Interviews
Navigating the European iGaming Landscape: An Interview with Magdalena Podhorska Okolow, VP Commercial – MD Europe at Light & Wonder
We caught up with Magdalena Podhorska-Okolow, VP Commercial – MD Europe at Light & Wonder, to discuss the changes in her role since joining from Authentic Gaming, the current climate of the European market as well as gain an insight into Light & Wonder’s future plans for the continent.
Thank you for taking the time to talk to us Magdalena, you spent five years in various roles at Authentic Gaming before becoming VP Commercial – MD Europe at Light & Wonder. Can you talk us through the transition and what your role entails?
The biggest shift in my role would undoubtedly be the products I am responsible for. Naturally, my time at Authentic Gaming saw me focus on live casino, with live roulette the priority. During that time, I was up close and personal with the vertical and paying slightly less attention to developments within the pure RNG/slots world. However, that is not to say I wasn’t in touch with it having worked at NetEnt prior to Authentic.
There is quite a lot of overlap between my new role at Light & Wonder and my previous role, especially in terms of the markets. Here, I am responsible for Europe and South Africa, which are two regions I am very well versed with. In terms of the day-to-day, my role involves not only looking at the product, but also the content and commercial strategies.
The two companies are quite different in terms of market position, Authentic Gaming is continuing to grow, broaden its reach. They and still have a handful of markets to enter and operators to launch with, whilst Light & Wonder is more about maintaining its leading position in the market through nurturing existing partnerships and ensuring our strategy is on point and future proofed for winning in the region. Having worked in both RNG and Live Casino, I can say they’re both extremely competitive verticals, however within the RNG space, there is far more ‘contenders’ out there with an estimation of some 1,000+ studios out there producing games.
The European landscape is notoriously fragmented with jurisdictions having vastly different regulations to the next, has this proven to be a headache, or has it offered Light & Wonder the ability to carefully segment their offering?
The fragmented nature of the European landscape has definitely provided us with challenges; however, this has become a competitive advantage for Light & Wonder, as we have such a rich history and a strong presence in nearly every regulated European market.
We are currently finalising entry into the remaining few jurisdictions we are yet to enter, the most recent of which being Switzerland. Our presence in Europe has been a huge strength of ours and our customers are delighted to have access to so many regulated jurisdictions through our Open Gaming System that will deliver not only our content, but also provide access to other third-party content and exclusive content build on our platforms only available via Light & Wonder.
While we have mastered the fragmented regulations, it is important to understand the cultural discrepancies – there are many different regions with induvial preferences – it doesn’t make sense to have a one size fits all approach. In order to satisfy each market, you have to produce informed strategies to create the most appropriate and effective roadmap for each, which can be quite a complex task.
Light & Wonder recently released Wonder 500 in the United Kingdom, what was the company’s thinking behind this, and can we expect this innovation to be rolled out in other countries in months to come?
Wonder 500 looks to revive classic retail titles, bringing them into the current realm of iGaming. Light & Wonder’s land-based portfolio is incredibly strong and to be able to digitise some of our most famous games is a huge advantage. This strategy has proven exceptional in various markets, and we genuinely believe Wonder 500 will flourish.
Wonder 500 is about far more than simply lowering the maximum stake, it gives our customers something new to penetrate their audience with as well as offering a unique experience to players. Players will hit bonuses far more often than in a standard version of the game and have the highest chance yet of hitting the maximum 500x win. Wonder 500 provides an attainable opportunity to win the jackpot, which in turn provides players with another good reason to play the games.
While this is a unique offering for the UK market, at the same time, this is also a reality for a lot of EU operators who are applying a global approach to player safety and extending the lifespan of their players. However, as I previously mentioned, each EU market is so unique, and while we intend to use Wonder 500 for some markets, others are more interested in higher stakes and bigger wins. Thus far the series have been extremely successful in the UK, and we are very proud that our strategy was spot on.
What opportunities in Europe most excite you, are there any jurisdictions that stand out as ones to look out for across the remainder of 2023?
We are very excited about South Africa, especially given our extensive land-based presence in the region. We’re working really hard on entry and are very close to being able to offer the same top-quality Light & Wonder content to players that we offer elsewhere.
The Balkans also presents a window of opportunity. Croatia, in particular, is one on our agenda and one of the few European countries that we have not gone live in yet. We have a lot of partners with licences there and we’re currently assessing this region as our next market entry.
We also have the exciting potential to bring talented studios to the forefront of the European market through Playzido. We have ten studios that have already signed up to build games on our platform which has given us the capabilities to bring highly talented emerging designers to the market.
Of course, each of these studios has its own USP and brings a fresh, new perspective to the market. This gives us the chance to provide custom game requests to our operator partners which is something we’re quite excited about right now.
Finally, can you give our readers an idea of what new games, features and mechanics they can expect in the coming months?
While I can’t give away too much, from an EU perspective, we’re focusing on localised games. At the moment we are developing specific games for the Italian market where we are using classic themes and mechanics that are already popular with Italian players. Alongside this, we are building games for Greece, Belgium and the Netherlands and have some custom game plans up our sleeve.
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.
Interviews
Safety First: Slots Temple Q&A
For a company that has begun to blur the lines between affiliate and operator, social responsibility remains the ultimate watchword for Slots Temple, says CEO Fraser Linkleter.
How important is social responsibility to the affiliate side of Slots Temple’s business?
We began life as an affiliate business that offered free demo games and slots tournaments (and we still do!). This allowed us to build a highly engaged base of players that genuinely loved playing slots. From day one, we always put social responsibility at the heart of everything we did.
We always believed that an entertainment-driven socially responsible gaming experience created a sticky player-base that trusted us and created better quality traffic for our partners.
Has tightened regulation of the gambling industry over the past few years impacted affiliates’ responsibilities towards its users?
Definitely. Affiliates deliver an estimated 30% to 50% of acquisition to operators in the UK, and while the sector is not directly regulated by the UK Gambling Commission, these numbers demonstrate that the responsibility to protect players from harm should be shared.
Increased regulation over the past few years means that operators, rightly, must be more cautious about choosing their affiliate partners. Ultimately, as affiliates, we must accept the responsibilities we share as part of the gambling supply chain.
The reality is, while affiliates are not directly regulated, the standards to which operators are held by regulators are passed on to us through our partner contracts. Affiliates that do not comply with these standards will struggle in this climate because operators will only work with the partners they can trust to behave responsibly. So social responsibility has become not just an ethical consideration but a strategic business decision too.
In 2022 Slots Temple received a license from the UKGC which allowed you to offer paid tournaments and real-money slots. Has this changed the way you think about social responsibility?
Social responsibility was always a big part of our business model, and our UKGC license was a recognition of that. Of course, offering real money games means that we are held to the same high standards as all licensed operators.
That means KYC, deposit limits, timed reality checks, affordability checks, self-exclusion options, and so on. But for us, it’s about more than mere compliance. Our model has always been about being a safe destination for fun play and prizes. As I say, we’ve fostered this community of slots fans who trust us and it’s important that we maintain that trust through the way we operate.
Ultimately, the license allowed us to offer our player-base more choice. First, that was free-to-play tournaments with cash prizes, and then low-stakes paid-for tournaments with bigger prizes, plus real-money slots.
So, your experiences as an affiliate have made you a more socially responsible operator?
Yes, because it has helped us understand what our players want. For example, we believe safer gambling is about smaller deposits. Where we offer cash play, it’s always small buy-ins and small bet sizes. There are tournaments for 1p, or you can play for free in UK tournaments, all with real cash prizes.
We also think it’s important to educate players about the games we have on site. For example, we clearly display the return-to-player (RTP) and volatility of the game customers are about to play before they are able to access the game.
It’s about being on the side of the player – whether you’re an affiliate or an operator. Ultimately, we believe that an entertainment-driven, socially responsible gaming experience will foster a loyal, trusting player-base.
-
Gambling in the USA4 days ago
Gaming Americas Weekly Roundup – October 28-November 3
-
Asia4 days ago
FeedConstruct Secures Exclusive International Streaming and Data Collection Rights for Korean Volleyball Leagues
-
Latest News6 days ago
Springbok Casino’s Wild November Feature ‘Backyard Gangsters’ Offers 25 Free Spins on new Clue Chronicles: Mirror Mansion slot
-
Latest News4 days ago
Atlaslive Partners with Oddin.gg to Elevate Esports Betting in LATAM, Offering 24/7 Betting Markets and Cutting-Edge Odds Feed
-
Latest News4 days ago
Tom Horn Takes Players on a Hold & Win Adventure in Max Gold. Exploring the Unknown
-
eSports4 days ago
SOFTSWISS Sportsbook Doubles Esports Turnover in Q3 2024
-
Asia3 days ago
Red Bull, Nissin Cup Noodles, and Kreo Join College Rivals Season 2 as Associate Sponsors
-
eSports4 days ago
IESF and ITTI Open Applications for Scholarships in Esports Management