Exclusive Interview with Andy Jarrett, CEO of Twelve40

We have had an email interview with Andy Jarrett, CEO at Twelve40. He took time to provide some really insightful answers to our questions. He talks about his professional journey to the top of a major company, about the challenges and opportunities he faced during the impressive growth of Twelve40, and the company’s well-thought-out growth strategy.

He also introduces some of the latest offerings from Twelve40 and explains how the company is seamlessly incorporating new technologies into its existing development platform. Read his fascinating  answers below.

To begin with, tell us something about yourself and your career. It’s always nice to hear top-class professionals say a few words about themselves for our audience.

Andy: I have spent a great deal of my career in the technology and iGaming sectors, having held senior board positions at both Digital Jersey and Foreshore. Across those positions I have held responsibility for overseeing both product portfolios and strategic growth objectives. I also co-founded a successful big data business that is now headquartered in Scotland, alongside co-founding a fintech business that I have since exited.

My experiences in building both robust and scalable technology and working on a cross-jurisdictional basis have transferred well into the iGaming sector, and I’m looking forward to continuing to grow Twelve40 after a whirlwind first couple of years!

You became the CEO of Twelve40 after its merger with Code Collective about two years ago. Prior to that, Twelve40 became the first to get a remote gambling operator’s license from Jersey. What were your immediate challenges when taking charge of managing employees from two diverse work cultures at a moment of huge responsibility?

Andy: Having successfully undertaken the launch of Jersey’s iGaming proposition through Digital Jersey, the merger of Twelve40 and Code Collective was a crucial milestone in securing Jersey’s digital vision, bringing together an experienced and highly capable team with global export prospects and strong ambition.

There is of course always a challenge when it comes to bringing together two teams of people new to each other following any merger, but it is a hurdle that as a combined business we cleared with ease through our shared desire to deliver the highest quality lottery and iGaming experiences.

In two years’ time, Twelve40 has grown by making a string of integrations like Spiffx, VSoftCo and Wazdan. Can you shed more light on how the integrations have added value to Twelve40?

Andy: We are always looking to add value to the services that we offer to our clients through our platform, and being able to offer the best content across a wide range of verticals is core to that approach. Boosting our sporting profile through integrating Spiffx sports-betting games and VSoftCo virtuals has enhanced our multi-vertical approach, while we were proud to elevate our services by bringing on board Wazdan’s premium collection of top-performing slot titles.

The proposition here is a simple one – the more varied and high-quality content that we can offer to our clients, the more attractive our platform and technology is to potential partners. We have witnessed a great deal of interest in our services resulting from these integrations, and will continue to work with the iGaming’s top-tier providers to find the right products to complement our in-house offering.

One of the remarkable features of Twelve40’s growth has been its solid presence as an online lottery platform and game provider in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Was it a conscious decision to explore markets beyond Europe?

Andy: We provide our white label platform services to a range of clients in markets across the globe, including powering Africa’s largest jackpot through Afromillionslotto. While our robust, secure and scalable lottery infrastructure is more than capable of meeting the requirements of any global market, we do have a defined emerging market focus as part of our overall growth strategy. Lottery systems in such markets have tended to be built on outdated legacy technology, lacking in the flexibility required to meet the demands of the modern player. The ease and speed with which we are able to deploy our solutions empowers our partners to deliver true speed to market, while also providing them with the freedom they require to focus on their brand and market positioning.

At Twelve40, we offer a wide range of lottery solutions capable of satisfying a range of varied market demands. We offer both primary lottery services whereby we provide the RNG and related game systems, as well as secondary lottery services utilising another lottery’s numbers, such as the German national lottery. Our lottery messenger can provide tickets from global lotteries, allowing us to service the requirements of operators in markets all over the world, complemented by our thriving range of instant win games.

Twelve40 offers white label online lottery platforms, slot games and lotto solutions. How do you see blockchain technology and artificial intelligence changing the way online lottery being operated?

Andy: There is no doubting the influence that the current pace of change is having on all technological industries, and iGaming is certainly no different. AI can elevate a traditional gaming platform in a variety of ways, and innovative providers are already taking advantage. By way of example, smartly-deployed AI solutions assist in getting to know your customer-base, allowing for predictive analytics, leading to better corporate decision making and more efficient use of targeted marketing.

Furthermore, at Twelve40 we have moved quickly in recognising the potential of blockchain to shake-up the iGaming space, and we supply the all-new platform and certified back-end technology for the Wild Crypto gaming platform, launching in February 2018 following a successful token sale. The platform has been built from the ground up in order to best deliver an engaging crypto gaming experience, and as such is designed for 18 decimal places where traditional platforms only support two.

We place a great deal of emphasis on remaining ahead of the curve, and will continue to do so as we move forward to realise our strategic growth ambitions.

It has been reported that Twelve40 is going to introduce an instant win game with the Football World Cup theme. Have you launched it? What are your other immediate launch plans?

Andy: We have indeed. We recently launched Lucky Shootout, an instant win game released with the World Cup in mind and an innovative feature set that we are confident will see it lay claim to enduring popularity long after the tournament draws to a close. Taking the form of a penalty shootout, Lucky Shootout gives players the opportunity to select their favourite teams and challenge a goalkeeper in the ultimate test of nerves. We put a lot of work into making sure players could engage with the experience through the emoting of the goalkeeper, a colourful character with both the agility to pull off a great save and the attitude to let the player know they were fortunate to score.

The game is scalable and customisable to the requirements of individual operators and jurisdictions, and its innovative feature set will see its popularity continue to endure.

We already offer a diverse range of expertly-constructed instant win games such as Pumpkin Master and Money Tree, and have also recently added Pirates Gone Wild, a swashbuckling adventure that sees players match a variety of nautical symbols to uncover buried treasure.