That was an opinion shared by Yggdrasil Gaming CEO, Fredrik Elmqvist, in the latest instalment of the company’s podcast series, What’s up Ygg.

The Yggdrasil leader was joined by guests from streaming partner CasinoDaddy to discuss how they approach working with the streamer community and how this impacts the industry.

The podcast began with a conversation between Elmqvist, Erik Joelsson, streamer at CasinoDaddy; and Kristian Egede Nielsen, key account manager at CasinoDaddy – alongside the podcast host Stewart Darkin.

Initiating the discussion with a question on how streamers are picked, Joelsson explained the risks of choosing a streamer to put in charge of managing money and keeping the channel safe from being banned, as well as taking care of the stream and its community. 

He said: “For us, we need people we can trust. We’re more on a personal level with the viewers than a business level.” 

Pressed on how to engage viewers, Joelsson revealed that there are different types of viewers with varied preferences which he mainly put down to two categories: the loyal viewers who stick around interacting with a stream, and the ones who jump between different hosts looking for the biggest bets and stakes. 

He concluded: “I can say for sure that if you’re doing bigger bets, you’re going to get more viewers.”  

Delving deeper into how streamers are often seen as the face of a brand to the player market, Elmqvist commented: “They can put demands on new operators coming in, in terms of having the right service levels catering for the players. 

“They can also align expectations for suppliers and tell us what we can do better for the players, bringing value to their community and also to the operators – so I think that they can take a really important role here and bring a lot of value for the industry.

It was at this stage that he highlighted: “For us as a provider we need to tread carefully and see who we partner with. We’d rather partner with the ones that we know are doing it right instead of taking the risk of working with everyone.”

Elmqvist continued: “The model of the streamer is also an enabler of creativity and that, as our publishing model, is enabling creative studios to come to market and launch quickly. 

“At the same time, they’re enabling new creative B2C operators to come to market quickly as well and I think that could also keep the market dynamic – so they can take the role of the ombudsman, they can take the role of the enabler, and they can also go down a darker route but as we know, the good guys always win.”

Joelsson added: “We are ten thousand or twenty thousand players within one player. Let’s say we play a new game before release, we build up the hype for the game and on the release date our viewers are going to play it because they’ve seen us play it, they’ve seen us talk good about it, we’ve shown the game, the possibilities and everything – so I think we can be the ombudsman for sure.”

Discussing how real-time feedback can bring value to the company, Elmqvist noted: “There’s nothing better than to test it with a real audience in a real environment, and not only here can we see the streamers play, but I think what’s key here is to see their community and their reactions.

“We see streamers wanting higher max wins, we see the operator saying ‘yeah that’s good but take it down a notch’ so we’re sitting there listening and taking in feedback from various industry players.” 

He concluded by explaining that with game development, the user experience needs to be aligned with the industry’s best players, the streamers. 

However, he stressed that we can’t let the streamers dictate how the roadmap is going to be created because that “may not be completely aligned with what the actual operators want and what gets the player’s money in”.

To watch the full episode of the podcast, click here.

For the first episode of the series on how innovation has been at the heart of the journey for Yggdrasil, click here.

And click here for the second on how the YG Masters programme has brought new flavours of game content. 

The post What’s up YGG: Partner with the streamers you know are doing it right appeared first on CasinoBeats.

Speaking on a special edition of the Double Espresso Show with Rasmus Sojmark, Yggdrasil Gaming CEO Fredrik Elmqvist and Swintt CCO David Mann both highlighted the dangers of players moving to black market operators if slots become less entertaining.

The significance of regulatory changes was one of many topics tackled on the show, which will have its premiere later today as part of the CasinoBeats Slots Festival sponsored by Groove Gaming and BetConstruct.

Regulatory changes often create significant challenges for the gambling industry, as companies are forced to adapt their operations according to differing legislative requirements in various territories.

This has been clearly demonstrated in recent months, as the UK government continues with its review of the 2005 Gambling Act, whilst in Germany the Fourth Interstate Treaty on Gambling secured the approval of all required federal states, and in the state of New York many commentators were left visibly confused by updated gambling legislation.

Mann was keen to address the aforementioned regulatory changes in Germany, stating: “On the proposed turnover tax – it is looking like the main discussions are going to have a negative impact on RTP and games, which is just going to turn players towards unregulated sites.

“It’s adding risk to the players. There’s probably always going to be a couple of brands that are more highly regarded and well considered within the more grey areas. But you want players to have trustworthy experiences, you want them to really connect with the casino.” 

Sharing Mann’s concerns with regards to the impact of regulations on RTP and player preferences was Fredrick Elmqvist, CEO of Yggdrasil Gaming, who argued that gamers will ultimately lose out the most due to diminished returns.

“We like to believe that there’s good balance in giving players a chance to win money – that’s good for the players and good for the industry,” he remarked. “I actually don’t think that the regulator should get involved in even stuff like how the design works and when you can show the coin splash and so forth. I think that it’s complete over-regulation. 

“But we haven’t seen the rest of it yet. it seems that politicians are driving this and we see that the public space is pushing for some further regulations.”

Mann also added that upcoming regulations, particularly in Germany, would have far ranging impacts on game mechanics and the player experience – which would subsequently have consequences for player safety. 

He continued: “From our side, we should always be trying to communicate more with the operators, the players and even with regulators to try and make that more safer for players.”

Elmqvist concluded by sharing his belief that regulators are uninterested in being more informed on the potential consequences of over-regulation of the slot space, or the gambling industry in general.

He remarked: “My biggest fear is that the industry will become so over-regulated that players will be willing to take those extra steps and go on a much darker path.”

To watch the premiere of the Daily Espresso Show at the CasinoBeats Slots Festival, register for free now here.

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In the first part of an extensive slot streaming series to be rolled-out by CasinoBeats over the course of the next few weeks, we are speaking to numerous industry incumbents to gain key insight into the growing trend and its future capabilities.

Act one, scene one, sees supplier’s take centre stage, with Pawel Piotrowski, new games manager at Yggdrasil Gaming, Tamas Kusztos, head of sales and account management at Kalamba Games, Peter Causley, Lightning Box’s CEO and co-founder and Ruben Loeches, R Franco Digital CMO, addressing added restrictions in recent times and the growth of streaming channels. 

CB: During the current health pandemic we have seen numerous regions impose, or look to impose, added restrictions on a number of issues. What effect has this had on marketing techniques? 

PC: The most visible and tangible impact has been on the retail industry, be that casinos or betting shops, obviously. Things are starting to get back to normal, and long may that continue, but businesses have effectively been mothballed without customers coming through the doors.

When it comes to online, sensitivities around player protection have been heightened – and so they should be. We have to act responsibly as an industry, whether that is suppliers like us or operators, to ensure players stay safe and enjoy our products responsibly. If that means temporary restrictions on stake limits, changes to advertising, etc then so be it. We’re all in this together. 

RL: The restrictions that have been introduced during the pandemic have affected, and will continue to affect, the marketing plans of all companies. The gaming sector was never going to be an exception. 

From my point of view, more and more regulated markets are approaching almost a situation where gambling is almost considered illegal. Advertising is being heavily restricted across all key channels. Accordingly – marketing teams are having to look for more even key niches, as well more technologically advanced audio-visual content.

PP: At Yggdrasil, we always aim to make top quality games that are widely enjoyed by our players. A key component of this is to create a good understanding of our current and future players which is supported by being present on some of the major community forums as well as engaging with streamers.

That said, engaging with Yggdrasil and playing our games should be entertaining but also done in a responsible manner. We take responsible gaming seriously and continuously work on keeping our products not only fun, but also safe and fully compliant with regulatory policies and market guidelines. 

TK: It has made it harder for operators to advertise in some countries and many have taken a more cautious approach even where no restrictions require it. For our B2B audience, the big difference is how industry events have had to change, moving to an all digital delivery.

While it’s obviously a little less personal, organisers have overall done a great job in offering a very similar experience to the real deal and in some ways even improved it. For example, virtual sessions are much easier to attend and absorb, plus analysing and evaluating the event afterwards is more straightforward as we have access to readily available data straight afterwards. 

CB: We are seeing the role and influence of streamers grow throughout igaming, is this an avenue you have considered exploring? And why/why not? 

RL: It’s an area of great interest to us, and we are already engaged in a few associations with streamers. Why? It’s simple. The consumption of multimedia content is growing fast, and therefore streamers are generating more and more followers. We see this as a great channel for expanding our message, as well as adapting our products towards the preferences of the new generation of user.

PP: Streamers are probably the biggest influencers in the gambling community and therefore it is natural for us to come up with content that is relevant to the streamers community. We follow this on a daily basis and treat it as an invaluable source of intelligence and feedback on our games performance.

You can get a streamer to promote your game but it’s not going to work if it’s not a great product. The followers will understand that the streamer’s interest in the game is not authentic and it’s going to backfire for both the provider and the streamer. Any feedback coming from the stream, especially a harsh one is great for improving our future games and making them more relevant and more successful.

It’s kind of a symbiosis where we listen to the steamers and improve our products to make their broadcast even more entertaining. We want our games to be streamed and the streamers want great content that will keep their followers on the edge of their seats. 

TK: Yes, in fact we have recently completed an industry first promotion where we invited streamers to play our games over a two week period. The winner, CasinoTest24, is designing a new game with us as we speak.

Generally speaking, streamers create communities which help us understand what players actually like or find important about certain games and the industry in general which means we can improve our offering.

PC: We’re always looking for opportunities to engage with the right streamers to play our games. They have a big influence on player preferences, especially on the Twitch platform, and can be a valuable ally.

They provide interesting and entertaining reviews of slots that can really boost the presence of a game. The impartiality they bring to the table is healthy for suppliers and operators and useful to players wanting to find the best games.

Players feels like they are part of the streamer’s journey when they watch them play, especially with the near misses and wins on bonus feature triggers and Jackpots. I think it has been a welcome development.

The post The rise of streaming: <br> Suppliers have their say appeared first on CasinoBeats.

In the first of a two part Italian special, we’re kicking things off with a wealth of local insights from Arcangelo Lonoce, head of business development Europe at Habanero, Denis Koshel, technical account manager at Playson and Ed Muldoon, head of region Italy, Malta and Eastern Europe at Yggdrasil Gaming.  

CasinoBeats: Having been live for close to 11 years, Italy is one of Europe’s most mature online jurisdictions – how would you sum up your focus there? 

AL: Italy is a unique jurisdiction. It’s Europe’s second largest market, with a diverse tapestry of demographics that is constantly changing. More than a decade on from its inception, this dynamic territory is set to continue growing, particularly for the online sector. 

We’ve been live in Italy for three years, but have completed a wealth of commercial deals in the jurisdiction since then. Having launched with the likes of Sisal, Lottomatica and Bet365 this year, as well as continuing to deliver for longstanding partners such as Eurobet and SKS365, we’re now among the country’s fastest-growing providers. 

DK: Italy is a market where bureaucratic obstacles often stand in the way of innovation. Here at Playson, however, we don’t let regulatory hurdles stifle our creativity. Our team has worked tirelessly to continue improving our product offering in line with the latest technical and demographic changes. 

Although our commitment to excellence can slow the development pipeline, we believe that premium quality products are always worth the time it takes to create them. We’re looking forward to continuing the roll-out of our acclaimed content in the Italian market and beyond, and we expect that our latest game releases will perform strongly among Italy-based players. 

EM: Yggdrasil initially entered the market to support our customers’ own expansion into the market, as we often do with our partners. However, Italy has since become a strategic focus for us. We have hired Italian speaking account managers and a head of region to drive the business forward.

We went live in the Italian market in 2017 and we continue to see great interest in our gaming content from both local players and licensees.

We are very pleased with the progress we have made signing new customers, with several high-profile agreements yet to be announced. At the end of 2020 we will be live with over 10 leading operators in the region. 

CB: How would you profile the typical player? What kind of demographics are we dealing with?

AL: The most important thing to remember is that more than 90 per cent of Italian-based players are still land-based and retail. Such a large market, with so little digital penetration, is an exciting prospect for all of us in the online sector. 

Being home to an emerging generation of tech-oriented players has laid the ground for an uptick in online activity. The territory’s outstanding potential for growth therefore makes it a strong investment opportunity, and not one to be missed. 

DK: The typical Italian player is likely to be slightly older than their counterparts elsewhere in Western Europe, with an average age of around 33 – 40. Because of the country’s sociable culture and proud retail betting heritage, Italy’s transition to the online sector was historically slower than it has been in other areas of the continent.   

This transition, however, has since been accelerated by the enforcement of one of Europe’s strictest lockdowns, as well as the introduction of a rule requiring the use of government health cards with slot machines. 

EM: Conversely, we do not really see a fundamental difference between Italian players and their counterparts in other regulated markets. Many seem to seek out entertaining and immersive content such as that developed by Yggdrasil and play it in similar patterns to what we see in other European regulated markets.

What type of games have you seen to have particular success there? 

DK: Italy’s proud land-based heritage means that its players tend to enjoy classic slot games with roots in that sector. One of the country’s best performing games, for example, is called ‘Galline’ (meaning ‘chicken’), which comes from a certain land-based slot machine. 

Although Italy’s historic land-based gambling culture means that some of its players prefer low RTPs, it remains the case that a great game is a great game no matter where you are. The fundamentals of the slot experience remain the same, regardless of geographic location. 

AL: There has been a real variation. Drawing inspiration from the country’s best-loved card game, Scopa is a slot boasting widespread international appeal, but performs especially well in the Italian market. 

Even though it was launched back in 2018, Egyptian Dreams’ retention rate among Italy-based players still makes for impressive reading, with the classic Wild Trucks also a top performer. 

Packed with retro-themed fruit symbols and a 1980s style synthesiser soundtrack, Jump! has also resonated well with Italy’s deep routed land-based culture and remains a firm national favourite. 

“The Italian market has shown good resilience to regulatory change”

EM: While we see a little less interest in jackpot-based games than you might ordinarily expect, this is replaced by a keen interest in games that include Yggdrasil’s new Splitz mechanics. Players are enjoying the excitement of the win potential offered in games featuring the mechanics such as Neon Rush and Temple Stacks.

That said, we still see our ever-present classics Vikings go Berserk and Valley of the Gods at the top of the performance sheets each month. It will be interesting to see how players respond to Valley of the Gods 2 which we are launching later this year.

CB: And when it comes to regulation – what do you advise other operators / suppliers bear in mind when getting ready to enter the market? 

AL: In Italy, the regulatory burden falls almost entirely on the operator. Licences are expensive to obtain and adverts are banned. Add in the renewed scrutiny our industry has faced since the outbreak of coronavirus, and it’s clear that these rules will likely get stricter. 

Providers, on the other hand, have more room to manoeuvre. That’s because the certification requirements they face are manageable, if time consuming and expensive, and the market continues to show an appetite for new, high-quality games. Operators look for partners who can deploy innovative product strategies that help them stay compliant, while still producing titles which are popular. 

DK: Personally, I would counsel patience. The process in Italy usually takes longer than it would in other markets, mainly because of its complex certification procedures. The second piece of advice I would offer is to deepen your understanding of the country as much as possible, by visiting, learning the language and gaining an insight into the unique preferences of its players. 

EM: The Italian market has shown good resilience to regulatory change, perhaps that’s just a reflection of the maturity of the market overall. There is a slightly different regulatory framework in effect in Italy which requires operator specific authorisations ahead of release. While this might slow down the release of new game in comparison to some other markets, it becomes business as usual when you have the right supporting processes in place.

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As well documented changes continue to impact the online casino ecosystem, brought about by all manner of coronavirus impacts worldwide, the online gaming solutions provider is already looking as far ahead as 2022 in terms of pre-production.

Asserting that responsible gaming continues to be a central theme throughout the development process, Piotrowski said of the performance of the slot market throughout the year thus far: “We have observed positive growth from the segment that is partially related to the COVID situation. Regulatory enforcement continues in light of responsible gaming measures in back of COVID, but overall it has been another exciting year for the industry. 

“The number of new releases each month is tremendous with lots of up-and-coming software providers. Our pioneering YG Masters program, powered by GATI is contributing to this evolvement, eliminating entry barriers and shortening time to market for studio partners and game developers to get their content out.

“Yggdrasil has produced some excellent games the past year, and we are proud of and excited about the games running on our new Gigablox mechanical framework.”

Before turning his attention to player behaviours, and addressing how 2020’s unexpected happenings have impact these as well as touching upon the Yggdrasil outlook: “It is no use looking at what was popular in the passing years. Given the long production cycle, and with ever-changing players’ demand, we need to predict what will be hot the next couple of years,” he says.

“The Slots Festival is a great opportunity for Yggdrasil”

“We are very confident about our 2021 games roadmap and have already started some pre-production of 2022 games. We always have responsible gaming in mind when developing our games and believe it is more important now than ever that industry leaders act responsibly when creating and advertising their content. 

“At Yggdrasil we continuously work on keeping our products not only fun, but also safe and fully compliant with regulatory policies and market guidelines.”

CasinoBeats puts gameplay at the heart of product selection this week via the inaugural Slots Festival, designed to give participants a valuable overview of the games market and the latest trends, providing a new perspective as they develop their product roadmap into 2021.

“The Slots Festival is a great opportunity for Yggdrasil to create exposure for our games and new innovative mechanics, Splitz, Gigablox and MultiMax,” Piotrowski comments.

“We look forward to engaging with various industry stakeholders, including operators, to get their views of the different products we are showcasing.”

Taking place on Wednesday 18 November, the festival will see attendees be able to drop in at a time convenient for them on the day and try out a host of games in free-play mode, enter slots tournaments with eye-catching prizes, and watch some of the leading casino streamers playing a selection of titles.

“In 2020, Yggdrasil rolled out three completely new mechanical frameworks – Splitz, MultiMax, and Gigablox and we have seen a very positive response both from our partners and players,” he adds on the group’s Slots Fest participation.

“Clearly, there is a demand for fun bonus games with extreme win potential”

“During the event, our game mechanics will be our main focal point, and in particular Gigablox which will be an important part of our 2021 roadmap following the success of Lucky Neko and Hades. “Multifly!, released in March this year running on the MultiMax framework, remains very popular with the players.

“Syncronite, a classy art-deco style slot machine, is the third Splitz game to be released in 2020. We have high expectations on this game after learnings collected from previous Splitz games Temple Stacks and Neon Rush and look forward to its release on November 19.

To conclude, Piotrowski again reflected on the tumultuous few months experienced by explained what the group thinks slot players will be looking for during the next 12 months: “Clearly, there is a demand for fun bonus games with extreme win potential and it is further boosted by the streamers community. 

“A promise of winning 1000x your stake isn’t good enough anymore. As I mentioned, we are releasing our new Splitz game Syncronite this month that will be showcased at the Slots Festival, and it comes with the max win of 64000x the stake. 

“One lucky player managed already to grab a whopping 12,000x bets during the early release. Following the success of the Gigablox mechanic, you will see many more Gigablox games in the coming months.

“There is no one-size-fits-all solution and our roadmap is prepared to cater for all types of players ensuring they find something they crave on a regular basis and will enjoy. You can expect anything from low to insane volatility levels in our 2021 roadmap.” 

Gaming professionals, such as members of operators’ casino teams, slots and casino affiliates, content aggregators, and igaming industry media, can register for the CasinoBeats Slots Festival for free by clicking here. 

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Under the terms of the deal, Azure Tech will gain access to Yggdrasil’s YG platform which includes its standardised GATI technology solution and game promotion tools via Boost.

Furthermore, the entity will also be able to source and offer its own game content for distribution to targeted markets and cross-collaboration with other franchisees globally.

Cora Chen, COO of Azure Tech, said: “We are very proud to expand our business cooperation with such an innovative and professional company as Yggdrasil. We remain amazed how agile and responsive they are as a company and how Yggdrasil continues to deliver groundbreaking technologies that support faster time to market for partners’ business needs.

“We are very excited to become a franchisee of Yggdrasil, and we cannot wait to realise the potential of the GATI technology, to start collaborating with other franchisees, and having full access to their best in class slots and table games.”

The deal enables Azure Tech to gain greater control of its B2B igaming operations as well as scaling up its marketing opportunities and optimising its roadmap offerings.

Björn Krantz, head of publishing for Yggdrasil, explained: “We are absolutely delighted to sign our second strategic franchise partnership in just two weeks. With our new franchise offering, Azure Tech will be able to scale its go-to-market operations and accelerate its business strategy in a way they did not think possible.

“GATI is a true disruptor technology. All our partners, being tightly integrated to GATI, will be able to cross-sell their games to any of our global franchisees. This is a unique way to rapidly scale distribution and revenue opportunities at the same time as enabling completely new ways of working and collaborating. It’s truly exciting times for us, Azure Tech and our franchisees.”

This follows online casino slots developer Northern Lights deepening its partnership with Yggdrasil as the YG Masters partner choose the supplier’s GATI technology to reach its global ambitions.

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As part of the terms of the agreement, Flow Gaming will gain access to Yggdrasil’s entire end-to-end game development process, YG platform, including its new GATI product, game promotional tools via boost and access to content created by YG Masters partners.

Peter van Tuyl, COO of Flow Gaming, said: “We are very excited to partner up with one of the best and most innovative igaming solutions and slots providers in Europe. Yggdrasil is one of the companies we have had our eye on for a long time.

“They have fantastic content that will do well with our Asian customer base. With our extensive marketing knowledge and tuned infrastructure for Asian distribution, this will be a very good concept for both parties.

“The Yggdrasil franchise proposition is a new and very clever approach to on-boarding their content and technology. It will allow us to optimise and enhance our business strategy, and we can’t wait to become a franchisee.”

Through the franchising agreement Flow Gaming will also be able to source and offer its own game content for distribution to its targeted market and cross-collaborate with other franchisees globally, designed to accelerate territorial reach and drive revenue opportunities.

Björn Krantz, head of publishing at Yggdrasil, added:“We are absolutely delighted to sign this very strategic Franchise partnership with Flow Gaming.

“With the Yggdrasil franchise offering, Flow Gaming will be able to provide its partners with a blueprint of what’s made Yggdrasil one of the most innovative and successful igaming suppliers in the industry. 

“In the franchise package everything that has been created by Yggdrasil over the past seven years is delivered. All the innovation, all the development, knowledge, experience and on-going support as a complete out-of-the-box games platform solution.

“As such, the franchise solution is the enabler for partners around the world to take full control of their igaming business and facilitate next level business collaborations.”

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SBC’s new flagship event, which takes place at Fira de Barcelona on 8-11 September, is set to be one of the biggest gatherings of high-level igaming executives on the 2020 industry calendar, making it the ideal setting to launch and promote online casino products.

A section of the 18,000 sq m exhibition space has been designated as the Casino Zone, where Yggdrasil will prominently showcase its brand and latest innovations to an audience of senior decision makers from market-leading operators. 

As part of its promotional campaign at SBC Summit, Yggdrasil’s CEO Fredrik Elmqvist will also deliver a presentation on the main conference room stage, which has a capacity of more than 700 attendees.  

Elmqvist said: “We’ve long been supporters of SBC and its events, which always attract the best companies and individuals the industry has to offer, in turn providing some fantastic high-level content and networking. 

“Staging this event in Barcelona in an even bigger venue shows, that similar to Yggdrasil, just how rapidly SBC has grown in such a short space of time. We are pioneering the most globally disruptive and scalable business models in the industry at the moment and we’re very excited to attend this high profile event, and showcase them at SBC Summit in September.”

Stewart Darkin, managing director of SBC’s CasinoBeats brand, said: “We’re delighted that a world-class games provider like Yggdrasil has recognised the potential offered by SBC Summit and are looking forward to working with them in the build-up to Barcelona. 

“With a huge number of senior executives from operators around the world due to attend the event, it is a great opportunity for suppliers to showcase their latest innovations, hold meetings with buyers and network with valuable new connections.”

SBC Summit will combine an exhibition with an in-depth content offer consisting of more than 350 industry experts sharing their insights across 14 conference tracks, covering the key issues in online casino, sports betting, payments, digital marketing and safer gambling.

With 5,000 delegates set to travel from 60 countries to attend the Summit, there will be plenty of potential to make valuable new contacts. In order to help facilitate this, SBC is organising a number of its renowned evening networking parties in upmarket Barcelona venues, all of which are included with the delegate pass. 

Contact sales@sbcgaming.com for further information about exhibiting at or sponsoring the event.

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This marks a further expansion for Yggdrasil, with the supplier taking its portfolio of titles to the Spanish market for the first time.

Xavier Ballester, director of Casino Barcelona Online, said of the new agreement: “We are really proud to be the first operator to offer Yggdrasil’s games in Spain, and we are certain that their products will help accelerate the growth of our brand as a market leader in the country. 

“We are very impressed with the Yggdrasil games and the outstanding graphics, maths and gamification tools which we are sure will be a hit with our customers.”

As a result of the launch a number of Yggdrasil’s online casino titles are to be available to Spanish players, including Golden Fish Tank, Valley of the Gods, as well as the blockbuster games such as Vikings go Berzerk and Vikings go Wild.

Casino Barcelona, lauded as “the leading brand in the Spanish casino market,” is to bring Yggdrasil’s content portfolio to its players via its online platform at CasinoBarcelona.es.

Fredrik Elmqvist, CEO of Yggdrasil, added: “We are thrilled to go live in Spain and to offer our games to local players together with such a significant brand as Casino Barcelona.

“The Spanish gaming market has shown consistently strong growth, and an increase in popularity over the last few years and we are excited about the upcoming opportunities.

“We are looking forward to a long and successful partnership that will see us continue to bring new and innovative content to the Spanish market with Casino Barcelona.”

Last month Yggdrasil released the first title from its global content curation YGS Masters programme, with Niagara Falls by partner studio Northern Lights making its debut.

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One large plus point for the organisation is the launch of its new vertical YGS Masters, which collaborates with independent studios to develop and distribute gaming content on its own platform.

Rabcat, Northern Lights and Fantasma Games became the first adopters during 2018, subsequently being joined by Avatar UX and 4ThePlayer thus far since the turn of year.

Fredrik Elmqvist, CEO and founder of Yggdrasil, who launched 18 new games included its first branded title in Nitro Circus, said of YGS’s success: “YGS, together with our own offering, enables us to provide the best games and end player user experience in the industry. I am thrilled on the outcome of these initiatives, and how they will support us in creating synergies with our current product portfolio and in-game promotional tools”

Yggdrasil, who sealed 11 new licence agreements during the year, saw operating revenues rise 53 per cent in Q4 to SEK 78.5m from SEK 51.2m, helping boost FY figures to SEK 274.2m, a 62 per cent jump on 2017’s SEK 169.1m.

EBIT for the quarter rose 13 per cent to SEK 19.8m (2017: SEK 17.5) representing a margin of 25 per cent (2017: 34 per cent), helping it total for the 12 month period to SEK 69.5m, an 18 per cent boost on SEK 58.8m, with a 25 per cent margin (2017: 35 per cent).

Elmqvist added: “2018 also marks as a commercially active year with entry into new markets and the signing of 48 new customers – more than any year before! We continue to focus on locally regulated market environments and push for global expansion.

“We have signed several notable customers during the year including Paf, Veikkaus, 888 in addition to Svenska Spel and ATG as part of the Swedish re-regulation. Despite a more competitive and complex market environment, with a regulatory landscape changing at a faster phase than ever before, we have been successful in capturing further market share.

“We believe this is the ultimate proof of our concept and clearly demonstrates that our business is in the game for the long run. I also believe the on-going regulation trend is positive, on the back of increased barriers to entry and an overall improved market quality, with a more responsible approach among industry stakeholders yielding a safer player environment, and a larger addressable market.”

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