage with while playing, SwissCasinos offers numerous live roulette tables. Their online roulette selection includes spread bet roulette, American roulette, Italian roulette, live football roulette, and quantum roulette. At SwissCasinos players can enjoy the casino experience directly from the comfort and convenience of home. 

Choosing where to play

For gamblers who enjoy roulette, Switzerland has a variety of land-based and online casino options to choose from. With casinos located in 21 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most residents of Switzerland will not be far from a licensed casino offering roulette games throughout the week. 

And for those who prefer to play from home there is a growing selection of high-quality online casinos to choose from, including Casino777 for RNG roulette games and SwissCasinos for playing at live online roulette tables.

The post Reformed regulations and the best <br>roulette casinos in Switzerland appeared first on CasinoBeats.

But why does Pariplay stand out among a pool of like-minded game aggregators? From Fusion to Ignite, and with so many extra conversion and retention mechanics in between, managing director Adrian Bailey might just be overseeing a paradigm shift for the igaming industry.

CasinoBeats: In just a few sentences, why is the Pariplay game aggregator better equipped to service leading operators than the competition?

AB: We are a provider that focuses on offering the greatest return of investment and the highest value to all our partners. When we partner with operators, we adapt to their needs to ensure we deliver all the content and the services that are essential for them to reach their business goals. 

Unlike other aggregators, our partners have the freedom to choose the content they want and we do not interfere with their business as our role is to act as their technical enabler.

On top of that, we offer the fastest integrations in the market, the widest range of proven games from global studios, and a set of tools that operators can easily configure to maximise their players’ engagement. 

Our Fusion platform has been licensed or certified in over 15 markets in Europe, North America and South America, so we can support our partners in a high number of regulated jurisdictions. 

CB: Can you just explain how the process works for onboarding a new client? How do you knit together the single approach to integration through ‘Fusion’, the extra conversion and retention mechanics available, the ‘Ignite’ distribution framework and your-in house games portfolio?

AB: All our operator partners have access to 12,000+ games from a wide variety of the world’s most sought-after studios. The content we offer on the Fusion platform consists of premium titles from the industry’s top suppliers and major vendors, as well as a portfolio of over 120 of our own in-house casino slots that we keep adding to every month. 

As mentioned, we have also launched player engagement tools which offer extra conversion and retention mechanics that are available for operators and studios to easily configure tournaments, free bets and other engaging rewards tools such as Spin that Wheel. 

A crucial need expressed by so many operators is the ability to set up tournaments and not be limited to a single vendor or game. Fusion Tournaments is an ‘out of the box’ solution that works with all vendors and games, with no extra development required. 

Then, from a tech standpoint we are unique: all operators have the ability to operate with Pariplay from a single endpoint covering multiple jurisdictions and jurisdiction settings placing all the heavy lifting onto us. This means that with each new regulated jurisdiction added, most game providers will assign an additional end point, which means further work to implement and maintain. 

Pariplay handles this internally and the operator has nothing to do. With that in mind, it’s important to say that this philosophy applies to all our products. No extra implementation is required at all to have access to our entire suite of engagement tools and everything works seamlessly out of the box.

CB: And what does the feedback you get from operators tell you about the most desired components of those above? What have you learned as you’ve gone along about tweaking the set-up or service made available to clients?

AB: In this ever-changing environment of fierce and increasing competition, it’s important for operators to be a first mover and to establish a presence in a new market as early as possible. To achieve that, they face a set of major challenges that we help them successfully tackle. 

The first one is the need to localise their product offer. This is becoming increasingly important to make a mark in any market. It is no longer enough to throw large amounts of content at players, it needs to be targeted to their preferences. 

To succeed when entering a new jurisdiction, operators therefore need access to the local studios, deep knowledge about the market and to also ensure that all their games are certified there. We offer all this via our unique solution, which enables operators to hit the ground running but also to thrive in the long run. 

Uniqueness is another big challenge and we can help operators separate themselves from the competition by facilitating relations with vendors, developing exclusive content and helping set up tailored gamification campaigns, for example. 

Operational challenges also occur where operators must figure out how to launch 50 to 100 games a month in a smooth and streamlined way. We take care of this so that operators can fully focus on attracting and building the relationship with their customers. 

CB: Is there still a place for individual casino content integration? Or is this now unrealistic both in terms of price and development time?

AB: Direct integrations are becoming rarer as large operators are getting bigger and the challenges for smaller studios to grow and distribute content increase. Aggregators are the answer for new studios, and they offer major benefits over direct integration. What platform providers do is streamline the whole process – the integration, the commercials, the legal, and compliance aspects. 

We’re making everything smoother and easier and you’re saving time and costs and your access to market is very quick. While direct integrations can make sense in some cases, we think aggregation is the way forward as it offers everything under one roof for both suppliers and operators and solves a lot of headaches. 

CB: What is the future for the Pariplay aggregator? If your service is creating a paradigm shift in the igaming industry, what comes next?

AB: We will continue to put our clients first and ensure we offer the targeted content they demand to help them flourish and to propel their own business strategies across the globe. We are known for our fast and flexible service, and this will remain our focus to ensure we are regarded as a leading supplier to the global igaming industry. 

At Pariplay, we are fully data driven so every game or product we launch is researched and analysed thoroughly via our data and BI system to understand how it performs and what we can learn to improve our offering in the future. We never rest till the client is satisfied!

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A nice analogy to understand the innovative approach at Quik Gaming, described in detail by head of games Jade Pecorella as part of an exclusive interview for CasinoBeats. 

She tells us more about delivering the best of the land-based slots experience in a live setting, combining scheduled live draws with a single player alternative, and why it chose the unconventional presenter-free approach to eliminate the chance of human errors.

CasinoBeats: First of all, can you just explain what you do at Quik Gaming?

JP: I manage the creation and direction of the games, continuously pushing innovation the industry has not seen before and what operators would love to offer to their players to play. Together with a team of talent we evolve the ideas of game mechanics to art direction and a math modal into magical moments that keep players on the edge of their seats.

CB: Why is Quik Gaming different from other live game providers?

JP: From the start, Quik Gaming set out to create games that are different to what’s already out there. We have witnessed what slots achieved in gamification and elevated that by mixing in the live element, bringing together the best of both worlds. But we’ve taken all this a step further and created live as well as single player versions of all our games. We’re really leaving no stone unturned.

Every game we produce and launch has the live element at its core, but in a way that’s entirely different to what we’re used to seeing in game shows and live games. Since its founding, Quik’s intention has been to offer a live studio game environment without game presenters, instead integrating elements of slots and lotto to provide the ultimate entertainment experience to all players, ranging from slot players to live and lotto players.

Whether by way of our various live lotto machines or a stunning live wheel, the draw machines are all self-contained, free from any human intervention and so there’s no chance of error. The innovation adopted in the way the draws are carried out means that the integrity of the game is intact. This is what sets us apart.

Presenters are not required to anchor in conversation as the games are fast, interactive and all so absorbing for the player, that they need no one to keep a player locked in. The games are simple and engaging, and players don’t need a presenter to remind them how to play or tell them the outcome. They can simply focus and enjoy it.

We bridge the experience of different game types, creating unique content which others don’t offer. The games are fast and dynamic with multiple layers of playability – something never experienced before. We focus on placing the player at centre stage in the realm of a live casino game. Adding gamification gameplay to keep players on the edge of their seat.

CB: Using auto draw machines rather than game presenters is certainly unique; what are the pros and cons of going down this route?

JP: The magic is created through Quik’s live equipment operating from our innovative studio. Most of the magic happens in our studio based in Malta. What sets us apart from everyone else is not just what we do – but also the way we do it. 

We work in an unconventional way, using a fresh approach and breakthrough technology that guarantees transparency and automation, while our system ensures that the least amount of mishaps occur during live games.

This is because our games eliminate the chance of human error. Using a state-of-the-art lotto machine instead of a game presenter offers a heightened level of trust for players, and drastically reduces the chance of mistakes or inaccuracies. 

Presenting the draws live in our Malta studio assures that they are completely transparent. For each outcome, a live draw machine shuffles the balls for the guaranteed random amount and draws them once all bets are placed. Players will experience a build-up of excitement as they watch it draw real balls one by one, in real-time, to match their predictions.

In live studio environments, we rely on robust hardware that delivers the best player experience as well as the most compatible high-quality stream for a player to view. 

At the Quik studio, there is no room for compromise. Our set-ups aim to achieve complete autonomy with environments that are reminiscent of game shows, built on excitement, experience and expectation. Innovation is always at the forefront of our studio design and implementations, with the underlying purpose of delivering unique content to players. 

We understand that game presenters engage the players and explain the game to new players but are making sure to create tutorials and information that provides the players with all that they need.

CB: You also have the single player versions of your games; is this meant as an easy ‘way in’ for new players or just about giving more control than the live draws?

JP: The single player games are an easy introduction for our player base to understand how the game works, as they’re in control of the experience with the tap of a button. They have a Go Live button feature, exclusive to all our single player games, which will seamlessly take players to the Live game.

Both versions have the same rules and gameplay. The only difference is that, in Wheel of Fire for example, single player uses a visually rich, animated wheel, with a player in control of the timing of spins. Whereas in the live game, there is a live video stream of our custom-made wheel which spins when the timer counts down to zero.

CB: Why do you think that the overall package from Quik delivers a better blend for slots and live casino players than the traditional offering?

JP: Quik’s games are for all players, and with the single player and live games, we bring the land based experience of an exciting, familiar, slot-inspired bonus game to the live experience of casinos. Quik combines the familiar setting of the live entertainment environment with big wins and immersive bonuses, as well as familiar characters that players can relate to.

CB: And finally, what are the key goals for the company? Where do you want to be in 12 months time?

JP: Establish ourselves and the brand in the market. We have already steered the attention of several influential operators and with this we would bring the brand and our unique game offering to players to consume. This alone will give Quik Gaming the space to grow. With our new ideas and concepts in this hybrid game offering we are attracting the right attention to develop the products and get the right market positioning.

Our roadmap for 2022 includes 13 new games with a mix of live and single player, more bespoke draw machines and twists on traditional games. We want to be the company that provides a new gaming experience to all kinds of players.

We take pride in our hard work and how far we go to create an unforgettable player experience. We take innovation seriously, and our young and dynamic team is shaping the gaming industry in ways we never thought would be possible. We often get told we don’t fit in a particular box, and I think my team will agree when I say that that’s the way we like it – it’s the only way we can think outside of it.

The post Jade Pecorella: How the unique Quik Gaming experience is keeping the player centre stage appeared first on CasinoBeats.

Forging a reputation takes decades, building relationships that help both parties succeed and take markets to new heights. Since its establishment in 2012, Ezugi has built up a reputation as a significant force in creating best-in-breed localised content. 

Now operating 12 studios with over 20 different game types and partnering with more than 200 operators spanning the globe, Ezugi understands the needs of clients wishing to enter new territories. It provides key understandings of cultural differences and tailors products to bring a local flavour and ensure success for its operators.

Ezugi is innovating constantly. Localised content is an exciting avenue in the igaming market right now, and the demand for Indian games in particular is growing significantly. With that in mind, a new Indian themed studio – Maharaja Studio – has been developed and will be launched very soon. 

Adding to an already strong Indian portfolio, the studio will provide simple formats that play brilliantly on mobile, and players will get to experience six Hindi speaking tables, delivered in an authentic and majestic environment. 

Yet even leading providers are not immune to change, and it’s not enough to rely on the status quo. They need to ask themselves whether their images and values are keeping up with market progression.

Since becoming part of the Evolution Group in 2018, Ezugi has seen that progress increase, moving into new geographical markets, and continuing to build its reputation as a bold and agile provider. 

But the reality is, Ezugi’s current profile no longer encompasses all that it is, and all that it has achieved. Which is why it’s made the decision to evolve and reveal a new brand identity. This change starts by focusing on the visual identity of the company, in recognition of the need to stay contemporary and competitive. 

“Operators want to know that they’re working with a brand that recognises shifts in the market”

So, what does this look like? With its new logo design, Ezugi has capitalised on its always live mentality – 24/7 open tables, 24/7 support, and 24/7 gaming opportunities. 

The aim is to highlight its sharpness of vision when it comes to launching fresh ideas, and operators will have noticed the addition of a distinctive red streaming live dot, as well as a new slogan: ‘Smart Move’. 

Operators already know Ezugi for providing innovative localised content, doing away with the ‘one size fits all’ mentality, and instead taking a ‘first-to-market’ approach that delivers sophisticated content. That hasn’t changed. 

Rather than taking away from the current brand, Ezugi is building on an already prestigious reputation and giving operators the confidence that they’re working with a brand that looks to stay ahead of market trends.

And that’s the next step forward – taking this new brand and delivering something exceptional with it. Ezugi is developing an innovative and unique gaming experience and in Q3 will be launching Video Blackjack. Today, most people work and communicate through video-chat applications, and this has only been exacerbated by recent pandemic restrictions. 

Industries have adopted video functions for their daily work life on a global scale. So, why should live casino be any different? There’s a gap here for a live video-chat function on casino tables, and Ezugi will be adding this to one of its Blackjack tables later this year. 

The idea behind this feature is to provide players a socialising factor while playing Blackjack. This aspect looks to replicate the feeling of a genuine land-based casino experience, seated next to actual players and giving a new social atmosphere to the whole experience. 

Ezugi is about providing its partners, and ultimately the end user, with a state-of-the-art gaming experience, which only comes from embracing change and acknowledging when modernisations need to take place. 

Operators want to know that they’re working with a brand that recognises shifts in the market and can not only adapt their games to fit new player needs, but also adapt at a corporate level to improve and provide a modern, sophisticated service. 

With the development of a new brand image, Ezugi recognises how far it’s come in the last nine years, and that its original persona no longer fits all the incredible services it can now provide. It marks a new and exciting chapter for Ezugi and its partners.

The post The importance of adaptation: What the rebrand will mean for Ezugi partners appeared first on CasinoBeats.

Casino House has, therefore, become the first product of the partnership between digital product specialist mkodo and igaming solution provider Bejoynd, with more casino sites set to follow suit later this year.

Bejoynd offers a complete back-office solution to online casino operators including player account and wallet management, payments, compliance, AI-based player protection and fraud detection tools, reporting capabilities and bonus management.

To integrate with the GAT platform and deliver the Casino House web app, mkodo utilised its full package solution known as Casino Web Framework (CWF), designed specifically to integrate with iGaming platforms.

Sue Yoxall, Co-Founder and Executive Director of mkodo, said: “By integrating our CWF product with the GAT platform, we are able to offer Bejoynd’s clients a service that propels their digital strategies through increased speed to market and an enhanced experience for their players.

“Bejoynd’s platform is an exciting new addition to our range of PAM integrations, and we’re thrilled at the potential to work with more of their clients in the future.”

Jonas Oscarsson, Founder and CEO at Bejoynd, added: “mkodo provides a seamless solution that gives our clients the stability and support they need to succeed.”

The post mkodo delivers Casino House web app on Bejoynd’s GAT platform appeared first on CasinoBeats.