Pulse

Pragmatic expansion: replicating slot success

By William - 27 February 2020

G3 speaks to Michel Glansberg, Head of Account Management at Pragmatic Play, about the recent addition of Virtual Sports to its portfolio, the importance of localising content and the iGaming content provider’s roadmap.

What’s Pragmatic Play’s background in the live casino sector? What is your custom offer?

In short, we bought what was previously known as Extreme Live Gaming and revamped the entire UI. Starting by shutting down the old studio, we relocated and built a new base with new equipment and started forming a strong team capable of running operations.

Initially, our offering was what I like to call our ‘learning to walk offering’ with BlackJack, Roulette, Speed Roulette and, more recently, Language Dedicated Roulettes. Now it’s time to enhance the product with the upcoming addition of multiple forms of Baccarat together with three game shows.

We currently deliver a dedicated environment to one of our partners, 1xBet, and will be looking to add more in the future. I’m confident once we start to pick up pace, we’ll be an unstoppable force, similar to the success of our slots vertical.

Pragmatic Play has recently added Virtual Sports as a fourth vertical to Pragmatic Play’s product portfolio. How high profile will Virtual Sports be within Pragmatic Play’s portfolio? Will we be seeing a major marketing push?

Virtual Sports is an important addition to our portfolio. Now all our partners have full access to every necessary vertical, ensuring high player value via top class products available through one single API. Operators can expect the same high-quality products as our existing verticals, as we look to strengthen our position as a multi-product supplier.

Are there further adjacent verticals of interest to Pragmatic Play at this time?

Good things come to those who wait. That vertical will remain a surprise until its ready to be launched!

At ICE London 2020, Pragmatic Play showcased its language dedicated roulettes; Roulette Russia, Roulette Germany and Roulette Italy. How does Pragmatic Play localise content across its portfolio?

Just as our slots portfolio is localised in terms of target markets and jurisdictions together with the supported languages our partners need, we aim to deliver the same within Live Casino where necessary. Localisation gives us a competitive advantage and strengthens our position on a global level.

At the same time, operators get a chance to increase their revenue by penetrating promising markets where players seek a personalised experience. Pragmatic Play continually works on customising content and respecting the demands of both players and operators. With Language Dedicated Roulettes, players can feel more comfortable by interacting with dealers who speak their language, in a setting inspired from the culture of each country.

Pragmatic Play have announced an agreement with Endemol Shine Gaming to produce titles for the hit drama Peaky Blinders. Could you tell us more about the agreement?

Our five-year deal with Endemol Shine Gaming marks the beginning of a beautiful partnership. Peaky Blinders will be the first branded game produced by Pragmatic Play and everyone is excited – though you’ll have to wait and see exactly what the Shelby family has in store for everyone.

How do you manage the balance between original and licensed content?

There hasn’t been much of a balance to speak of, given that our first licensed game is in development. With that said, there is much more interesting news coming soon so if you ask me the same question in a year my answer may very well differ!

Following recent partnership agreements with LeoVegas and SkillOnNet, what is Pragmatic Play’s roadmap for the next twelve months?

Our roadmap will continue reflecting the good work we’ve started with all our partners and ensure they receive value from the relationships we’ve build and the services we provide. Pragmatic Play will keep delivering up to 4 video slots a month, all certified in 15 jurisdictions catering to a wide demographic of players, while continuously improving on quality.

The roadmap will also see our Live Casino offering expanding with new products ensuring as many operators as possible have a chance to offer our innovative Bingo, Bingo Blast and Sweet Bonanza Bingo. Last but not least, we’ll continue to offer attractive promotions through our ever developing Enhance Promotional Tool which is currently giving back €1,500,000 to our players.