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BetGames, Europe’s premier live gaming betting studio has consistently proven to be the industry’s favorite provider of live dealers and betting games.
Ian Catchick is the CPO of BetGames. He has worked on a wide range of projects, from Twain Sport, to branded content, for clients such as Entain. Ian Catchick is a visionary and a legend in the industry. Continue reading to learn more.
Let’s start with the fact that BetGames had a lot of success recently, both in terms of Twain Sports and their debuts on new markets. What are these milestones and what has been achieved?
launched Twain Sports in the second half 2022. The results were fantastic. We’ve had great success in so many markets because we offer basketball and football.
The idea was to create a live sports channel that would be high-quality and unique, with competitive content. It was designed for customers who were looking for quick, action. We responded to this by delivering intense 60-second live rounds in both sports.
We could then see that to expand Twain Sport internationally, the demand for increased frequency and operating hours would be the biggest challenge. It’s a complex task when dealing with a live product because athletes need to be taken into consideration and they also require adequate rest in between games.
To be able deliver this, we switched from live sports content to prerecorded – and retained the exact same foundations which made it popular and successful in the first instance. We’ve now evolved Twain Sport to operate 24 hours a days, which more than doubles the frequency of output.
We can have the game available for any time zone in the world. The unique DNA and 60-second rounds are still there. We’re also able to offer more opportunities for operators and wagerers, so that they can fill in the gaps between matches.
You’re a major force in Europe. What’s important to you and where do see the greatest growth opportunities on the continent?
Twain Sport has received a lot of positive feedback from European players. It’s not hard to understand why. The game is in the short-form format that we knew would be popular. And now, players can play at any time of the day or night, making it a true 24/7 experience.
Our classic BetGames Portfolio completes Twain Sport. We have a perfect mix of simple, familiar games with RNG and live content. There are also a number of high-frequency games that will cater to the short-form demands that we know our players want. All of this revolves around creating games that are easy to play and engaging, but most importantly, accessible so players can make the most out of their play sessions.
We have a road map that is ambitious and very European focused. Four games will be launched in the second half of 2018. We’ll deliver a mix brand new products, while also evolving and optimising the core titles that are performing best.
We will also improve the tools we use to provide our services in order to strengthen that proposition. We’ll also be looking at ways to use customer data in order to make better decisions that will allow us to deliver the right games at the right times to the players.
We are confident that we understand what Europeans enjoy. It’s essentially short bursts, so we will continue to cater to this and make BetGames more relevant for our European clients with both casino and sports content.
How important do you believe it was for you to be able to offer sports betting style casino games?
We have always wanted to provide high-quality content for all of our players. What we do is to target both sports bettors as well as casino players, and to bridge the gap between these two disciplines.
We can see many similarities between the two sides, and we think it is important to be able to facilitate that crossover. This gives us a great opportunity to improve customer service.
Our products are designed for recreational bettors. We have worked on several initiatives to replicate what they love and know – such as sports betting style bet slips within our casino games. This helps them to feel at home. We are also improving certain UIs so that the formats we offer feel familiar, and encourage players to try new ones.
Our philosophy is based on a few core principles. Our mission is providing rich, unique and familiar content to deliver high-quality entertainment live experiences. Our core competencies in broadcast and game design are used to create content our players will enjoy, as well as understand how they can play responsibly.
Do you have exciting plans for expanding your portfolio with sports themes?
We have some ideas for new sports content and will be revealing more details very soon! It’s a place to keep an eye on, and soon we will reveal more details about some of our new games.
Our Twain Sports experiences have taught us a lot. Especially that casino players and sports betting enthusiasts are interested in games that combine both verticals.
We will soon announce a brand new team game and new sports for Twain Sports. We want to meet the needs of our customers, who are looking for high-quality content that is easy to understand, quick to play, and exciting.
We will add more sports content to our sports offering, and we’ll also be releasing more BetGames games to go along with it.
How would you define the player demand for next-gen gaming in the future, based on your experience working with tier-one operators as well as suppliers? What is your view of player trends?
I think that the expectations of our players will continue to rise. What they want is engaging content that’s easy to understand, high quality, and fast-playing.
Next-gen consumers are more open-minded. They want to combine what they already know with newer concepts, which will enhance their gaming experience. But with that comes very high standards.
We are closely monitoring this. We plan to invest in new product development, but we will also look at our existing tools to drive the play experience. This includes gamification and loyalty.
Our players are very conscious of their time and want to make sure that every experience is as fulfilling as possible. The pressure of time will change how we interact with our players in the future.
We’ll need to provide more frequent content, with an increased focus on localisation, personalisation, and making sure the product is suited to the individual, rather than the mass market.
There are many things happening, but it is important to watch the market and find opportunities to innovate, push the boundaries and leverage our knowledge, experience and insights.
BetGames will be able to meet our future demands and expectations.
