EVOLUTION GAMING
male dealers of a certain age, headhunted from the leading land-based casinos. Just through this cosmetic approach London Roulette now generates a significant amount of Evolution’s licensees’ total roulette revenue over generic roulette.
And now, live from Latvia…
very loyal to particular dealers and will actually follow them around as they change tables to continue playing with them specifically.”
With more than 270 dealers operating from one location, Evolution is effectively running a casino. So how do they deal with security? Helen explains: “Security is paramount, not only from a compliance perspective, but to assure our players and secure that trust. Every spin of the wheel and every card recorded, and we also have pit bosses on hand. Ninety nine percent of issues are dealt with and resolved on-site there and then.”
As well as security issues, moving from RNG
software to live dealers generally slows a game down, reducing hands/rounds-per-hour and affecting potential revenues. Evolution Gaming’s clients appear happy with this compromise, as Helen explains: “Speed has never really been such a big issue. Our output is really about capturing the experience of going into a casino and being dealt to by a real dealer. Operators seem to understand and value that.”
HIGH ROLLING IT IN Evolution’s web site boldly claims its
products “…attracts more high rollers than RNG”. I ask Helen why she thinks this is. “I think generally it’s that trust issue. Having your hostess immediately congratulate you adds that personal touch that lets you know it’s completely real; there’s no time delay and there’s no question that you’re being tricked out of your money in any way. These people are spending considerable amounts and don’t necessarily want to be playing against a machine. They want the thrill of playing against
like-minded players, where the stakes are higher. I think the high rollers like knowing that where ever they are in the world there’s always that one place they can log in and play in a familiar and trusted environment.”
In April Evolution launches Greek-speaking dealers, alongside their existing Spanish, German and Italian- speaking dealers
Offering native-speaking dealers is becoming
a larger part of Evolution’s business; eradicating any obstacles created by non- English customers struggling to understand a staff of mostly Latvian dealers. In April Evolution launches Greek-speaking dealers, alongside their existing Spanish, German and Italian-speaking dealers. “What we’re hearing back from our clients is that localisation is key for them,” explains Helen. “When they have dedicated tables and native-speaking dealers they are enjoying much higher levels of customer retention and loyalty. Localised live games allow players to communicate more easily with each other and the dealer, and to establish strong rapport. Localisation also allows game content and betting limits to be tailored to specific local markets.”
An excellent example of this ‘fine tuning’ of
products is London Roulette. Localised specifically for the UK market, it features only
Evolution Gaming is keen to work with land-based operators as well as online companies, however... “We tend to only get involved when a casino wants an online presence,” explains Helen. “We could provide a service where online players could play alongside players sat in an actual casino on dedicated tables - but I think land-based organisations have had reservations about coming online simply because many online operators don’t truly understand land-based operations. It’s not just about playing the games in land-based casinos; they have huge loyalty schemes as well as amazing entertainment and customer service. I think another thing delaying land-based operators moving online is cannibalisation - they worry what’ll happen to their bricks and mortar casino that if they go online. I don’t think online has to be detrimental to land-based; I think you can use online to complement land-based. If you go for blue screen technology you can even have tables and backdrops mirror your bricks and mortar casino; drawing online customers to your actual venues.”
MERMAIDS IN GAMING
Evolution Gaming has more products to come in 2011, with several different releases scheduled by Q4. Some are adaptations of existing products, such as live mini-roulette, while others (and I know you’ve been waiting for this) are entirely new concepts such as “Mermaid’s Fortune”, which releases in Q3 and features live (yes, LIVE!) mermaids. “We have our own live mermaid beached in Latvia!” declares an excited Helen. “The core slots game is much as you would expect, but we have bonus rounds where our live mermaid appears, spinning a bonus wheel for players. She controls the bonus rounds and interacts with the players, encouraging them and being very personal to individuals. There’s nothing like it in the marketplace, and operators are very excited because it’s so novel and so unique that they think it will have that viral effect to attract new customers in a ‘have you seen’ way.”
I’m delighted to discover that a second live
slots game is already in development. I ask which half-woman hybrid it’ll be based on, but am disappointed to learn it’s a secret. Damn. Fingers crossed for a half-woman/half-lager slots game before the end of 2011.
APRIL 2011 35
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