Interviews
Exclusive Interview with Tassos Panagiotaros of Golden Race
Our colleague, Szaló Réka managed to interview Tassos Panagiotaros, Sales Director at Golden Race.
Tassos Panagiotaros currently holds the position of Sales Director at Golden Race, the leading Pre-recorded and Virtual Games provider.
Tassos started his career as a Software Engineer in the Telecoms industry. He soon switched to the Operations and Sales, having held, in the last 20 years, Senior and C-level positions in Public Listed companies, in Gaming, IT and Telecoms sectors, in different countries worldwide. His academic background includes a BSc in Physics from the University of Patras, Greece, and an MBA with Distinction from the University of Strathclyde, UK.
We are very grateful for your generosity to answer our questions. First I would like to ask you to shortly introduce yourself and tell us when and why you started working in this industry.
Panagiotaros: I thank you for the opportunity for this discussion. I was born in Athens and studied Physics, at the University of Patras, Greece, followed, some years after, by an MBA degree from the University of Strathclyde, UK. My career started, almost 20 years ago, in Athens, as SW Engineer in the Telecoms industry, but I soon switched to Sales and Business Development. Since then I have travelled and lived in different exotic and not so exotic countries around the world, having held senior positions in multinational, public listed companies in Telecom and IT. During these endeavours, I worked with Gaming companies as technology provider, so I was familiar with the sector. At some point, 5 years ago, an opportunity arose from within the industry, and I gladly jumped in.
You currently hold the position of Sales Director at GoldenRace, the leader in pre-recorded video betting for shops and cross-platform provider for online, mobile and tablet gaming. Will you please tell us more about the services that GoldenRace offers?
Panagiotaros: Golden Race is one of the biggest solution providers in the virtual games industry, licensed for many regulatory authorities around the world. We create complete solutions tailored to customer needs, delivering the most unique, flexible, and cost-effective virtual betting in the market. Our ever-growing portfolio includes a suite of proven, engaging games, with innovative animation techniques and complete control of all odds and limits, and scheduling, along with the most powerful management and reporting system around.
The main differentiation of ours is that we provide all the betting markets available in the sportsbook, coupled with real odds, crafted by in-house professional bookmakers for each and every game, authentic voice-overs, and proven player retention devices including individual and connected jackpot.
As a result, our platform is live in more than 30,000 retail locations and 100+ websites worldwide, while we process around 10,000,000 bets daily.
Will you please tell our readers what role do you undertake in the company’s life? What are your main activities and responsibilities?
Panagiotaros: I joined Golden Race almost 18 months ago, as Sales Director, with main task the promotion of our new -and unique, if I may say- online offering. Along the way I was also entrusted with the Lotteries market, which has been through an impressive transformation phase towards new gaming content adoption, thus offering exciting opportunities for our solutions.
Which has been the most successful experience since you started working at GoldenRace?
Panagiotaros: Although I knew Golden Race well, before I joined them, only when I started did I realize how exceptional the offering was. And truth is a good product takes a lot of concern out of a sales person´s head. So, I have had so far, quite a few good, sales related, moments. However, the most outstanding experience is Golden Race’s corporate mentality itself; the supportive and empowering environment, the visibility and the lack of complacency makes it an enjoyable place to work.
What do you think about the future development of the virtual games sector?
Panagiotaros: Virtual Games offer sports content, while being number driven, so they perfectly fit into lottery, numerical and sports betting worlds. Thus, their importance on the product mix is rapidly growing, as they have stopped being considered a filler product, but rather a market on its own merit. Our Tier-1 clients generate the same revenue on our games as on their sportsbook, so it is an opportunity no operator can afford to disregard.
The main reason for our success has been the realism in the markets and odds, that permits the punter to pass agnostically from the real events to the virtual ones, having, at the same time, the flexibility of a ubiquitous service.
So, despite the different twists that virtual games sector may present, I believe, the gaming algorithms and the meta-game will remain the core; because what in the end matters to the player is the betting experience.
From October 30 to November 1 one of Europe’s largest events will take place in Germany. GoldenRace will be present at this important event as well. Please tell us more about this event. How is GoldenRace preparing for this event?
Panagiotaros: EiG is one of the must attend shows for us, due to the participants’ high profile. This year we had the chance to display at our stand the latest developments in our online offering, as well as the new games to be launched in the coming months, and the results exceeded our expectations. We look forward to next year´s announced merge of EiG and iGaming Super Show that will further boost the networking opportunities.
What other important upcoming events can you talk us about that GoldenRace intends to take part at?
Panagiotaros: We have been quite active in this respect, during the last years, building our corporate presence worldwide. Our next stop is SAGSE, in Buenos Aires, and, of course, SiGMA, in Malta. We are considering though, for 2018, to also include in our calendar more focused “boutique” events and roadshows, to address a more specialized audience and obtain a better understanding of specific market segments.
What are you future plans, and what goals would you like to reach in the near future considering your career?
Panagiotaros: I have the privilege to work in a rapidly growing company, where I have spent until now 18 exhilarating and rewarding months. We have exciting plans ahead and my full focus is on contributing in the most efficient way possible to achieving and exceeding our targets.
What is your personal opinion about gambling industry in general in Europe or in the countries you know better?
Panagiotaros: Undoubtedly it is a lucrative industry that gives the impression of an unstoppable growth; new operators and providers spring up even in markets perceived as saturated. Although there are no signs of fatigue in this respect, the consolidation is inevitable -in fact, it has already started, on both sides of the Atlantic. Let us hope this process leads to the formation of stronger players, that will boost innovation, rather than a few conglomerates that will dominate the market -it remains to be seen.
If you could change anything in the world of gambling what would that be?
Panagiotaros: I have a long history in Telecom and IT, two sectors characterized by standardization and well-defined processes. I wish the same approach would apply in the gambling sector as well; and the starting point could be the regulatory framework. Should it be standardized, this would eventually permit seamless licensing across jurisdictions, simplifying the process for all the stakeholders. And this might be a significant step towards minimizing the unlicensed operations, thus increasing the players’ protection and the contributions to the social benefit.
Who is your favorite actor or actress?
Panagiotaros: Meryl Streep, rightfully called an actress of many souls; she is so versatile, that, in a way, she reinvents herself in every role she plays. But in parallel to her brilliant acting, she is my favorite for daring to be vocal on social protection and human rights.
Where would you travel the most in Central Europe?
Panagiotaros: I have travelled a lot around the world, Central Europe included, mainly on business. In my leisure travelling list, I have included a long road trip along the Eastern part of the region, hopefully to come true in 2018.
Affiliate Industry
Flying high: How RavenTrack is helping operators unlock the true potential of their affiliate programs
We sit down with Adam Rowley, Managing Director at RavenTrack, to understand why data, tracking and optimisation are key to a successful affiliate program
Your tagline is “win at performance marketing”. Tell us more about how you help operators maximise their partnerships with affiliates.
It is indeed. RavenTrack is a powerful affiliate tracking solution that allows operators to track, optimise and grow through their affiliate programs. Our proprietary solution offers an advanced affiliate tracking platform built by iGaming experts – this ensures it meets the unique demands of the industry, including the need to withstand the pace and complexity of affiliate marketing in the online sports betting and casino space. RavenTrack has also been designed to be flexible and customisable so that it can be adapted to individual client requirements. This combination of qualities has seen us become the go-to affiliate software tracking provider for more than 150 brands across the world, brands that are winning at performance marketing with the support of RavenTrack.
Why is tracking so important to the ultimate success of an affiliate program?
Tracking is the glue that holds marketing and sales together in the online arena. But effective tracking requires a platform that delivers reliability, accuracy and a seamless UX so that users can easily dig into the data and generate valuable insights. Speed and reliability are crucial so that operators don’t miss a single click or conversion. To track data effectively, operators (and their affiliate partners) need tools such as pixel and postback capabilities and geo-targeting. The former allows affiliates to track customer activity in real time which helps them maximise the revenue of the brands they work with. When it comes to intelligent geo-tracking, it allows users to identify and aim to funnel traffic through specific locations.
But tracking is just one part of the process and success of an affiliate program– online sportsbook and casino operators must be able to take the data they have tracked and use it to optimise campaigns, both internally and those being run by their affiliate partners.
What does optimisation look like? How does RavenTrack help its customers do this?
Traffic source provides a lot of spoke for optimisation, especially when it comes to things like which affiliate is performing best, changes to traffic, ROI and conversion rate optimisation. With RavenTrack, operators have the insight they need to do this. They can also give their affiliates access to data via their own internal reporting systems – this is done via our two-way API – to help determine which campaigns and creatives are delivering the best results. Operators also need to optimise the commercial agreements they have in place with their affiliate partners, and this means being able to offer them a range of options including CPA, revenue share, CPL, CPM and hybrid.
As operators – and their affiliates – get more experienced at using data and tracking, they will want to customise reports to a pretty granular level so that they can optimise to a much deeper and greater extent. Customisable reports (we have more than 20 reports available), marketplace and dashboards are just a few of the tools we provide to help operators and affiliates optimise campaigns and work to the commercials that deliver for both parties.
And how does all of this come together to help both operators and affiliates scale at pace?
Our fixed-cost model means operators can create as many campaigns for their brands as they like without the worry of additional costs. This in turn makes growing their program pretty straightforward. With a long list of commission structures available (which can be customised by the client) for their affiliate partners, operators can ensure the growth of the program is reflected in the growth of the wider business, ultimately allowing them to maximise profitability from affiliate marketing activity while at the same time ensuring their partners are fairly compensated for the quality traffic they send.
Migrating to a new affiliate tracking platform can cause major upheaval. How do you help operators through the process?
We know that moving to a new platform can be a big decision and a significant undertaking, but we have plenty of options to make it a seamless process from start to finish. This includes working with the affiliate program team to run their old and new program side by side to ensure there is absolutely no drop-off in traffic or lost data. Our UK-based account and customer support team is always on hand to assist during the migration process, and once operators are up and running with RavenTrack – this includes helping them get the most out of our platform and tools.
RavenTrack has only been around for a handful of years but has already achieved great things. What can we expect in the months ahead?
We hit the market in 2018 and haven’t looked back. Today, we work with 150 brands, processing more than one billion clicks per month and £2billion in deposits to date. The operators using RavenTrack to run their affiliate programs have generated more than £500 million in revenue and counting. Our numbers speak for themselves and no matter the size of brand or affiliate program, our solution is the key to unlocking the true potential of affiliate marketing. As for the months ahead, expect more platform updates, new tools and some big-name partnership announcements.
Africa
SmartSoft’s expertise and future vision for the African market
In recent years, the online gaming landscape has witnessed a surge in innovative and engaging titles that capture the interest of players worldwide. Among these, first ever flying crash game by SmartSoft – JetX emerged as a standout game, particularly gaining substantial traction in Africa. This article provides an in-depth examination of JetX, a popular online crash game, and explores the expertise behind its creation. By focusing on the game’s features, the developer SmartSoft Gaming, and insights from an interview with the Vice President Commercial, we aim to highlight the factors contributing to JetX’s success and its impact on the gaming industry.
About SmartSoft Gaming
Founded in Georgia in 2015 by industry experts, SmartSoft set out to create a one-of-a-kind casino games provider that offers high-quality gaming experiences worldwide. By combining interactive features with captivating visuals, we blend gaming and gambling to deliver more engaging, entertaining, and superior experiences. Our mission is not just to attract players but to enhance their enjoyment.
To gain further insights into the development of JetX and the vision behind its creation, we spoke with the Vice President Commercial of SmartSoft.
Rusa Javakhishvili Vice President Commercial of SmartSoft shared insights and analytics from African countries, and outlined future plans. Rusa joined SmartSoft two years ago as Head of Finance and Strategic Projects. In early 2024, she transitioned to the commercial side as Head of Account Management, and is now Vice President of Commercials, overseeing several regions, including Africa.
What was the general concept and inspiration behind JetX?
In recent years, the online gaming landscape has witnessed a surge in innovative and engaging titles that capture the interest of players worldwide. Among these, JetX has emerged as a standout game, particularly gaining substantial traction in Africa. The main concept of the game is that it is easy to play, the player is involved in the decision as much as possible, it is fast and within the fast-paced world we think that it delivers exactly what players need for an enjoyable experience.
How does JetX differentiate itself from other crash games in the market?
At SmartSoft, we appreciate our relationships with partners, it’s very important to us. We constantly think and work to create a valuable product and maintain strong connections with them. SmartSoft’s portfolio includes a diverse range of online casino games, each designed to offer unique features and interactive gameplay but JetX is the literal gem!
JetX is an online crash game that combines simplicity with excitement, offering players an engaging betting experience. This dynamic gameplay requires both luck and strategy, appealing to a broad audience seeking quick, high-stakes action. JetX stands out due to its user-friendly interface, real-time gameplay, and mobile compatibility, making it accessible and enjoyable for players on the go. Its growing popularity in Africa can be attributed to its exciting gameplay mechanics and the potential for significant winnings.
What strategies did you employ to ensure JetX appeals to a diverse audience, particularly in Africa?
When we expanded into the African market, we knew it’s a big and diverse region, so it’s important to understand each country individually instead of seeing it as one market. With our partners’ help, we’re working hard to learn about each country’s marketing practices and what types of games people enjoy. It’s a challenging task, but the African market is a top priority for us, and we’ve allocated resources to quickly build our knowledge in this area.
How has JetX been received by African players compared to other regions? Are there any notable differences in player behavior or preferences?
The African market is one of the most interesting and significant for us, and we believe it has great potential. It is a highly dynamic and exciting market, where players are exposed to a wide variety of games. Their enthusiasm for diverse content gives us inspiration and motivation to create games specifically tailored to their unique preferences and needs. Moreover, they are quick to engage with new releases, eagerly embracing fresh content when it aligns with their tastes and expectations. Although Crash products were introduced only recently, they have quickly become a favorite among consumers. We expect this trend to continue growing.
How do you assess player feedback and incorporate it into ongoing game improvements?
This is a crucial aspect for us. That’s why, in collaboration with our partners, we consistently review key feedback on our games and strive to incorporate it as much as possible into new versions. We strive to bring enjoyment in everything we do – whether it’s in our work environment, or for the end users. Our goal is to delight both the customers and ourselves with our work. Therefore, we integrate gaming’s fun elements into gambling to maximize enjoyment. This approach fuels our drive to innovate and create playful experiences, redefining the gambling industry and making it more entertaining;
What future developments or updates can players expect for JetX?
Our product has undergone numerous changes since its inception, with many more improvements planned. These changes are aimed at delivering the best possible user experience for players while ensuring the product remains of the highest technical quality.
How has the success of JetX influenced SmartSoft’s approach to game development?
JetX, the first Crash game created in 2018, holds a special place as one of the company’s most beloved titles. Its global popularity is evident, and we’re thrilled that players enjoy it. At SmartSoft, having a diversified portfolio is crucial, which is why we release new games every year. As pioneers in the Crash genre, we ensure that we continually expand our offerings. Our goal is to provide players with a wide range of high-quality games they can trust to deliver an enjoyable experience.
Interviews
Slot Saturation – Q&A w/ Qianqian Liu, Senior Art Director at Gaming Corps
What are the defining visual features of a Gaming Corps slot?
We pride ourselves on the diversity of the look of our slots, we have three distinct styles that are all used to target different demographics. Firstly, Classic, this is a style which usually is also described as retro and some people would even say dated, we prefer nostalgic! But there is a player base who get great enjoyment from slot games like this. The second is Modern, this is a style that is sleek, shiny and incredibly high-fidelity with assets that look polished and could be very much suited to being hung up in a modern art museum. Thirdly is Stylised, this is a style that is completely entirely dependent on the theme, maybe a comic book style or similar, but it emphasises artistic freedom which is important.
All three of these are what makes Gaming Corps a unique slots provider, catering games for all types of target markets.
Where do you look for inspiration when designing an online slot game?
Different inspirations appear for different themes, if it is classic then an old fruit machine down a pub could be the inspiration. If it is a modern slot, then we like to refer to some modern day mobile apps that are more casual to play. The beauty of stylised is that the inspiration can come from absolutely anywhere but usually it can be something that the artist is personally interested in, such as comic books or anime.
How does Gaming Corp manage to distinguish its titles from others on the market?
We focus on iterations and high quality standards, we will start from a basic concept and iterate and iterate until the asset is exactly what would be expected of the target audience. We get feedback from customers as well to help hone in on a particular style that we are aiming to create.
How do you manage to keep repetitive themes (Egypt, classic, Greece and so on) interesting?
For these, it is all about combining the innovative mechanics with a unique spin on a narrative that has been re-told before. Of course if you are to create an Egyptian theme you should still recognise it to be fundamentally Egyptian with its gods and its hieroglyphs. But is there a way to put the spin on the narrative that ties it to the mechanic that has not been done before. It is important to do market research to find common thread that you can capitalise on but also things to stay away from.
What impact does localisation have on game development from a visual perspective?
Localisation of Gaming Corps is super important to us, we sometimes want to create games that can be tailored for a particular market. Especially when working with casinos for bespoke content. For example, we created a game in 2023 called “Ramen Puzzle” which was launched with a casino partner in Japan. It was very important for us to nail the anime style that suited this market and it was a core part of the development cycle to research, develop and iterate on our designs to perfect the style.
Another recent launch this year was Samba Soccer, a crash product that was created with Brazil in mind. It had a stylisation that suited popular games in that market but also a theming that set the game in Rio de Janeiro. This visual combination allowed the game to be hyper localised to this market.
What future trends do you think are going to impact the look and design of online slot games?
More and more over the years, the target demographic has moved away from playing on desktop to playing on mobile, in particular on mobile portrait, so we will always feel as if designing with a mobile-first approach should be at the forefront of what we do at Gaming Corps. This I believe will continue to trend upwards. This has a big impact on the way that slot games look and feel, there is a small space with lots of elements fighting for room so it is important to be very clear with Product Owners on what are the most important elements of the slot game.
-
Africa7 days ago
EveryMatrix secures largest African turnkey deal with MBet partnership
-
Asia7 days ago
Nazara Publishing announces playtest for FAU-G: Domination at India’s oldest and biggest game developer conference IGDC 2024
-
Asia7 days ago
8Bit Creatives partners with NODWIN Gaming as the exclusive talent partner for DreamHack India
-
Asia6 days ago
VSPO, the largest esports company in Asia, rebranded Hero Esports to support global growth strategy
-
Balkans7 days ago
BEGE celebrates 15 years as Eastern Europe’s premier gaming expo
-
Gaming7 days ago
Getting ready for Xmas: SplitMetrics partnership with Wargaming helps World of Warships app sail to new heights with 15% uplift in organic conversions
-
Latest News6 days ago
Week 45/2024 slot games releases
-
Latest News7 days ago
AC MILAN AND SPRIBE ANNOUNCE NEW PARTNERSHIP AND WELCOME AVIATOR AS THE CLUB’S OFFICIAL CRASH GAME