Speaking in the most recent issue of SBC Leaders, Purser said that streaming can offer immediate product insights for the tech-savvy ‘new gen’ players, also offering a community whereby the player can immediately identify themselves with. 

He added: “The impact of casino streamers in the last two years has rapidly grown and today, an increasing number of brands and suppliers are turning to individual streamers or streamer networks to promote their games to a carefully curated and highly engaged, next generation player audience. Many of whom are under 35, and therefore the ideal target market.”

The addition of streamers to an offer, Purser continued, can also transform gaming and slot play from a solitary single-player experience into a highly engaging form of multiplayer entertainment.

He continued: “Streaming has turned slot play on its head, bringing it out of the shadows as a single-player, solitary experience into a shared one, and multiplayer games are, and will, continue to do the same by driving new levels of community and engagement. 

“For the time being, the multiplayer sector is relatively untapped, however we firmly believe it has as much, if not more, potential to grow within the casino world as streaming.”

Purser’s comments were part of a dual perspective on the impact of casino streaming, as he was joined by CasinoGrounds CEO Tobias Svensen. 

While being a key means in offering a gaming community for Gen Y and Gen Z players, Svensen also noted that streamers can help bring down the barriers to engagement, creating what he describes as a ‘borderless’ experience filled with instantaneous connections between players.

He added: “Casino streaming has become a platform where the industry, players, viewers, game developers and others all stand on equal ground, sharing experiences.

“What used to be a good story someone told their friends is now just seconds away from being published, shared and viewed thousands of times within a matter of hours. What used to be an experience you would only share with those close to you is now borderless, and connects with thousands of people instantaneously.”

To read the article in full, click here. 

The post Casino streaming: Turning the gaming experience on its head appeared first on CasinoBeats.

The necessity of building and maintaining a strong network is a familiar construct among numerous industries, and is certainly one that is not lost in the gaming community.

However, among the multitude of strategies and expert tutorials on how best to achieve such a goal, is the question of: how much do you know about your network? With this in mind, CasinoBeats is aiming to take a look under the hood, if you will, and has tasked the 100 Club to help out.

Mark McGinley, FunFair Games Chief Executive Officer, revealed the three different avenues presented to him after completing his A-Levels, his first six-months or so in charge and how the company is looking to enter a new vertical in the igaming to differentiate itself from others in the sector. 

Starting where it all began for McGinley, he noted that his career to date has “been quite an interesting ride”, one that had his mother “absolutely up the walls”. 

“As a new supplier in that space doing non-traditional content you’re immediately in a minority as a supplier…”

Reminiscing on the completion of his A-Levels, the FunFair CEO revealed that his original plan of attack was to go down to London and develop his education by training to be a PE Teacher. However, after finishing education, he didn’t want to delve into another five-years of learning straight away so decided to take a year out. 

Explaining his experience, McGinley stated: “I took the year out in 1996 and I remember applying for three different jobs, one was to train to be Hotel Manager, one to train to be a Print Manager in a big print factory where I lived in Wakefield and the other one was to be a QA tester, testing games at Team17 Software.

“I’d been a gamer all my younger years, I’d grown up playing games, had a huge passion for video games, usually the old fashioned ones. As it turned out, I got offered all three jobs and the QA testing job was the least paid of all three. 

“I went home to my mum and told her I was taking the least paid and she went absolutely crazy! Absolutely up the walls!

“But that was the first step onto the roads in getting into the games industry and I started at the lower level.”

Reeling off some of the games he’s had the privilege of working on, including the Futurama title, which was a memorable experience for myself growing up, he reflected stating that “lady luck was shining down” on him when he made that decision to get into games and to walk said path. 

“It’s been a long path but I’ve worked hard to get to that point but I’ve really enjoyed it. I’ve had a really good career to date and I’ve met some fantastic people and worked on some great games.”

In May of this year, McGinley was named Chief Operating Officer of FunFair Games, a move that saw the firm’s CCO, Lloyd Purser, pivot to focus on the group’s venture capital business. McGinley’s role was charged with scaling the entity further still, as well as enhancing its product roadmap in a bid to accelerate its games output and global distribution. 

“We shared a mutual vision of what we wanted to do with FunFair and where we wanted to take it.”

During this six-month tenure, he noted that time has “flown by” but highlighted that the company has “covered a hell of alot of ground” in that short period, with teams being restructured and new “key” personnel coming in.

He continued: “We’re currently rethinking about how we think and how we work whilst looking at the portfolio but, I think, at a very early level when I spoke to Jeremy Longley and Lloyd Purser, they were the two people that really got me excited about what they were trying to do here at FunFair. 

“We shared a mutual vision of what we wanted to do with FunFair and where we wanted to take it. We saw a great opportunity in that non-traditional arcade marketplace and coming from video and social gaming, I could see a lot of that cross over thinking of ideas and game types.

“We’re operating in an industry that’s already very well established with game types so when you’re going up against the premium suppliers of content that are creating slots and table games, there’s a lot of familiarity there.      

“As a new supplier in that space doing non-traditional content you’re immediately in a minority as a supplier so I’d say there’s a couple of challenges.”

Delving into what the sector can expect over the next 12-months, McGinley pinpointed the fast emerging US market place while also emphasising FunFair’s shift into non-traditional arcade real-money games – labelling it as the “next generational piece”.  

The post CB100 pathways through gaming and beyond, with Mark McGinley appeared first on CasinoBeats.

The content developer has said that its latest addition was “a no-brainer” as RAW looks to capitalise on the “tremendous opportunities” that it says it has identified within the arcade games space.

As per the transaction, FunFair’s gaming suite will be integrated into the Raw arcade offering, which will become bolstered by titles such as The Wheel of Steal, Astroboomers to the Moon and Hugo Up & Away.

“We had conversations with several studios about our popular crash games, but as soon as we connected with Tom and the team at RAW, we knew we’d found the right one,” stated Lloyd Purser, COO at FunFair Technologies.  

“RAW, like FunFair, is focused on innovation and we’re happy that our multiplier games will be distributed globally as part of a market-leading portfolio. We wish RAW the very best of luck in creating the next-generation arcade offering.”

This deal comes after FunFair Games officially closed in March after it was confirmed that parent company, FunFair Technologies, had pulled its funding.

Speaking via social media, CEO Mark McGinley confirmed that the decision had been made “due to challenging conditions in a challenging market”.

This forms the latest in a number of similar such acquisitions made by RAW, with previous purchases coming via the full arcade games portfolio of Green Jade Games, after it also closed down operations, as well as the entire asset portfolio of Spigo from Lady Luck Games. 

“With the purchase of Spigo’s skill-games platform, Green Jade’s assets and now FunFair’s crash games, we have compiled a portfolio of multiplayer skill and arcade games consisting of more than 30 titles that offer unrivalled choice and quality to players,” commented Tom Wood, CEO at RAW iGaming.

“That these games are delivered via a new, innovative arcade solution means we have something that the market has never seen before in the multiplayer arcade space. We can’t wait to flick the switch and launch our arcade offering to the market, which we will be doing this year.”

The post RAW iGaming purchases FunFair Games assets ahead of arcade launch appeared first on CasinoBeats.

7.1

The UK Gambling Commission maintained its pace of enforcement action through the year after issuing a £7.1m penalty to Kindred Group for a slew of social responsibility and anti-money laundering failures.

This latest sanction handed down by the regulator, cited by the operator in its latest financial report from February, has seen 32 Red Limited, which runs the site of the same name, penalised $4.19m. Platinum Gaming will pay £2.93m in relation to Unibet faults. Each has also received an official warning. 

Following this, the group vowed to redouble its efforts to ensure a safe and compliant business. Kindred cited remedial measures taken this far, an increased headcount in its UK compliance and risk management teams and ongoing journey towards zero as ongoing measures regarding this progress.

2021

FunFair Games has closed down after it was confirmed that parent company, FunFair Technologies, has pulled its funding of the games supplier.

In a social media post, Mark McGinley confirmed that the decision had been made “due to challenging conditions in a challenging market”.

The company launched FunFair Games in early 2021, with the studio subsequently labelling itself as “bringing a new genre of multiplayer games to a new generation of gamblers”. 

1982

Star Entertainment added to a lengthy list of troubles during recent months after pleading guilty to selling chips illegally at the group’s pair of Queensland-based properties.

As confirmed by Attorney General Shannon Fentiman, the company, which operates Brisbane’s Treasury Casino and the Star Gold Coast, pleaded guilty to seven charges under the Casino Control Act 1982.

This, said Fentiman, who is also Minister for Justice, Minister for Women and Minister for the Prevention of Domestic and Family Violence, related to Section 66 of the Act which prohibits the purchase of gambling chips with a credit card.

The offences were said to have occurred between June 2, 2017, and December 29, 2018, and between March 23, 2022, and April 2, 2022. Sentencing is aside for 2 June 2023.

675,000

Kansspelautoriteit, the Dutch gaming authority, maintained the pace of its 2023 enforcement crusade after issuing a €675,000 fine to Red Ridge Marketing for advertising illegal online gambling.

The Ksa said that the company had already been imposed with an order subject to periodic penalty payments in a bid to ensure that the aforementioned activities would cease. However, this was not the case, so financial action has been taken.

It was said that “various Red Ridge websites” were found to “contain careless and misleading statements about online casinos without a Dutch licence”.

This included the promotion of unlimited playing and betting, negative statements regarding the Cruks self-exclusion system, and “talk about the ‘advantages’ of illegal online casinos for young people”.

31

GambleAware stressed the need to break down barriers after publishing research that discovered a “higher prevalence of gambling harms amongst minority groups”.

The study from Ipsos UK and ClearView Research, supported by the University of Manchester, highlighted the discovery of a higher rate of problem gambling among those sections of society.

Despite it being found that those from minority groups were less likely to have gambled in the past four weeks than white British majority groups (31 per cent versus 48 per cent ), the research suggested that they are twice as likely to be experiencing any level of gambling harm (42 per cent versus 20 per cent).

It was also found that among people from a minority background, those experiencing any form of gambling harm are also more likely to have experienced discrimination in public, compared to those not experiencing harms (48 per cent versus 32 per cent).

60,000

The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board handed out igaming related fines that totalled $60,000, in addition to swelling the state’s exclusion list via the addition of two adults for gambling at casinos while leaving children unattended.

The first financial penalty was issued to Mountainview Thoroughbred Racing Association, operator of Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course, which came in at $45,000.

This was due to permitting five individuals who were enrolled in the Board’s igaming self-exclusion program to conduct activity via the Barstool Sportsbook. 

Furthermore, Downs Racing, operator of Mohegan Pennsylvania, and its Unibet partner, is to pay $7,500 after failing to suspend an account of an individual who had utilised a compulsive gambling tool and requested a temporary suspension of activities.

Finally, Evolution was penalised $7,500 after an unlicensed employee was permitted to deal several games of blackjack in its gaming studio for live dealer online casino.

412.2

All of New Jersey’s gaming verticals reported year-over-year revenue improvements in February as the state continued its growth in the second month of 2023.

Data from the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement revealed that total gaming revenue – casinos, racetracks, and their partners – was $412.2m for February, a 10.4 per cent uptick YoY compared to the same month last year (2022: $373.3m).

Combined with January’s figures, the Garden State’s total gaming revenue for the year currently stands at $849.1m, a 12.5 per cent rise YoY compared to the same period the previous year (2022: $755m).

1.6

Playtech labelled its 2022 financial performance as “excellent” and believes it is “well-placed” for 2023 despite macroeconomic and geopolitical uncertainties.

Reflecting on the results, CEO Mor Weizer has called 2022 “a year of considerable strength for Playtech”, adding that the group has “continued to deliver” strategically, is “making great progress” in North America, and has also started the new year well.

Publishing its FY2022 financials, the group declared revenues of €1.6bn, a 33 per cent increase year-over-year (FY2021: €1.2bn), “mostly driven by retail reopening following COVID-19 related restrictions, which impacted H1 2021 in many of the company’s main markets, including Italy, as well as its continued growth in regulated B2B markets”.

373.67

Pennsylvania gaming momentum was maintained into the second month of the year, with significant online increases helping drive the state forward year-on-year despite a slight drop from January being felt.

The region’s Gaming Control Board has disclosed that revenue from slot machines, table games, sports wagering, igaming, video gaming terminals and fantasy contests closed the 28 day period up 21.6 per cent from $373.67m to $456.83m (January: $464.48m).

Total tax revenue generated collectively through all forms of gaming and fantasy contests was $188.97m during the month.

The post FunFair closure, financial sanctions & GambleAware: the week in numbers appeared first on CasinoBeats.

We are of course talking about the rise and rise of crash games, with the former of those viewpoints certainly one that is shared by David Natroshvili, Managing Partner at Spribe, who believes that those familiar reels will eventually be displaced at the top of the igaming tree.

For Mark McGinley, FunFair Games’ Chief Executive Officer, this new vertical attraction was a key component of aligning with the games studio, with the move driving a long-held belief that “I always felt that this ageing sector needed to be awoken with a new and fresh offering”.

“I’m very passionate about this space and am a firm believer that there’s a huge need for content that reinvents the industry and moves away from traditional formats,” he told CasinoBeats in this latest in-depth special.

Continuing alongside the optimism avenue first trodden above, Natroshvili shares a belief that cash games are “dominating online casino game lobbies for one reason,” with this simply being that “they are incredibly fun to play”.

“In my honest opinion, there is a real lack of true innovation in the casino space”

Mark McGinley, FunFair Games’ Chief Executive Officer.

“The increasing curve format of games such as our flagship turbo game, Aviator, is really easy to understand, making it appealing to a wide range of player demographics,” he continued.

“They are mobile-friendly and provide fast action with the chance to win big thanks to the massive multiplier while being multiplayer, interactive and social. 

“Live bets and live stats ensure engagement is sky-high while the nature of the increasing curve format gives players some element of control over the outcome of each game round.”

McGinley regains the baton by suggesting that “true innovation in the real money casino space is hard to come by,” in addition to sharing a belief that the ecosystem is crying out for a more varied assortment of game types.

“There’s a huge amount of very positive interest, appeal and excitement around the more ‘non-traditional’ gaming verticals, be it arcade or crash style games,” he commented. 

“Add multiplayer into the mix here and this immediately adds another level of interest. For many years now, the gambling experience has been a somewhat lonely single player experience. 

“Here at FunFair, we plan to challenge that and creating varied and engaging multiplayer games will be a key objective of ours moving forward.”

Adding: “We see a new, younger generation of adults now beginning to find and explore the online space and their expectations are very different from customers of yesteryear. 

“Innovation is a word used often in the online real money space, but one I believe is often used incorrectly. In my honest opinion, there is a real lack of true innovation in the casino space.”

“…we need to keep an open mind and not be afraid to step outside the norm and free ourselves to try new things”

Mark McGinley, FunFair Games’ Chief Executive Officer.

Continuing his look at crash games, which former FunFair Games COO Lloyd Purser described as “like a game of chicken really,” McGinley noted the importance of interactivity if heightening appeal to a new generation of player.

Whether that is a live chat functionality, nickname feature of avatars, the necessity of “building a better sense of community” is key to grabbing the attention of those simply not captivated by a “passive single-player online gambling experience”.

Despite this, caution is issued when pursuing fresh emerging verticals, with McGinley having reminded that you mustn’t forget your existing player base.

“This is still a new and emerging gaming vertical in the real money casino space, and one we’re constantly learning more about,” he explained. 

“Our target audience has a different set of requirements and expectations; therefore, we try our best to fulfil their preferences and plan to continue doing so, with a growing portfolio of diverse features, mechanics and game types.

“At FunFair Games we are creating a new wave of games for a new generation of players whilst not forgetting about our existing player base. 

“We often talk about the next generation of gamblers, but I think it’s important not to forget the large audience of players today. 

“When comparing the expectations of this new demographic to the previous generation, you’ll see that they’re quite contrasting. 

“Therefore, we need to keep an open mind and not be afraid to step outside the norm and free ourselves to try new things.”

“…crash games are very much here to stay and ultimately will dominate online casino game lobbies in place of slots”

David Natroshvili, Managing Partner at Spribe

Turning away from this increasing popularity, Natroshvili slightly changed tack to examine the many contrasting views offered on crash games, those primarily being if they’re here to stay or a simply a temporary fad that will inevitably fizzle out.

“Make no mistake about it, crash games are very much here to stay and ultimately will dominate online casino game lobbies in place of slots,” he said. 

“This is because the gameplay offered is so much more compelling and entertaining, and includes other aspects such as leaderboards, stats and social interaction with other players. Slots just can’t match this. 

“As consumer habits continue to change – time is of the essence and players are seeking fast-paced thrills with plenty of engagement and interaction – it will be crash games they are drawn to. 

“As with slots, there’s no end of themes that crash games can be created around, with different types of gameplay and bonus features built into each – this will ensure crash game content remains fresh and exciting.”

Concluding his own participation, McGinley vowed to deliver a roadmap that will introduce “that are engaging, interactive and offer social experiences, compared with passive single-player slots games”.

He ended: “As new generations start playing online casino games, the demand for new experiences has never been as high. These emerging demographics seek different content which includes titles that offer different features, playstyles, and designs.”

The post Awakening an ageing sector to new & fresh content: CB100 special appeared first on CasinoBeats.

In a social media post, Mark McGinley confirmed that the decision had been made “due to challenging conditions in a challenging market”.

The company launched FunFair Games in early 2021, with the studio subsequently labelling itself as “bringing a new genre of multiplayer games to a new generation of gamblers”. 

Furthermore, ahead of last month’s ICE London conference, FunFair Games also unveiled a revamped image with an aim of modernising the company’s brand identity. 

This, it was said, formed “an important step in a bigger strategic push” amid much optimism of delivering a host of fresh concepts and content in what was often billed as a non-traditional gaming format. 

In confirming the closure, McGinley wrote: “I’d like to take this opportunity to thank Lloyd Purser & Jeremy Longley for the opportunity and to the wider FunFair Games team who we’re a pleasure and delight to work with and who worked tirelessly throughout to drive positive change.

“I’d also like to say a special thank you to business partners, operators and industry friends and colleagues who worked with us and supported us each step of the way.”

The post FunFair Games to close as ‘challenging market’ sees funding stopped appeared first on CasinoBeats.

As part of its new vision, FunFair Games has revealed its new branding and logo, while underlining the studio’s investment in creating a strong brand and identity as part of the company’s ambitious growth plans for 2023.

Mark McGinley, CEO at FunFair Games, commented: “It’s very exciting for us to introduce the new look at a time when we are entering the next phase of our expansion. 

“We believe the rebrand strengthens our identity, showcases our personality and better represents our forward-thinking approach to be different and stand out from the crowd in a saturated market.

“Our new identity is an important step in a bigger strategic push that will see us introduce new types of concepts and content in the year ahead, further positioning ourselves as a leading provider of non-traditional gaming content for the next generation players”

The new logo and design have been revealed as the studio prepares to deliver a host of new games in 2023, with the studio stating the titles are designed to appeal to operators and players who are looking for something new outside of the current traditional offering.

As the supplier enters the next stage of its tactical expansion, the new look will lay the foundation to establish FunFair Games’ identity within the non-traditional casino content. 

The rebrand has also been propelled by a number of new senior appointments, which will see the studio bolster its game design, creative and delivery teams.

The post FunFair Games unveils modernised brand identity appeared first on CasinoBeats.

Neatplay

Carla Maree Vella has been named as Chief Executive Officer of Neatplay, where she will be responsible for driving the overall strategy of the group to make significant headway into global igaming markets.

In the role, Vella will build on an array of past experiences, which includes roles as CMO of betPawa, CEO of Optimizer Invest and Managing Director of Betsson.

“I’m delighted and honoured to be appointed as CEO for Neatplay at such an exciting time,” she said. “The opportunities for innovation are limitless and, with the right partners, our reach is borderless. 

“I look forward to introducing and nurturing new partners and working alongside highly talented colleagues to innovate even further on Neatplay’s existing impressive technology stack.”

FunFair Games

A trio of “key appointments” have been rolled-out by FunFair Games as the igaming studio looks to progress “elaborate expansion plans” via the addition of a combined 35 years industry experience.

These appointments include Dan Nyman who joins as Head of Game Design and Mathematics, Kai Ngai as Project Delivery Manager, and Martti Poom as Art Director.

The internal changes aim to allow FunFair Games to enhance its processes ahead of what it dubs as “an important year,” as the studio enters the next phase of its strategic journey.

Mark McGinley, CEO at FunFair Games, said: “We’re extremely delighted to announce the appointments of Dan, Kai and Martti. They are a trio of highly creative and enthusiastic professionals that boost important areas of the company as we set to further expand our product offering to introduce new and unique gaming experiences to players.

“Their skills and experience will be crucial in supporting our goals and targets for 2023 and it’s great to have them on board as we enter a really exciting and significant time for FunFair Games.”

Digitain

Long-time Digitain Executive Simon Westbury has found a new role in the company after being appointed as CEO of the Sport Generate division. 

Westbury has been tasked with spearheading the strategic direction of Digtain’s sports unit, targeting heighted reach and impact for Sport Generate in global markets. 

This will include a focus on product development and innovation, working closely with Sport Generate’s management teams to deliver its live sports, esports, virtual and oddsfeed offering.

Vardges Vardanyan, Founder of Digitain and Sport Generate, noted: “We are thrilled to have Simon Westbury in his new position and we know that he will bring Sport Generate to new heights with his leadership and expertise.”

Nevada Gaming Commission

Brian Krolicki has been appointed to the Nevada Gaming Commission by the state Governor Joseph Lombardo. 

A former Lieutenant Governor of the state of Nevada, Krolicki has been appointed to replace Ben Kieckhefer, who resigned from the commission to join Lombardo’s team.

Lombardo’s office noted: “Krolicki, former Nevada State Treasurer (1999-2006) and Lieutenant Governor (2007-2014), will fill the vacant seat on the Nevada Gaming Commission. 

“In addition to his 16-year tenure as a Constitutional Officer, Krolicki has been a longtime business leader in Nevada, and he is credited with bringing critical economic development initiatives to the state throughout his time in public service and in the private sector.”

SG:certified

Sustainability and safer gambling consultancy group SG:certified has confirmed Maris Catania as the latest member of its team.

Catania will take on the responsibility of a Safer Gambling Senior Consultant with the firm, contributing to developing up-to-date and effective safer gambling content.

Her areas of focus will include training, assessments, recommendations of best practices, benchmarking and research digests, whilst supporting the group’s clients using its internal platform. 

Laura Da Silva, CEO of SG:certified, said: “I have admired Maris and how passionate she is about safer gambling for many years, so I am delighted that she is joining us as a Safer Gambling Senior Consultant. With her expertise and knowledge of the industry, I believe we can really make further positive change on the industry.”

Wizard Games

NeoGames subsidiary Wizard Games has appointed Yoganand Aiyadurai as Director of Game Technology amid a continued senior build-out

Among his responsibilities at the group will be overseeing the research and development department at the studio, as well as continuing to develop and expand the provider’s IT infrastructure to enable production demand.

 In addition, he will be responsible for overseeing market planning and trends, working closely with other senior employees at Wizard Games.

“We are delighted to welcome Yoganand to the growing team here at Wizard Games. We’re continuing to go from strength to strength, and someone of his calibre will allow us to scale new heights,” stated Joey Hurtado, Managing Director at Wizard Games.

 “We’re always striving to hire the best talent to join our team, and this reaffirms our commitment to excellence, which can be found at every layer of our business.”

The post FunFair Games, Neatplay & Wizard Games: on the move appeared first on CasinoBeats.

However, in what may be a shock to many, these dos and don’ts are not readily available, and so an expert panel recently convened in Barcelona to offer a series of insights into the key ingredients of such a game.

With mechanics, design, sound effects, music, narrative and RTP, among many more, having to be factored into the development process, how do studios choose a level of priority and ensure that they interplay with each other.

“We’re in a very hyper competitive landscape right now,” began Bryan Upton, Founder and Director of Lucksome, emphasising that production begins by setting a series of parameters for games to be built.

These, he said, include stipulating a foundation on who a title is being designed for, motivations of play, target jurisdictions, cultural tastes, regulations and numerous more, each of which play a role in the risk versus rewards dilemma.

“Once you have that kind of set of parameters, and that’s the focus, generally don’t deviate from that,” he said.

“But most of the time when a game starts out to do something and tends to veer off and does something else it ends up being a bit of a mess, and a disaster. So you’re trying to hold that focus. 

“But then once you’ve got those parameters, there’s infinite ways to skin that cat. What game mechanics am I going to use? And that’s when the risk versus reward conversation in your head begins? Which is, do I make a risky title? Or do I make a safer bet title? 

“…risk and high reward plays a really important aspect of all possible business”

Mark McGinley, CEO of FunFair Games

“As a studio, as small as mine, in any studio, you always want a massive hit, and for a small studio that can make or break you. But at the same time, you’re still running a business, and you still need to bring in some revenue to keep things going.”

As moderator Jeremy Coleman, Commercial Director at PearFiction Studios, cited the importance of the first 50/100 spins in a players experience, as well as in potentially providing marketing insights for a provider, Mark McGinley, CEO of FunFair Games, picked up where Upton left off.

Here, he details a path being pursued that navigates away from the traditional direction of the vertical, but noted there “there’s an appetite” and a “desire” to discover more that breathes optimism into the opportunity for the group. 

“I mean, the high risk and high reward plays a really important aspect of all possible business and all parts of our game development mindset,” he explained. 

“We’re very keen to move away from the traditional landscape. We are not creating traditional slots or table games, we are very much in what I would call a new emerging gaming vertical, it really doesn’t have a definition as yet. 

“Some people call it non traditional, some people call it arcade. Some people call it next gen. So there’s very many unknowns and questions and challenges that we automatically face as part of that process. 

“But I think when we look to assess the risk and the reward, I think we also try to understand the opportunities. And I think right now it’s the opportunity that really excites us at FunFair Games, we do see a shift from the operator to look at different game types. 

“I think there’s an appetite for these game types now that was not there two years, three years ago, when we started to come up with some interesting ideas.”

“A lot of the time, it’s better to be the second, because you see what someone else has done”

Bryan Upton, Founder and Director of Lucksome

Upton continued by suggesting that in order to really do something innovative you have to detach yourself and flip problems on their head, before advising that second mover advantage is key in this regard.

“A lot of the time, it’s better to be the second, because you see what someone else has done. And then straight away, you can say, I’m pretty sure I can improve on that,” he said. 

“As long as you’re fast enough, and you can execute quickly, I’m pretty sure that you know, you can come in and do some really good work. They’re just based on some early successes you’ve seen somewhere else. 

“So I think, yes, it’s good to have first mover. But if you’re prepared to follow it up, if you truly believe in an idea, don’t just do one game, have a few of them ready with different things and go for it. If you don’t believe in it, don’t do it and go and find something else who actually believes in it.”

As Daniel Giuffra, Brand Manager of CasinoGrounds, noted that ” you don’t really see a large variety of games being played” by streamers, Vladyslav Garanko, CMO at Platipus, commented on if it’s possible to know whether or not a fresh introduction is going to be a success.

“It’s not impossible to understand which game will be successful or not, you have to sit in the market,” he noted. 

“You can make a certain prediction to the best of your ability, but, of course, at the end of the day, it’s for a player to decide. 

“And also the markets will decide because even the most successful game can never make it to the top simply because the marketing has failed to deliver it. And then even the greatest game can sink.”

“…it makes sense for operators to keep games that keep bringing money”

Vladyslav Garanko, CMO at Platipus

As the 40-minute discourse moved forward once more, Upton takes the reins to note that you have “to be smart about where to put your resources” regarding the chase of “one of those rocket ship releases” via a one size fits all approach.

Furthermore, the necessity of “making games that are going to work in key markets or correlating market clusters” is noted, as Upton stated that the top 10/15 games “don’t change that much over the last five years”.

“If a game does really well in a certain market, of course operators are going to push it in other markets, because they want to know if it’s going to have the same success,” it is said. 

Here, one specific example is cited to highlight the importance of localisation, with work having been undertaken alongside one operator to release a “culturally nuanced” game for a specific market.

Maintaining momentum, Garanko points to the “same uphill battle” being fought by Platipus that give evidence of a”vicious cycle” of the top games staying in those elevated positions “because they bring money.” 

He continued: “And it makes sense for operators to keep games that keep bringing money. It’s the question of relationships with those operators and trying to inform them that, yes, it is true that these games are still going to be popular [but] it is a matter of innovation and if they can sustain the players. 

It is a constant conversation with the operators, back and forth. And it’s returning to the question of risk versus reward, whether the operator is open to risk to put more new releases. 

“And if the operator is not that willing, he is going to stick with the old ways and it’s basically manoeuvring around that it is a very very tough battle.”

“I think something we don’t do very well in our industry is … inform and educate the player about our games”

Mark McGinley, CEO of FunFair Games

As the conversion drew to a close, Coleman quizzed the panel on the current major challenges being faced, with Upton revisiting the importance of marketing in making sure that high quality releases don’t get lost in the crowd.

“I’d say there’s more small studios, and there are large ones, by definition. And then I look at the collective number of games that those small studios produce together,” he ended.

“I would say that you’re going to have a better chance of getting innovation out of that group somewhere, there’ll be a lot of stuff that isn’t great. But there’ll be some diamonds in the rough, they’re really strong games that could get missed.

“So I think there’s a bit of the industry that is very forgiving at trying new things. To be honest, we’re very lucky. But it’s so easy to get lost in the crowd. And there’s so many great games out there that just haven’t had a chance. 

I’m talking in general, that I think are fantastic, but they’re just not there because they just haven’t got enough eyeballs on them. And it’s such a waste. And I’d like to see a better industry approach to that, as well as you know, people helping us market ourselves better.”

With McGinley bringing proceedings to a close to look at the “shark fest” slots arena that has been witnessing wave after wave of releases for quite some time. 

“It’s a very saturated marketplace. I think building trusted relationships with operators is absolutely critical,” he closed. 

“I think having a sales force that understands the marketplace and can communicate the game. I think something we don’t do very well in our industry is inform and educate the player about our games. 

“And I think that’s something that at FunFair we’re going to try very hard to do, because we’re creating new games, they’ve got a non-traditional format. So we believe it’s a critical key to the success of the game in that new emerging vertical.

“So, I think that’s a big takeaway for us as operators, build relationships with operators, try to understand the marketplace and try to inform and educate the player a lot better than we do.”

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This latest alliance, which follows an array of commercial tie-ups inked by the group, adds Belgium to the FunFair roster of regulated markets as the group looks to make a “significant step forward” in the studio’s “ambitious growth strategy”.

Under the terms of the partnership, FunFair’s entire offering of multiplayer and crash titles are now available to Belgian players, including Astroboomers TURBO!, Hugo: Up and Away and Five Ball Fiesta. 

“We’re always keeping a finger on the pulse to ensure we offer our customers the most in demand content,” said Melissa Deboelpaep, Gaming Content Manager at Napoleon Casino.

“We have followed FunFair Games’ progress for a while and we’re delighted to now be able to offer our customers their library of innovative crash and multiplayer titles that have gained a fan-base across the globe.” 

This distribution agreement in Belgium alongside Napoleon Casino, which is owned by the Superbet Group, has been facilitated via Games Global.

“We’re extremely pleased to add another market to our network, with Napoleon Casino being the perfect partner to make our debut in Belgium,” stated Carlo Cooke, Commercial Director at FunFair Games.

“Launching our non-traditional content with a market leader will ensure we hit the ground running and we have high hopes for this exciting region and look forward to growing our reach together with Napoleon Casino.”

Last month, following the release of a maiden branded title in the Hugo: Up & Away crash game, CasinoBeats got the lowdown on a FunFair Games introduction that came about following a partnership with IP holder 5th Planet Games.

In the first of a two part special, Mark McGinley, CEO at FunFair Games, elaborated on the importance of partnering with well known brands, ensuring correct representation and if we can expect similar such moves going forward from the studio.

“Working on branded game titles is a very exciting avenue for us, and this is something we would definitely like to continue into the future, and who knows what the future holds, but we are not ruling out anything,” he said.

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