SBC Founder and CEO Rasmus Sojmark commented: “This year’s CasinoBeats Summit and Betting on Sports will be our biggest yet and it is great to see that the number of operators attending who see the events as an important resource for their business. 

“Whether it’s keeping on top of the latest regulations, getting some insight on a potential new market, discovering the latest tech, meeting a potential new partner, catching up with existing customers, or discussing innovative ideas to reach end users, Betting on Sports and the CasinoBeats Summit cater to all these objectives and more.”

SBC Group Chief Commercial Officer Jaap Kalma added: “What is great to see is the number of operators recognising the depth of content at our events and sending employees in their dozens in order to take advantage of this opportunity.

“Companies who are sending at least 10 representatives include: Bet365, Sky Betting & Gaming, GVC, Betway, Pinnacle, William Hill, Danske Spil, Nederlandse Loterij, ComeOn, Napoleon Sports, Veikkaus, Star Sports, BetDaq and BetShah.”

To buy tickets for CasinoBeats Summit, Betting on Sports and the networking parties including the Pride of Gaming Awards and the Sports Betting Hall of Fame click here.

With more than 300 speakers across seven daily conference tracks, Olympia London hosts the greatest knowledge sharing event in the industry. Covered in the conference tracks are:

• Future of Gaming 
• New Horizons in Gaming
• Safer Gambling Forum
• Customer Journey & Marketing
• Betting & Sports
• Payments
• Market Reports
• US Betting
• Digital Marketing
• Future of sports betting
• Emerging betting markets
• Technology in Focus
• Regulation in Focus
• Seminars on Diversity & Sports Sponsorship

Complementing the extensive conference schedule, Betting on Sports and CasinoBeats also boasts 150 exhibitors showcasing the latest products and services to the international betting and gaming industry.

The event will be rounded off with the spectacular networking party at the Natural History Museum on Thursday night with the inaugural Pride of Gaming Awards and the Sports Betting Hall of Fame, into which six new members will be inducted.

Held at Olympia London from 17-20 September, Betting on Sports is the largest dedicated sports betting conference in the world and provides the most extensive conference agenda of any event in the industry. 

Taking place alongside Betting on Sports, the second CasinoBeats Summit sees the industry’s premier online casino conference return with 30 exhibitors and more than 120 speakers across four tracks of content.

The post Network with more than 250 operators at CasinoBeats and Betting on Sports appeared first on CasinoBeats.

CasinoBeats: Why did you sponsor and what are you hoping to achieve?

Alex Cohen: “As CasinoBeats brings together a wide range of industry leaders from tier-one operators to disruptive suppliers, it’s a great opportunity to form valuable relationships that will serve us well as we embark on a new era at Kalamba.

“We attended CasinoBeats Malta earlier this year, which proved to be an extremely insightful and successful event, and so sponsoring the London summit was a natural step. The content agenda never disappoints and will without a doubt leave delegates full of inspiration and new ideas.”

What are you looking forward to at the show?

AC: “Engaging in thought provoking conversations and making new connections. Now is a testing yet exciting time for the industry – a mood which will likely be reflected in lively panel discussions and an energetic exhibition floor.

“It’s always a pleasure to catch up with our existing partners, and we’re looking forward to meeting with key stakeholders to discuss what’s in store for Kalamba and how our products can transform operators’ online offering.”

What can we expect from Kalamba over the next year?

AC: “The last few months have been an exciting time for Kalamba Games, with the unveiling of our new branding and the releases of top-performing new titles that are demonstrating the talent we have in the company.

“We’re focused on taking that momentum into 2020 and continuing to push the boundaries of innovation in game development.”

“Operators have an absolute goldmine of data – But could they be using it more effectively?”

Tell us about the panel you’re speaking on and why you chose to join it?

AC: “The panel looks at the role operators should play in product innovation. Operators have at their fingertips an absolute goldmine of data when it comes to game performance, player trends and customer preferences. But could they be using it more effectively to help guide suppliers in creating tailored content? It’s an interesting question, and I’m looking forward to unpacking arguments for and against.

“We believe that getting to know the player and understanding different play styles is
key to creating games that appeal across a range of demographics. Suppliers should be seeking player-led innovation and having access to data and insight to inform game development – particularly in the age of localisation – is more important than ever. We’ll also be debating the value of streamers – which are playing an increasingly bigger role sat between the supplier, operator and player.

“As a controversial new way to market content, it’ll make for an interesting conversation.”

The CasinoBeats Summit and Betting on Sports, incorporating the Safer GamblingForum, take place at Olympia London on September 17-20 – learn more and buy tickets for the CasinoBeats Summit here.

The post ‘A great opportunity’ – Kalamba’s Alex Cohen looks ahead to the CasinoBeats Summit appeared first on CasinoBeats.

The CasinoBeats Summit will welcome up to 1,000 delegates to Olympia on 17-20 September, offering visitors four conference tracks and unrivalled networking opportunities with as many as 200 operators present, along with regulators, leading suppliers, payment companies and marketers.

In addition, the Summit will now take place alongside the Digital Marketing Forum, from the team at AffiliateINSIDER. Delegates will gain access to both the Summit and the Forum, as well as the wider Betting on Sports Week, which takes place at Olympia at the same time.

Lee-Ann Johnstone, founder and CEO of AffiliateINSIDER, said: “We know that digital is not vertical specific and after the successful launch of our Digital Marketing Forum at the Betting on Football conference in March, which saw more than 200 delegates attend the educational digital marketing sessions, we’ll be partnering with CasinoBeats in September to deliver another great event.

“The Digital Marketing Forum has been created to help acquisition marketers in the igaming space get ahead of digital and affiliate marketing trends, and help promote skills development and on-the-job learning.”

Stewart Darkin, Managing Director of CasinoBeats, added: “We’re thrilled to be working alongside the AffiliateINSIDER team at Olympia in September.

“The marketing content at last year’s CasinoBeats Summit was especially popular with delegates so we’re looking forward to welcoming digital marketing professionals to the Forum and to CasinoBeats’ complementary programme of operator-focused content.”

Johnstone continued: “Those interested in learning about the latest disruptive digital trends affecting casino, sports and the gambling industry as a whole, will find no better value for money than at this combined event which spans three days of thought-provoking content and thought leadership.”

The CasinoBeats Summit will welcome around 40 operators to the event as delegates and speakers, including Hard Rock, LeoVegas, Lottoland, Mansion, Olympic, Paf, Rank, Royal Panda, William Hill and Wishmaker, while leading suppliers are also well represented, including BetConstruct, SG Digital and Red Tiger.

For more information on the Digital Marketing Forum, contact nl@affiliateinsider.com

For further information regarding the CasinoBeats Summit, please contact stewart@casinobeats.com

The post CasinoBeats Summit joins forces with the Digital Marketing Forum appeared first on CasinoBeats.

In the second edition to a two-part miniseries, CasinoBeats sat down with Nestorovski at last month’s CasinoBeats Summit to address the role that gamification can play in allowing operators and suppliers to engage with their core demographic.

Referring to the panel on ‘Role of operators in product innovation’, Nestorovski explained that gamification has become one of the buzzwords in the iGaming industry in recent years. He commented: “What we can say about it is that gamification is a part of the entertainment world, and it brings value for both players and operators that have it embedded in their DNA.

“We have developed specific APIs to match the actual need for the operators to be able to develop the gamification parts. It is the front-and-centre of the modern iGaming world, and the more gamification there is, the more players become engaged. It helps retention, and also helps acquisition of players.

“it is going to become more granular in the future, and EveryMatrix has committed to working jointly with operators to fulfil that layer of providing the newest technology to help them with their front-end efforts in gamification.”

Speaking at the CasinoBeats Summit, Nestorovski appeared alongside Avraam ‘Akis’ Tosounidis, COO and co-founder of Campeon Gaming Partners/Campeonbet, Alex Cohen, COO and co-founder of Kalamba Games, Jan Ridenfeldt, head of business unit content at Oryx Gaming, Melvin Ritsema, managing director of Royal Panda and Tobias Svensen, CEO of CasinoGrounds, as moderator.

While discussing the role of new technologies such as AI and VR, Nestorovski added that the implementation of such features has not quite reached a point of becoming ‘seamless’ yet, but this could change as technology evolves.

He continued: “We have seen the expansion of mobile technology in the last ten years. So, if I can make a prediction, I would say that in the next five or ten years, we are going to see much more AI-assisted technology, voice technology, VR, and maybe even more Augmented Reality, which will enable more movement and interaction with the player’s surroundings.

“No one knows what the future holds, but my hope and where I see this going is that we will be able to interact in a more immersive environment, and this will help the industry as a whole.”

The post EveryMatrix’s Kiril Nestorovski discusses gamification and retention appeared first on CasinoBeats.

Speaking at last month’s Amsterdam held iGB Live, Wes Himes, interim CEO of the Remote Gambling Association, he believes that the industry is ‘on the same page’ when it comes to implementing safer gambling measures, but that further industry collaboration is needed.

When asked about what more the industry can do to ensure that safer gambling initiatives are implemented, Himes explained: “The best thing that we can do is take action. Our work programme covers a whole gambit of areas from responsible gambling to advertising, and through all of that we’re trying to pull together a work programme that shows that we as an industry are taking forward initiatives to make it a safe and entertaining environment for our customers.

“And as long as we are able to do that and prove that we are doing that, then I think we’ll go a long way towards avoiding regulation that might have unintended consequences.”

He continued: “If you look at our industry, we created GamStop three years ago which is a self-exclusion scheme in the UK for all online licensees. So it’s not as though we haven’t had a successful collaboration, but I think that we also realise that we are generating lots of data and we’re understanding our customers more and more – and the next leap is to understand them across operators.

“And when we do that, we’re going to have a much bigger confidence level of knowing that customer, and that’s going to help us in terms of early intervention if they happen to show any particular signs of problem gambling.”

The conference takes place at Olympia London on September 17-20, alongside Betting on Sports – learn more and buy tickets for the CasinoBeats Summit here.

The post Wes Himes: Collaboration is needed to prevent overbearing regulations appeared first on CasinoBeats.

The latest edition of the SBC-led event, a nexus of innovation and strategy in the casino and igaming domains drew 4,500 key players and thought leaders to Malta on May 21-23, underscoring its status as a cornerstone affair for the industry.

Commenting on the event’s significance for the island, Ivan Filletti, CEO, GamingMalta, said: “Malta is the Silicon Valley for igaming, so having events like the CasinoBeats Summit, with all the energy it brings, along with the leadership and talent showcased in the various workshops, conferences and networking events, helps us keep the beating heart of the industry on the island.”

With the event’s sixth iteration drawing 50 per cent more operators and 45 per cent more affiliate representatives than last year, participants took note of its growth and appreciated the enhanced networking opportunities provided. 

When asked about her reason for attending the Summit, particularly considering the long journey from South Africa, Sasha Boerma, Head of Casino and Affiliates at White Label Casinos, commented: “The reason why I was motivated to come to CasinoBeats Summit is the phenomenal growth of the event. I feel like I’m spoiled for choice with the networking opportunities here.” 

Boerma also highlighted the summit’s unique offerings, such as the streamers stage. “These are people that we find really hard to contact and engage with, and here they are in the room. We get to see them live in action and speak to them, and I feel like that’s such a unique opportunity,” she added.

Gary Keaney, Director of Bingo & Community at Entain, also praised the event for its inclusive agenda that delves into niche areas, often overlooked at other industry events. “It’s good to see an event like this explore areas, like bingo, that are not traditionally highlighted,” Keaney noted. 

Headlining the event was John Romero, an award-winning programmer, game designer, and level designer celebrated for his work on iconic classics like ‘Doom’ and ‘Wolfenstein 3D.’

“The keynote speaker today provided a very different perspective. This blend of viewpoints shows that we can learn from various angles and allows us to have debates and discussions, learn from each other, and bring that knowledge back to our respective workplaces,” Keaney said.

He added: “We can take different flavours from things that we learn and go in different directions to see what lands. Innovation is quite hard to come by, so if we’re all able to discuss what we believe is the right general direction, the paths we take will hopefully lead to more entertaining and fun results for the end users we’re all trying to cater to.”

Martin Collins, Chief Business Development Officer at Soft2Bet, described the CasinoBeats Summit as a warm and welcoming environment. Collins noted the lack of corporate stiffness, allowing attendees to engage more authentically and foster meaningful business relationships. “It’s more relaxed, and as a consequence, you get more business out of it,” he said.

In praising the organisation of the Summit, Collins commended SBC for empowering participants to actively engage in the process. “The one thing SBC does, perhaps more than any other event partner, is really put the onus on us. The direction is not dictated by the event partner; you allow the experts to define the content, what the stands look like, and how they present themselves. This freedom allows us to achieve our goals while being in control of the process,” he explained.

Tero Vienonen, Head of Commercial at Logifuture, emphasised the event’s effectiveness in facilitating networking opportunities. “I’ve always found this event to be very good for networking with key decision-makers in the industry,” he remarked, highlighting the importance of building relationships with potential partners to further Logifuture’s B2B endeavours.

The Logifuture representative also highlighted the Summit’s role in helping his company understand the needs and geographic interests of its partners, underscoring the strategic value of participating in events like CasinoBeats to inform market strategies.

Moreover, Vienonen praised the practicality of the Summit, noting its ease of navigation and accessibility for setting up meetings with industry stakeholders. “The practical side of it, the fact that it’s easy to navigate and set up meetings is the strength of this place,” he affirmed.

Ross Parkhill, CEO of Rhino Entertainment and a longstanding participant of the CasinoBeats Summit highlighted its unwavering focus on key industry concerns. “I think it’s a nice format, very industry-focused on the operator side or supplier side, focused around the product, which not all shows are,” he remarked.

One of the most notable aspects of the Summit, as Parkhill noted, was its ability to attract a diverse range of attendees, including those who may not always be directly involved in day-to-day operations. In addition, Parkhill commended the Summit’s exhibition floor, where he encountered both familiar and burgeoning suppliers. “I was impressed with the exhibition floor; there were some suppliers that I hadn’t seen before or some that I had seen but weren’t quite the size they are now,” he noted.

Gali Hartuv, CEO of WarriorLab, also a dedicated follower of SBC for years, shared his insights as an active participant in workshops and conferences, noting the genuine interest and engagement of attendees and the event’s well-organised structure and relevant content tailored to attendees’ interests.

“A lot of the topics that I’ve seen on the agenda were relevant; it’s what the industry is asking about now, it’s what everyone is focusing on. I saw conversations around poker, conversations about monetisation, and conversations around responsible gambling. SBC hit the content relevance out of the park,” he said.

Among the voices echoing the positive sentiment was Nick Maroudas, Global CTIO of kwiff. Discussing the breadth of topics covered at the Summit, Maroudas expressed appreciation for the diverse range of discussions available: “I’ve managed to actually attend a few, so I’ve gotten some questions answered that I had in my mind and got information that I can take back to the office with me.”

The CTIO also emphasised the importance of diversity in industry events, noting that CasinoBeats attracts professionals from various sectors within the industry. He said: “This industry is not only made up of the commercial parts of the business; it’s made up of technology, marketers, and the payment guys. So, to have this diversity reflected in an exhibition or conference really makes it more engaging.”

Reflecting on her experience at the Summit, Julia Weygandt of Tornado Games expressed appreciation for SBC’s initiatives to promote diversity and inclusion, particularly through events like the Women in Gaming breakfast and sessions on breaking biases. 

The Chief Operations Officer commented: “The thing that makes SBC stand out is that you always take care of everyone. It’s not just going to a conference and then you have all these events happening, and you have to figure out where to go. You make sure everyone is very well taken care of. I send a message and I get a reply instantly. It’s the fact that you focus on that partnership and that relationship.”

The post The beating heart of the industry: CasinoBeats Summit witnesses phenomenal growth appeared first on CasinoBeats.

Despite experiencing a “renaissance” a few years ago due to the COVID-19 pandemic keeping everyone indoors and on screens, a return to normality has dealt online poker a poor hand – with player acquisition in decline. 

Consumers have become increasingly reliant on instant gratification and quick-fire game rounds. As such, the online poker scene faces a plethora of issues from reduced player retention to alienating the older generation with new ideas and innovations. 

Engaging audiences with strategies to ensure that poker stays high-profile and engaging for all players, the ‘Back to basics – does poker really need re-inventing’ panel gathered poker experts on the second day of the CasinoBeats Summit. 

Moderated by SBC Media Project Director, Martyn Elliot, the panel explored why online poker is struggling to compete with other online casino verticals, as well as several other entertainment alternatives. 

“The market has become saturated with so many things to compete over players,” said Amit Berkovich, VP Head of Poker at 888, detailing that online poker is facing competition against “recreational games” on top of thriving entertainment and social media platforms like TikTok, Instagram and Netflix.

Referring to the title of the panel, Berkovich suggested that online poker doesn’t need re-inventing, “it needs innovation”. He stated: “The game itself, the structure is good. It’s been around for ages and people enjoy it but I do think the industry needs some shakeup.”

Bringing the experience of a professional poker player was Peter Jesko, Strategic Consultant at Casino Guru, who referred to an existing discussion of whether online poker is dead by stating that it’s still alive, but is offering less opportunities for players to make consistent cash. 

Jesko also referred to the uniqueness of poker as an encouraging factor for the game’s survival, suggesting there are little to no other games that combine gambling and skill-based gameplay as well as poker does.  

The panel then moved onto the presence of live poker tournaments that stem from the online scene. Telly Bartolo, Marketing and Event Manager at Casino Malta, explained that these tournaments offer much more than just a gameplay experience. 

He commented: “Poker players moving from online to live tournaments are looking to travel, they’re looking to meet people form different nationalities and mingle around. It’s not all about the actual game, but it becomes about all the other things in the full experience.”

As 888 runs its own live tournaments, Berkovich noted that these events often end up in a loss for the company, but become extremely worthwhile in other areas than revenue. 

“It used to be an acquisition tool,” he said. “I think it’s less so, it’s now more of a branding tool and a tool to create content. We don’t make money off of live events, we invest money into them. 

“It’s very powerful to come to a location like London, Madrid or Barcelona and have a live presence. It gives us the opportunity to meet the poker community and get feedback, while creating really high quality content that’s very important.” 

Evenbet’s Business Development Executive, Ivan Shumilov, also joined the panel, referring to live tournaments as the “pinnacle for players” due to offering “something bigger, more visible” with participation in “huge events”. 

As the conversation turned to online poker’s flaws when retaining players, Shumilov pointed out that slots and other online casino products are far more simple, with less buttons, instructions, outcomes and education needed. 

While agreeing that poker player retention is “definitely an issue,” Berkovich outlined a desire to make player education more gamified, providing players with engaging “crutches” rather than lengthy educational processes that can often be viewed as “patronising”. 

Bartolo agreed that over-the-top education and “too many rules” could even have the potential to “kill the game,” adding to the format’s difficulty to provide quicker, simpler experiences that the younger generation of players demand.

The post CasinoBeats Summit: an outcry for online poker innovation appeared first on CasinoBeats.

Taking place in the hustle and bustle of the Summit’s first day, the ‘Navigating niche – mainstream opinion on alternative games’ panel questioned whether game formats like crash, plinko and mine are beginning to break into the mainstream. 

Moderated by Rhino Entertainment CEO, Ross Parkhill, the panel kicked off by looking into the dawn of these formats, with cryptocurrency casinos providing the birthplace for several niche game styles. 

As the COO for crypto operator 500 Casino, panellist Christoffer Andersson explained that fast-paced demands from cryptocurrency gamblers had a big part to play in establishing many niche game formats.  

“There’s a big difference when it comes to regulated, fiat money gambling to unregulated crypto gambling, we have a much younger audience that want fast money straight away, and they want to understand the game straight away,” he said. “That’s why I think niche games are performing so well for us.” 

With alternative formats thriving in the crypto space, it didn’t take long for regulated operators to take note, creating a rapidly growing demand for new and innovative genres. 

Michael Cini, Owner of ELA Games, noted that he took alternative game formats seriously “from the very beginning”, telling the audience that ELA’s first office was an old abandoned arcade from which the firm drew inspiration from. 

Cini explained: “One game was one of those claw machines, and one of us had the brilliant idea of, ‘why don’t we turn that into an online game?’ – which is when we came up with Cash Crab. 

“From the very start, we found niche games to be an important part of us for creativity reasons,” he continued. 

“They’re predictable, provably fair and trustable. That resonates with the player.”

Daniel Giuffra, Brand Manager at CasinoGrounds

While the panel went on to analyse the rise in popularity for alternative titles, Cini did underline that “there’s no questioning the dominance of slots in our industry”. 

However, this led him to suggest that although slots are still a key focus for the supplier, niche games can open developers up to “endless possibilities”. 

Daniel Giuffra, Brand Manager from CasinoGrounds, was also present to provide a casino streaming perspective and explain why niche games can not only provide an alternative to slots, but enhance them as well. 

Giuffra also suggested niche games can create a more exciting experience for a streamer and their viewers when compared to slots, due to typically being much more fast-paced games. But, he did note that the games streamers decide to push usually depend on whatever “can go viral”. 

He said: “It doesn’t really matter if it’s the new hot slot, or the new hot, provably fair, RNG software, it really depends on what provider can create a game that is easily shared on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, all of those.” 

Arriving equipped with knowledge on Brazil’s existing gambling market, ahead of the nation’s well-awaited regulation, was Mariana Tostes, Head of Operations at FBMDS. 

Tostes highlighted online bingo as a standout performer in Brazil, perhaps due to the land-based alternatives’ historic presence in South America’s largest country. 

She estimated that FBMDS’ Brazilian online casino offering is made up of around 40 per cent niche games, naming online bingo and crash as examples, with the rest made up by slots. 

“players have the shortest attention span ever and it’s only getting shorter”

Daniel Giuffra, Brand Manager at CasinoGrounds

The conversation then moved to what the younger generation of players that view slot streams desire, with Andersson in no doubt that the need for players to feel “a part of something” is pushing suppliers towards multiplayer titles. 

While agreeing that multiplayer igaming is an important aspect to consider when making new games, Cini warned studios not to “go too heavy too fast on it [multiplayer] right now” due to risks of burning themselves out. 

“We know crash games and skill games are getting more popular, and I think that’s an important thing to register,” said Cini. “But you’ve also got to prepare for the future.

“You’ve got a new generation of players that aren’t used to slots, they’re used to multiplayer games with social features and I think you have to prepare yourself for that future. 

“Don’t go too fast and too heavy on it right now, don’t burn yourself out as a company, but you should start planning ahead and weighing that in.”

Later on, Andersson warned that suppliers should refrain from overcomplicating titles. He explained: “That is the reason that people are playing these games, they want to understand it straight away and they want to know how to win.” 

Responding to that notion of avoiding overcomplication, Giuffra agreed “100 per cent”, claiming that “players have the shortest attention span ever and it’s only getting shorter”. 

He continued: “We used to have the 100 spin rule,” referring to the need for bonuses to be provided within 100 spins, “now it’s the 50 spin rule. “You have to strike this very delicate balance between trying to innovate in a slot, and giving players something they already know. 

“That’s where I think these niche products stand, as they’re the same across different casinos. They’re predictable, they’re provably fair and they’re trustable. That resonates with the player.”

The post CasinoBeats Summit Malta: new audiences and ‘endless possibilities’ with niche games appeared first on CasinoBeats.

However, it was unanimously agreed across CasinoBeats Summit’s Industry Trends and Future Predictions panel that personalisation and the player must be one of, if not the most, important factors for any casino and their future innovation prospects.

Sponsored by NetBet, the Industry Trends and Future Predictions panel featured a variety of industry experts from across sectors who forecasted their unique perspectives on what casino and slots platforms might look like in the years to come. 

On the panel was Dmitry Starostenkov, CEO of EvenBet Gaming; Inesa Glazaite, Chief Commercial Officer of iGP; Itai Zak, Executive Director of Digicode and former CEO of SBTech; Alexander Martin, Advisor & NED at Dice GP and former CEO of SKS365; and Mark Taffler, Commercial Director of Hub88.

Moderated by SBC Media’s Project Director, Martyn Elliott, the panel was asked about casino innovation and technology, with product personalisation being the response each panel participant gave in some form or another.

Martin noted that gamification needs to be at the top of operators’ minds with something new and something interactive, while Starostenkov stated that igaming verticals need to work together to create “comprehensive entertainment” for consumers on casino platforms.

Glazaite highlighted the importance of adapting to changing player behaviour, while Zak remarked that “the player must be placed in the centre”.

Taffler doubled down on Zak’s comments that casinos must recognise players being at the forefront of any future direction for any operator.

The Hub88 Director said: “You have to put the player at the centre of everything that you do. As a B2B supplier, we have to put the B2C customer at the centre of everything we do.

“We have to look at this at a more macro-level. The industry is maturing at such a rate that players are a lot more educated now and I don’t think there’s been any real innovation for a while, I think it’s more iteration.

“That is fine, we don’t have to reinvent the wheel. I refer to the Henry Ford quote quite a lot where he said ‘If you ask customers what they want, they’ll say faster horses’ and then he invented cars. Customers didn’t know that they needed cars, they thought they could only have a faster horse.

“What is really important is, as the industry matures, we see growing markets that localisation is still fundamentally important. I still hear of people going into LatAm. Which part? The Portuguese-speaking part or the Spanish-speaking part? How big is the file size of your content? How good is the mobile connectivity in Venezuela vs Germany? Where are your servers?

“I think there’s a lot of really hygienic things that need to be done in the industry before everyone starts to move on to the BHAGs – big, hairy audacious goals. Ultimately, all that matters is that the player is happy if you’re a B2C, and ultimately, all that matters is that the casino is happy if you’re a B2B.”

Current trends

Elliott then asked the panel about trends that they are seeing emerge currently in the casino space and several topics were discussed.

Martin noted that he’s starting to see more social games on the market, with gameshows getting involved in various ways, as well as streaming services and the metaverse. He also pointed out the growing interest in artificial intelligence.

“Something that has been around for a long time already and something that everyone should be adapting is AI,” stated Martin.

“The key question is who is adopting the technology. We have been using it for customer service operations, we have been using it for marketing developments, graphics, videos, all kinds of promotions and CRM. These kinds of tools are very efficient and very powerful for an operator. 

“There have been some attempts to use AI to create slots, it’s not of the quality that we are used to having today, but it is something that will be continuing and something that will be coming up in the next few years.”

Zak also noted how important AI is currently for casinos, but stated it’s still in its early stages. It’s just being used as a tool for operators to achieve another goal within their operations such as creating a safer gaming environment for responsible gaming or streamlining development processes. Care with its usage needs to be a top priority.

The Digicode Director said: “AI isn’t suddenly the solution for everything. There is always going to be a need for human interaction. Players’ behaviour, especially in gambling, is very complicated, even for AI at this stage.”

He continued: “Make sure you understand that AI itself can’t solve anything, there is always going to be room and a need for professional human interaction.”

Across the rest of the panel, Glazaite re-emphasised localisation across markets for all operators down to the finest details, especially when launching in new regions. Starostenkov highlighted an interest across several gaming verticals for operators rather than just one or two.

Meanwhile, Taffler commented on live casino, going down a similar localisation point as Glazaite – bringing attention to producing a product which is in line with what the customer wants down to the fundamental elements of each game type.

Future predictions

As for what the future holds for casino and igaming operators, Taffler offered three predictions – payment processes to be improved upon; more companies to assist operators with quicker and more profit performance; and curated player casino experiences via a direct link.

Martin believes that in the next five years, there will be more gamification across all aspects of gaming operations for the metaverse and virtual reality. Glazaite believes personalisation and social gaming will become more prominent with groups gathering to play together online, while Starostenkov feels sweepstakes will be a red-hot trend in the coming months.

Zak brought the conversation back to the initial discussion on the importance of personalisation and the player, emphasising that the “player is king”, replacing the previous gaming monarch of content.

In addition, he also believes there will be more innovation, player offering personalisation and usage of AI by operators for streamlining processes and assisting in responsible gambling.

Zak commented: “If up until recently we used the slogan ‘content is king’, I believe now that the player is the king.”

He continued: “Technology is at a stage where it now enables us to do a lot of things, the limitation is not the technology. The limitation is the connectivity and how you tailor, provide and market your offering. We will see much more focus on the player.”

Other topics that were discussed on the Industry Trends and Future Predictions panel include live casino, content direction, VR and AR future in igaming as well as crypto.

The post CasinoBeats Summit: Players must be at the centre of casino innovation appeared first on CasinoBeats.

CasinoBeats: What elements of CasinoBeats Summit work so well for your organisation, and why is it important for you to be there this year? 

Michael Baker-Mosely: With more than 3,500 industry professionals expected to attend, this is a fantastic opportunity for us to showcase our solutions and engage with operators from across the igaming industry. 

Our focus this year will be on educating the industry on who iGP is and why from a technology and solutions point of view, they have a lot to offer operators. While we are not trying to make hyperbolic claims about our platform revolutionising the industry, what we are trying to convey is that we are providing quality, high-performing products.

Last year, we saw an average uptime of 99.97 per cent, and that’s because we know how to get the basics right and these basics allow us to launch new products to boost retention and player conversion. 

We have built on top of the core platform, while also making sure we can provide modular, standalone solutions. CasinoBeats Summit will give us the chance to reinforce that message and make sure people are aware that we can provide a full-service offering with excellent reliability. 

CB: What’s your key objective at this year’s event and what are the main products/services you’ll be promoting? 

MBM: There will be plenty for us to discuss at the show, as we offer three core products; iGaming Platform, our core platform, iGaming Labels, our casino and sportsbook white label solution, and the most recent one, iGaming Deck, our games aggregator which launched last September. 

iGaming Platform offers advanced reports, a vault engine, a content management system, a bonus engine, fraud and risk management and customer experience management. iGaming Labels will be showcasing new templates for our sportsbooks and white-label casino solutions, on top of our full turnkey casino and crypto solutions. 

Meanwhile, iGaming Deck hosts more than 10,000 games provided by some of the industry’s leading suppliers, delivering a fully intuitive UI through a centralised hub and single API. 

We are also bringing our Road to Lisbon competition to CBS. We launched it at the SBC Brazil and after a Brazilian tour, we are offering CBS delegates the chance to win both a shirt signed by Pelé and an NFT worth up to $1,000. Visit the stand for your chance to win. 

CB: What would you highlight as the biggest opportunity in the betting and gaming industry over the next couple of years? 

MBM: Regulation is always something we have our eye on, and we greatly anticipate the opportunity to expand further globally as and when new markets open up. Brazil, LatAm and Asia as a whole are markets that are particularly of interest to us. 

We also see an opportunity for operators to really build trust with the end user, something players are increasingly short on. There are a number of ways to do this, but the experience from start to finish is often the most important. This can be achieved through ensuring reliability and experience as a core offering, and not a secondary offering.

Players want to play where they want, when they want, in whatever currency they want. Should operators not be able to provide that, then they may be forgiven the first time, but certainly not the second. Operators generally worry about the experience but often lack the technology or partners to effectively support it. 

Separately, we cannot understate the importance of localisation. Operators have pulled out of markets where they were unable to adapt their offering in a way that would work for that specific cohort of players in a sufficient amount of time. They struggled to compete with operators who were able to offer newer technology and of course, the ones who were able to make greater investments in technology, so this is something everyone in the market should bear in mind when launching in new territories. 

CB: What elements of your business do you feel are best placed to take advantage of that opportunity? 

MGM: I think iGaming Labels, our white-label casino and sportsbook solution, in particular, is well placed to develop and grow in the coming years. We have been placing a heavy amount of focus on the turnkey casino and sportsbook solutions, making sure they are localised for different markets, with a particular focus on LatAm and Asia. 

They have been and continue to be optimised for key performance metrics, with the latest release, Tropicana, focusing on the conversion of depositors in the LatAm market.

Related is the aggregator solution, The way this has been built allows the operator to have more control with a beautiful back office, enhanced promotional tools built-in and available from the game providers themselves, which many aggregators don’t allow, whilst the architecture and tech stack means it’s really cost-effective for the operator.

Of course, both solutions have been built on the iGP core platform, a strong base for us and those partners that operate it to build and innovate products to push forward with. 

CB: What areas of the business should we be looking to for innovation in the next 12 months? 

MBM: The next 12 months are going to be very exciting for us. We plan to use more tools to support personalisation on both the platform and white label solutions, and of course, add more content to iGaming Deck. We also want to focus more on localising our products so that they are tailored to each particular market. 

In a year’s time, we aim to have made our back-end system even stronger, so that our operator partners can have better control of what they wish to do. Our managed services are also set to benefit from greater investment, to give partners current and future far more flexibility to scale their businesses and the markets they operate in.

On the whole, we’re looking forward to how we can grow iGP as a business in the next 12 months by developing all three core products, and the CasinoBeats Summit and SBC as a whole play an important part in supporting our goals.

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