The company has unveiled the impending launch of its new Knockout Tournaments, which will officially debut on Tuesday 27 October as the group strives to deliver on a prior pledge of becoming the leader within the social casino space.

Coinciding with the debut, KamaGames has once again recruited the presence of UFC’s Tony Ferguson as the face of the tournaments, building upon a similar advertising deal regarding Pokerist, Blackjackist and Roulettist that was inked in May.

Asserting that it is aiming to utilise “one of the most popular tournament templates in online poker,” players will have the chance to engage with several different versions of the tournaments, such as Sit’n’Go, MTT and Progressive MTT tournaments.

Andrey Kuznetsov, KamaGames CEO, commented on the Pokerist launch: “Knockout Tournaments are just the latest example of KamaGames being the first to successfully bring real-money casino mechanics to the social casino market. 

“We did this already with MTTs and social sports betting with great success and we will continue to innovate in this manner. Whilst we’re excited about this launch, we’re equally delighted that Tony Ferguson will once again be bringing his star power to Pokerist. 

“KamaGames hope to continue to work with relevant partners such as Tony and craft long-lasting strategic partnerships for the remainder of 2020.”

In Sit’n’Go Knockout and MTT Knockout players will be rewarded for taking a prize-winning place among their competitors, however, any individual who eliminates a rival from the competition will also find themselves gifted with a predetermined special prize. 

In MTT Progressive Knockout players also receive additional rewards for removing opponents from the competition. In this case, the reward amount depends on the value on said opponent’s bounty. Bounties grow throughout the competition when one player knocks another out of the game, with the increase calculated as a percentage of the eliminated opponent’s bounty.

The post KamaGames delivers knockout blow to social casino appeared first on CasinoBeats.

On June 26, KamaGames will celebrate the ten year anniversary of its flagship app Pokerist being introduced to the market. Since its inception, the app has gained a high ranking among similar apps and has attracted around 140 million users.

Over the last decade, KamaGames has also boosted socialisation features on the app through the inclusion of instant messenger features, chat features and sending gifts at the tables.

CasinoBeats spoke to Kuznetsov to reminisce over the last decade, how the company has adapted over the years and its vision for the feature.

CasinoBeats: Today marks 10 years since Pokerist was launched – what would you say have been the biggest milestones for the app during that period?

Andrey Kuznetsov: Reviewing the history of the company, I could see that there were lots of milestones but I would like to highlight the key ones.

The launch of Pokerist, the company’s flagship product happened in summer 2010. This launch still stands as one of the biggest milestones for the company as a whole as this was the first step towards our leadership position in the social casino genre. In 2011-2012, Pokerist held number one position in top-grossing charts in more than 100 countries on App Store and Google Play.

In the spring of 2013, we launched a second product, Roulettist. While we were proud of how we refined and perfected our poker product, the test here was to see whether or not we could replicate that success with another game. Today, Roulettist still has the highest revenue and download rates among the other roulette games on mobile platforms.

At the end of 2015, our 3D blackjack product – Blackjackist – was released. Just as roulette it’s currently number one  on mobile platforms.

Each of these achievements solidified our belief that we can provide the best products on the market and occupy this niche area of the card and casino gaming sector.

Finally, in 2016 we became one of the first companies to develop meta inside a poker or casino application. This includes quests, tournaments, events, live-ops etc. Numerous features that are now widely seen in poker apps were first seen in Pokerist! Since then, we’ve been growing by as much as 30-50 per cent per year.

“People come to the app not only to play but also to socialise and find their community.”

CB: You mentioned that socialisation features have been key for Pokerist’s success – can you give us some examples of these? And how have these helped you stand out from competitors in quite a saturated market

AK: We have a joke at KamaGames where we say “Pokerist isn’t really a poker application but a social network” and it’s absolutely true! People come to the app not only to play but also to socialise and find their community. Players have ample opportunity to make friends within the game as well as communicate through a variety of means.

Pokerist contains a large number of features that enable expression and communication with both friends and rivals alike. This includes chats, quick phrases, gifts and animated emojis. There’s also an option to join a specific table where friends are playing or to invite friends to your table. We’re confident that this is a significant factor in our players returning to Pokerist repeatedly which is interesting when you consider that some of our players have stayed with us for more than eight years now.

It’s quite hard to illustrate our success with just one example as this has been the result of consistent work across our whole system.

A high number of these social features appeared in Pokerist before other casino apps and we plan on building further in this area in the years to come.

CB: In what ways has Pokerist adapted to the advances in technology over the last few years?

AK: We believe that we have made a very technologically fluid product. In fact, it is an interactive platform hosting a number of solutions that almost no one in the market has. First of all, there’s an opportunity to quickly develop 3D casino and card games using ready-made solutions: animations, client and server solutions, interfaces, product features, middleware, analytics, support, live-ops system. Due to this system, we launched a number of products like baccarat, craps, Omaha poker etc. All of them are number one in the market in their categories.

We can also quickly adapt our project for any platform. In addition to the App Store and Google Play, our products are available on desktops, web, PlayStation and a variety of Android stores.

Using our platform, we have the ability to make casino partnership projects with big companies. In the previous ten years, we have launched separate casino applications with Hard Rock International, Poker Night in America, Viber messenger and Manchester United.

What’s more important is that this platform allows us to develop new, amazing products.

“We’re playing our cards close to our chest but ultimately, we want to bolster our growth even further.”

CB: You’ve clearly had successes over the past ten years, what are your aims for the next 10?

AK: Our goal is simple, yet difficult to achieve and therefore, very exciting. We’re playing our cards close to our chest but ultimately, we want to bolster our growth even further. We don’t want to simply maintain our current growth rates, we want to surpass them.

Our plan is to launch more number one products in our genre. We have a roadmap of ideas spanning the next couple of years and we’re confident that the majority of these ideas will prove successful additions to our already expansive portfolio.

The post KamaGames’ Andrey Kuznetsov <br> dissects a decade of Pokerist appeared first on CasinoBeats.

This comes off the back of a revenue increase of 37 per cent to $29.25m for the first quarter of the year, with each month during 2020 during January-April representing a 20-30 per cent growth in unique paying users.

This past week saw KamaGames ink an advertising deal with Tony Ferguson, under the terms of which the MMA athlete will become the face Pokerist, Blackjackist and Roulettist, along with other “high-profile” titles in the company’s stable.

The deal coming hot on the heels after a prior link-up with “an iconic American brand” in Hard Rock International, which will see the development of a new Hard Rock Blackjack app.

“While the two projects have the same goal – to attract new, substantial audiences – they are entirely different in nature and as such, we don’t really associate one with the other,” explained Andrey Kuznetsov, KamaGames CEO.

“With Hard Rock, we designed a whole new app aimed at attracting a loyal audience from the company’s land-based establishments. This audience, mostly based in North America, would already have a demonstrated interest in the type of casino-style games we specialise in by their association with Hard Rock.

“We conducted research which indicated that this would be a good move for us”

“In contrast, this deal with Tony Ferguson focuses on the sports element in our apps. We know that there’s a strong crossover between those that play casino-style table games and sports enthusiasts and this is the audience we’re hoping to tap into and build upon with our Tony Ferguson deal.”

Its new sporting entrance comes after the firm is said to have witnessed a notable intersection between those who engage with casino titles and sports fans.

“Of course, we conducted research which indicated that this would be a good move for us,” Kuznetsov continued when pressed on why UFC and its fans were identified and targeted as a good fit for the group.

“Two interesting facts arose from an examination of our analytical data. Firstly, during UFC events not only are our players watching the fights while playing our games but they then go on to discuss the event at the tables. 

“Secondly, our observations show that within our social sports betting feature, there are a higher number of people betting on UFC events than on the NFL and top-ranking European football matches. In fact, our record for most bets placed on one event has been for a UFC fight and that reveals that there’s already an interest there from our players. Now, we’re going to expand upon that.”

Before adding on what appealed about partnering up with Ferguson: “Currently, MMA stands as one of the most popular sporting categories worldwide. Each year, millions of fans are drawn to the sport and with the current pandemic leaving the world of entertainment at a near standstill, as of last week MMA is the only sport which has been able to host a major event. We believe that will result in MMA attracting more viewers than ever before, raising the profile of the sport and its athletes, Tony included.

“People are now looking to the online world for entertainment more than ever”

“Currently, we’re focused on launching major in-game events that include discounts, free bonuses, customised MMA-themed content and free bets for Tony’s fights. We can’t reveal the entirety of our future plans with respect to both this deal and upcoming partnerships. 

“However, we can disclose that we’re preparing to launch several mechanics that are unique among social poker and casino apps and that we will utilise Tony’s high-profile status throughout our advertising campaigns for these releases.”

Throughout the year Kuznetsov and KamaGames have consistently maintained a target of achieving sustained growth and finishing 2020 with record revenue. An update regarding this was provided amid the current situation of global lockdowns: “The mobile games industry isn’t experiencing the negative impacts of Covid-19 in the same way that other sectors are,” it was added. 

“In fact, people are now looking to the online world for entertainment more than ever and according to leading analytical experts, April 2020 witnessed download growth of up to 30 per cent in some app categories. We can’t predict what will happen next but considering the partnerships we’ve already executed this year and looking at our roadmap for the remainder of the year, we have every reason to believe that KamaGames will be ending 2020 on a strong footing.”

The post KamaGames: Bridging the casino and sports crossover appeared first on CasinoBeats.

The combination has seen the development of a new Hard Rock Blackjack app, as the company aims to grow its presence within the social casino space.

Versions of casino table games including roulette, craps, baccarat as well as the core title title are all encapsulated within the entity, with the inclusion of “a number of other casino-style games” such as slots and video poker also promised. 

Andrey Kuznetsov, KamaGames CEO, explained: “For KamaGames, this partnership holds an unparalleled opportunity for growth. Using our expertise, which has been honed over many years in the social casino industry, we are confident that we have created a product that will offer true entertainment value for Hard Rock International customers. 

“KamaGames is very proud of the product we’ve brought to the market with Pokerist Texas Poker and are happy to share this technology with Hard Rock to provide their loyal customers with a high-quality product which will give them even more opportunities to interact and engage with Hard Rocks iconic, globally recognised brand, leading to a continued positive relationship and greater brand loyalty.”

Among the games boasted by Hard Rock Blackjack is a social poker game based on the Pokerist model, lauded as “the third-largest social poker game in the world”.

The newly developed app will also play host to a range of tournament, including Sit’n’Go, Shootout, multi-table tournaments and weekly tournaments all of which KamaGames states “have experienced long-standing success among KamaGames’ existing user base”.

Alongside tournaments, the app offers party modes and poker game variations, in addition to a host of different ways to encourage a feeling of community. Social interaction between players will be made possible via a range of chat options such as in-game instant messenger, animated emojis and the ability to send gifts back and forth.

Kresimir Spajic, senior vice president of online gaming and sports betting, commented on the the launch: “We are excited to announce this partnership and the release of the highly sophisticated Hard Rock Blackjack app, a perfect expansion of our free-to- play games portfolio and a major draw for both current and new Hard Rock customers.

“The exciting table games, multiplayer functionality and availability in 28 different languages will empower us to stay regularly connected with our guests in a new and creative way between visits to our cafes, hotels and casinos around the world.”

Throughout 2020 and beyond the partnership is expected to generate a variety of cross-promotional campaigns and projects, as well as incorporating even more new slots, game modes, tournaments and events into the app.

Spajic added: “Hard Rock has seen positive results leveraging free2play mobile games to extend the legendary experience guests have come to expect from the 262 Hard Rock ensues around the world into a digital format to both deepen relationships and drive incremental brand engagement both online and at our real-world venues. 

“Partnering with KamaGames and their industry-leading technology in the social casino space gives us the opportunity to amplify the reach of our social casino portfolio with best-in-class casino gameplay and global availability.”

The post KamaGames and Hard Rock unite for new app launch appeared first on CasinoBeats.

Setting record revenue for the final month of 2019, a figure which has subsequently been surpassed in January 2020, each month of the past year also recorded rises when compared to the corresponding time period from the previous year. 

Total revenue during the period increased 18.3 per cent from $76.4m to $90.4m, with the rise said to be ahead of the overall market revenue growth which stood at 8.1 per cent in 2019 after experiencing a 12.7 per cent decrease on web and increasing 11.8 per cent on mobile, according to a recent Eilers & Krejcik report.

During the period the company also stressed that it had increased development spend in both new and existing products, leading to a number of achievements and dedicated areas of focus including;

This resulted in “highly successful” user acquisition campaigns, a heightened focus on the improvement of core products, Texas Hold’em growth across a range of key markets, the addition of a variety of “fresh captivating features” and a heavy concentration on social engagement.

Furthermore, the social mobile poker operator also stresses that it’s “in the early stages of utilising machine learning models,” emphasising that it forms a key area of development for the firm as it strives to heighten player personalisation.  

Andrey Kuznetsov, CEO of KamaGames, explained: “We are incredibly proud of our continued growth in 2019, predominantly  because during this time, we successfully realised goals that we outlined for ourselves approximately 5 years ago. 

“We not only have one of the most extensive portfolios of mobile games in our genre, but we are also proud to say that we have created an environment that allows players to seamlessly move through our many games, try new things and return to their favourite title with ease. This has allowed us to expand the reach of our products while increasing monetisation and player retention.”

Providing an insight into its future outlook, KamaGames asserts that a number of strategic partnerships are to be entered during 2020, including one such link-up alongside “an iconic American brand”. The inclusion of advertising is to also be tested, despite an admittance that it “does not provide a particularly strong revenue stream for social casino operators”.

Kuznetsov added: “As we move into 2020, KamaGames’ core objective is to build on our most successful products by improving their offering even further. This includes our core poker title, Pokerist, which remains our top priority in terms of innovation. 

“Throughout 2020 we intend to add a number of intricately designed new titles and features to our primary app, which we’re confident will boost its already wide-spread popularity even further. Among KamaGames’ new products is the recently launched video poker, which will soon host a variety of new features, jackpots, events and a wide range of video poker machines.

“KamaGames will take a similar approach with our current slots games, revitalising the product with the help of a new, expanded team of experts, dedicated primarily to our Slots product. All of that said, the most notable contribution to our growth in 2020 will most likely come from several innovative and relevant partnerships which we plan on cultivating throughout the coming year.”

The post KamaGames ‘incredibly proud’ of continued growth appeared first on CasinoBeats.

Reporting a noticeable following in the USA where the majority of players and revenue originate from, the firm attributed the success to the app’s niche qualities in comparison to other video poker products on the social casino market.

Player retention also stood out as the highest across the KamaGames portfolio of social casino titles, with 49 per cent of players returning to the video poker app following the first day of its installation.

Launching a number of new titles in recent months, the company plans to deliver further updates in the coming weeks complete with new machines, features and jackpots that are aimed at increasing overall player retention even further.

CasinoBeats caught up with Andrey Kuznetsov, KamaGames CEO, to discuss ramping up retention rates and targeting more casual social casino players.

CasinoBeats: What appealed to users to ensure a particularly strong showing in the US?

Andrey Kuznetsov: There are a great number of games in the social casino genre including poker, slots, blackjack, roulette, etc. All of these have significant differences when it comes to audience breadth and targeting. The audience for blackjack is much higher than that of poker and poker is higher than that of roulette. From this data, we can determine that blackjack is a more casual title.

This can also happen on a global scale where the popularity of a particular game can be greater in some regions than in others. For instance, baccarat is popular in Asian countries, whereas craps is popular in the USA. Yet, in other parts of the world, the gaming audience is not familiar with either game.

Video poker attracts its biggest audience in the USA and has the highest numbers in terms of retention, CTR and CR which is clearly illustrated by the game metrics and indicators of advertising creatives. There can be a number of reasons behind this. 

Currently, app stores primarily host video poker titles that imitate classic machines typically found in real-world casinos. These are the standard video poker machines that those familiar with the genre are accustomed to playing. For our part, we endeavoured to add a number of new features to the classic game in order to make it increasingly more engaging.

This has been done by firstly making it possible to play up to 25 hands simultaneously which increases the intensity of the game, and secondly, we have enhanced the social interaction within video poker, which also gives us more indicators on how players interact with a particular machine they are playing.

We have also tried to implement all of our previously established, successful gaming mechanics into video poker, making it a far more expansive offering than any other on the apps stores. We have included daily quests and a host of new promotions and exciting special events and will also be launching a number of unique features that aren’t available in any competing video poker products over the next few weeks.

CB: Why do you believe retention rates also proved to be the highest across the KamaGames portfolio? Has this taught you anything that could be spread across the portfolio?

AK: It’s important to remember that all of the games in our portfolio are exceptionally different and therefore, first day retention rates vary from game to game. Our blackjack title is number one in the world in terms of revenue and audience for both the App Store and Google Play. The first day retention numbers for our blackjack product were similar to the retention numbers for video poker. Both of these numbers are quite high numbers in terms of social casino games.

We believe that we achieved this success by utilising gaming mechanics that we have already perfected through use across our entire portfolio of games. In this case, it also has to be said that the popularity of the genre has also had a significant, positive impact on the success of our video poker product too.

CB: What are the benefits of strategically targeting more casual social casino players?

AK: Access to a wider audience for sure. In terms of revenue and player numbers, our company has grown year-on-year for the last five years with each passing month showing growth when compared with the same time period in the previous year.

In short, our goal is to build on this growth and targeting casual social casino players will help us to achieve this. We are ensuring we have a high quality title for every possible game within the genre and video poker is a great opportunity for us to reach a casual audience that previously, we were unable to tap into.

We want to ensure that each of our social casino products is number one in app stores in terms of revenue. Thanks to the expertise of our team, we’ve already achieved this with several of our titles including blackjack, roulette, Omaha poker and craps. Our flagship app, Pokerist Texas poker, is currently number three in the world in terms of revenue and player numbers.

With an increase in casual players, our goal is to have video poker reach the same level of success and if we’re lucky, even surpass it.

The post KamaGames: Targeting casual social <br> casino players to ensure growth appeared first on CasinoBeats.

Which, considering the game is updated more or less every other week is no mean feat.

Among the V27 introductions is a revamp of its scratch card feature to add more mechanics, such as various categories, top winners and increased chances for coming out on top, as well as a new subscription model and all-new Alice in Wonderland slot. 

Furthermore, the launch of a new casino guide has been designed specifically with new players in mind, while users will also be able to bet their virtual chips on esports games too including Counter Strike, DOTA 2, StarCraft 2, League of Legends and Overwatch.

Most pleasing for the firm though is the announcement of a completely new feature, social sports betting, allowing players to use their chips on real-life sport events and a variety of bet types.

Andrey Kuznetsov, KamaGames CEO, has been speaking to CasinoBeats in some detail about the plethora of updates and the benefits they will bring for consumers worldwide.

“We are positive we can give them the best social sports betting experience possible”

CasinoBeats: Why should users be excited about this latest update?

Andrey Kuznetsov: We have no doubt that this update will appeal to the majority of our players thanks to the sheer volume of exciting new features we’ve included. Firstly, we’ve greatly improved our lottery section. Our players have always enjoyed this feature and now that we’ve significantly upgraded the quality of the prizes they can potentially win, we predict a strong increase in our success metrics. 

Our unique slots games have a great following amongst our players with all of the games released so far being warmly received, and we expect this latest slot to be no different. 

Our latest offering is based around the world of Alice in Wonderland and is titled Wonderful Tales. Boasting some unique and engaging game mechanics, accompanied by the usual top quality graphics players have come to expect, we are positive this will be a fast favourite among our slots fans.  

The KamaGames casino guide is a particularly interesting new feature which will ensure not only new players but also existing ones get the most out of Pokerist. Specifically, players can win lucrative in-game bonuses by making their way through specific tasks, which could range from winning a particular game or even just with a specific hand. Having a number of high-quality titles is already part of KamaGames’ resounding success, and this feature further highlights the variety contained within our social casino app.

While our sports betting feature was soft launched earlier this year, we have now completely updated and refined this innovative new section of Pokerist. Thanks to the extensive feedback we received from our players during the soft launch phase that saw over 30 million bets placed in six months, we are positive we can give them the best social sports betting experience possible.

“We have an ongoing objective of having the most comprehensive portfolio of social casino and card games”

Notable inclusions in the update are the opportunity to partake in live betting, the inclusion of a more extensive range of leagues and sports and also an increase in the types of bets a player can place. 

Generally speaking, we develop all of our new updates based around player’s feedback and also by analysing how players from all over the world interact with the app. As a result, these updates are typically met with excitement and support however we will of course continue to further improve the game in the future as this is one of the key contributing factors to Pokerist’ s success.

CB: Introducing social sports betting is an interesting new feature, how key do you believe this move, and also that to offer esports too, will become for KamaGames?

AK: We already soft launched a more “modest” version of the social sports betting feature into the Pokerist app this year and from that we managed to compile some interesting data. The data we collected suggested that interaction with the feature was high and players enjoyed the addition to our portfolio which was quite a departure to that of our usual offering. 

This positive response led us to develop social sports betting even further, ensuring that there is a catalogue of sports and leagues to satisfy every sporting fan. 

As an operator, we have an ongoing objective of having the most comprehensive portfolio of social casino and card games, which currently stands at 11 games, and now the full launch of our 12th game, social sports betting will add another engaging and innovative element to Pokerist.

“We were happily surprised by just how popular the esports element of this new feature proved to be”

We have an extensive development roadmap ahead of us for the sports betting feature and the inclusion of esports was an important focus for us. Esports has established itself as a growing presence in the gaming landscape and we strive to be ahead of innovation by incorporating these types of popular trends which will enhance the entertainment value of Pokerist. 

By including esports in social sports betting we are not only thinking about the current interests of our players but also where their interests will lie in five or even ten years’ time and how we can accommodate them.

That said, we were happily surprised by just how popular the esports element of this new feature proved to be among players right now, how well they knew the teams as well as the volume of bets they placed in fact, esports bets are already ahead of the more traditional sports such as volleyball and handball and are growing at a strong pace.

CB: How difficult has the process been, after working on the introduction for such a significant amount of time?

AK: Well, it was definitely hard work. Not least because we’ve included more than 20 different types of sports, catering to the many various countries where our audience is located. In this latest update we also included a number of different types of bets that our players can place.

For example, a player can bet on who they predict will score the next goal, which team will take the next corner, what the final score will be or even how many yellow cards will be given by the end of the match.

“It’s of the utmost importance that we place an emphasis on socialisation opportunities”

Not only was it difficult because we were committed to include such a strong level of variety but we also had to translate everything into 28 different languages to make it accessible to our global audience.

CB: Offering a deep level of social interaction seems to becoming increasingly more important, alongside that of gamification, how crucial are those aspects for yourselves? 

AK: For social casino, it’s of the utmost importance that we place an emphasis on socialisation opportunities for our players. We have an entire host of features that facilitate socialisation, including a chat option at the tables, instant messenger for players, quick phrase templates for ease of communication and animated emoticons. 

Within this latest update we’ve built on this socialisation by including a new invite feature which will allow players to invite their friends into the game and subsequently, they will receive various bonuses based on their friends activity in the Pokerist community.

The post KamaGames – New avenues of innovation via plethora of Pokerist updates appeared first on CasinoBeats.

March proved to be the most profitable month on record for the firm with an increase in the number of paying users as well as average revenue per paying user, with an 11.2 per cent jump in group revenue taking its H1 figures to $46.3m.

Despite a continuous launch of new titles alongside a variety of features in KamaGames’ flagship Pokerist app, the company also stressed a belief that an added emphasis on personalised promotional campaigns was also instrumental.

Andrey Kuznetsov, KamaGames CEO, discussed how an elevated emphasis on personalisation helped record another period of impressive growth: “The personalisation of promotions and the customised offers for players have been great successes for us and still continue to grow. KamaGames has experienced strong growth in ARPPU and also an increase in the conversion rate from players to payers.

“We believe that the right players should get the right offers at the right time, otherwise its is simply a waste of an ad placement.”

Building on a pledge to increase development via the added introduction of tailor made experiences, new features introduced include party modes, tournaments and slot games, with an avatar constructor lauded as “a completely new feature in the social casino landscape”.

Furthermore, KamaGames also strives to ensure its social casino portfolio was “more accessible than ever” after utilising WebGL technology to take suite to Facebook Games.

Regarding the impact that this has had, and will continue to have, Kuznetsov added: “At this stage, Facebook is not the most profitable platform for us, however we definitely see a good potential for growth. 

“By releasing all of our games on to the Facebook platform, we have provided our players with an opportunity to play on a number of different platforms and devices which we expect to positively affect our playing statistics.”

The post Personalisation pays-off in KamaGames’ growth appeared first on CasinoBeats.

A central theme to its newest updates is one of deeper personalisation, with the addition of personalised avatars marking nine years since the launch of a single title with simple, straightforward gameplay.

CasinoBeats spoke to Andrey Kuznetsov, KamaGames CEO, who addressed the need to ensure that players feel like their experience is as unique as possibly can be: “In every corner of the internet, people are now looking for a more personal experience. Consumers want offers tailor-made for their needs, readers want news curated specifically to inform on their interests and gamers want an experience that will allow them to express their individuality,” he says.

“For us, this has recently resulted in the latest innovation in Pokerist, the release of personalised avatars, which launched in June 2019. With this launch, we’ve moved on from players distinguishing themselves through cleverly chosen usernames or a carefully chosen profile picture.”

“As this need for connection and socialisation grew in mobile games, we knew we had to adapt in order to remain competitive”

The changing demands of players from year to year could cause any number of difficulties, with Kuznetsov addressing how Pokerist has had to adapt: “The most noticeable adaptation has probably been the steady development in Pokerist’s overall quality and design throughout the years. This can be seen across a variety of areas within the app, such as graphics, gameplay and the wider concept of socialisation within the game.

“In addition to this, we have developed a portfolio that satisfies the needs of a variety of gaming appetites, from increasingly casual gamers to those who play poker more competitively.”

However, one particular advancement in particular changed the landscape in a huge manner: “The advance of mobile technology, internet coverage and eventually, internet speeds led to the ability for online gamers to feel more connected to one another than ever before.

“This ability to connect to fellow gamers was further propelled by a drop in smartphone costs and increase in their purchasing. Considering that the majority of our games are played on these devices, this greatly improved our player numbers.

“Yet, as this need for connection and socialisation grew in mobile games, we knew we had to adapt in order to remain competitive.  For Pokerist, this led to a number of interesting developments in how we now allow players to interact with one another.”

“In every corner of the internet, people are now looking for a more personal experience“

Enhancements such as avatars or new gaming introductions can only go so far though, with Kuznetsov also keen to stress: “We also carried out a number of aggressive marketing campaigns and rounds of user acquisition which allowed us to increase our active player base and expand the Pokerist community for current players at the time, enriching their experience with the game.”

In the process, due to a low cost per install and “incredibly high” quality of traffic, with “no fraudulent installations or bots involved,” expansion managed to see the offering stretch across 28 languages.

Kuznetsov though was keen to emphasise that such a hit is never a guarantee, and players have to be front and centre to ensure you soar from strength to strength: “While we always hoped it would be a hit with players, we never could have predicted that Pokerist would grow to become the success that it is today.

“In the nine years since its launch, Pokerist has grown from a single title with simple, straightforward gameplay to unquestionably one of the most diverse social mobile poker apps in the world. This has led to Pokerist being localised into 28 languages and played competitively across no less than an impressive total of 233 countries.

“In the beginning, we offered a strong, solid poker game in which players both experienced and new could engage with and enjoy. Since then we’ve built on that offering, growing as a mobile game and a company as a whole.

“gamers want an experience that will allow them to express their individuality

“We continue to meet impressive targets and achieve new milestones each year with the same determination that was present within KamaGames nine years ago when Pokerist was launched.”

Lauding a series of new gaming options built on “a strong foundation,” a desire to create “a more intense challenge for experienced players” while also “ensuring that there’s something to satisfy every type of casino enthusiast” could oftentimes be a trick tightrope.

However setting an ambition “to enrich and improve the player experience” sees Kuznetsov conclude: “These games and features have certainly been the most important development for the app, especially as the market has become increasingly more casual in recent years. Yet, it’s the fact that we add to this portfolio on a regular basis that contributes heavily to the success of Pokerist. There’s no doubt that they play a vital role in ensuring monetisation opportunities for us while increasing loyalty among our players, keeping retention rates in an upward trend.”

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Releasing its portfolio of social casino games onto the Huawei App Gallery platform, KamaGames details that its Pokerist, Blackjackist and Roulettist offerings are the first such titles published on its standalone app that’s exclusive to the company’s devices.

Hailing the partnership with such a huge name, as well as strength of the social casino gaming genre, Andrey Kuznetsov, KamaGames’ CEO, explained: “Huawei is one of the fastest growing smartphone manufacturers in the world, and the launch of its own AppGallery is a great opportunity for early adopters, such as KamaGames, to secure a presence in that specific market place.

“It is important to us to be able to provide convenient ways for our players to enjoy our games at any time, on all of the popular platforms.

“We are excited to be among the first to be launched on Huawei AppGallery. Our flagship title Pokerist can be easily adapted to suit a new platform’s requirements. We understand the potential of the AppGallery platform and are ready to provide a superior, full-feature product for them.

“Earlier this year we stated that we have at least 530,000 daily active users, and we are expecting to be able to announce a significant increase to that number before the end of the year thanks to, in part, exciting and rewarding partnerships such as this.”

Before adding: “This is a great opportunity for both KamaGames and Huawei and we are thrilled with the partnership. KamaGames is the number one social casino developer in Europe with over 100 million users.

“We’ve gone from strength to strength this year, unveiling new products, expanding our user-base and finding new ways to bring our games to a wider audience.

“Huawei smartphone sales reached 153 million devices in 2017, 20% year on year growth, and the company has an impressive 11% market share.

“We are confident that 2018 will see both company’s goals becoming a reality, as Huawei aims to reach over 50 million European customers, and KamaGames continues to bring market leading social casino games to the world’s most popular platforms”.

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