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BettingBusinessInteractive • AUGUST 2012 Essential Guide to ... Live Casino NETPLAY TV
TV star offers unique approach to live gaming
Not all firms can broadcast its Live Casino offer to terrestrial channels, but NetPlayTV has made this its core business.
ive Casino can be handled in a standard way by most opera- tors. Taking bets on an inter- face built around a streaming system carrying video and audio from wherever the Live Casino is live. However NetPlayTV is able to do it on a bigger scale. The firm broadcasts its Live Casino streams via TV, providing not just a highly accessible and interactive experience, but simultaneously promoting the firm’s two brands,
Supercasino.com and Jack- pot247, via two of the UK’s biggest domes- tic channels, supplemented by coverage on a couple of digital channels. Chief executive Charles Butler com- mented: “Some people believe we do Live Dealer like everybody else, and while we do offer the regular Live Dealer products on our website, but our core business is the added layer on top – the live casino via the TV, which is all done in-house. “Being on terrestrial TV for 30 hours a week gives us access to huge liquidity as there are a huge number of people watch- ing ITV and Channel 5 every night. From a consumers point of view it also gives them the feeling of community and the fact they are interacting with the TV pre- senters. It’s an element of entertain- ment for them as well as gambling.” While playing, customers will
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see their names pop up on-screen and even get mentioned by the presenter, something that Butler explained gives them a real kick and makes them feel part of a com- munity. “That p, I think and the customers really like it. I think it also adds a great trust factor. The fact that we are on ITV and Channel 5 is great for our reputation. People do trust their terrestrial TV broad- casters. We’ve essen- tially been endorsed by ITV and Channel 5 and this helps a great deal.
Part of NetPlayTV’s main
live products online are its au- tomated roulette wheels – Live Casino without the Live Dealer. The auto wheels actu- ally form the basis of its ITV broadcast, while the Channel 5 based Supercasino brand
TRAINING
The talent behind the table
Underpinning the Live Casino revolution is the staff at the end of the video stream – the croupier. But what exactly does it take to become a croupier in Britain today?
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eing a croupier is one of those few jobs that are perceived as sophisticated and glam-
orous by the UK public but there is a real skill be- hind the role and an ability to handle pressure when chips start stacking up. Despite a relatively small casino scene, there
uses live croupiers. “We use the auto wheels a lot,” Butler explained. “We find some players like to play different types of wheels. The auto wheels attract those that like a quicker style of game and who want to dip in and out. There is a different audience for different wheels.” Butler underlined that the key factor in being able to use an auto- mated roulette wheel is trust and the firm advertises the fact that it uses high range Cammegh casino wheels in order to put customers at ease.
NetPlayTV also prides itself on having one of the highest lifetime values for customers in the in- dustry, which But- ler attributes to very high cus- tomer loyalty with low churn. “If you look at a standard online gaming company with a new account, a
huge percentage will al- ways fall off after the
CHARLES BUTLER: ‘PERSONAL TOUCH AND LEVEL OF INTERACTIVITY IS REALLY WHAT STANDS US APART’
THE SUPERCASINO AUTOMATED ROULETTE
first month. The customer will try it and then eventually stop. The operators then have to chase the lapsed customers via email or telephone to encourage them to play. With our customers – they turn on the TV and see us each night. It’s a new call to action. It builds up a relationship be- tween the customer and the product and we find our customers will stay with us for longer. “We’re also in a unique position be- cause of our deals with ITV and Channel 5, we’re kind of protected from competi- tion. If people want to gamble via the TV then they will be coming to us.” NetPlayTV also has a slightly different approach to offering its live products via mobile, and Butler said he was hugely ex- cited about the potential of the dual screen system: “We see mobile and tablet as a huge growth area, and I think a reason we are slightly differently placed to a live dealer casino is because of the TV. It is much easier these days for people to use mobiles and tablets than their PCs while watching TV. We have more and more new customers signing up to us via mobile be- cause it is easier.
“The TV in our case is just a huge com- puter screen and customers are partici- pating through their mobile devices. The dual screen system works so well for con- sumers at home. We’re in a good position thanks to our second screen – the TV.”
are many places in the UK where it is possible to undergo training to be a croupier, but there still needs to be a certain amount of ability in the first place that needs to be honed. The London Academy of Gaming lists a num- ber of qualities that it believes are necessary in order to become a skilled croupier. These are: • Overall appearance and grooming • Reasonable mental arithmetic agility • Distinguishing different colours • Manual dexterity
• Very effective interpersonal and communi- cation skills It added: “You will be required to be highly ac-
curate, with speed and efficiency, well-disci- plined and discrete. Overall you need to be posi- tive with a determination to succeed.” Meanwhile the Casino Croupier Academy in Manchester lays out exactly what it teaches in its 10 week course:
• The rules and etiquette of each game com- monly played in casinos, including roulette, blackjack, 3 card poker, stud poker, texas hold- em, and omaha
• How to control and run the games in a casi- no environment
• How to collect and pay bets from customers
• How to open and close the tables at the be- ginning and end of games
• The skills of mental calculation and manual dexterity needed to run each game efficiently and effectively.
• The regulations and legal framework which govern the gaming industry
• The psychology of the players and some of the superstitions that influence their behaviour. The Academy adds: “The training is nearly all practice based, using real roulette wheels, card tables etc so that you are learning in an environ- ment which is as similar to the one that will ex- perience in a real casino as possible. The train- ing is intensive, but also fun. Students will learn all the skills that needed to become a croupier, providing that they are willing to work hard.”
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