…HELLO 2017! Alexandre Tomic, CEO ALEA GAMING
What was the key activity for ALEA in 2016? Definitely the continued development of our flagship
3D virtual reality (VR) online casino, SlotsMillion. We believe it is very much a game-changer for online casino. ‘Immersivity’ is an extremely important aspect for players’ engagement, and VR offers players a truly mesmerising and immersive experience, above and beyond anything else on the market. We have only just scratched the surface with the technology and its capabilities, but we already have some truly innovative features and games in the pipeline.
What do you think was the most important occurrence for the industry in 2016? For us, it is the arrival of an increased range of VR headsets to the
market. Offering a range of price points, devices like Oculus Rift and Google Daydream allow people to experience VR in their own homes. These headsets provide very different results – Oculus (which is owned by Facebook) is a serious piece of kit with a price tag to match (£590), while Daydream is a stripped back concept aimed at the mass market, costing a mere £69. These devices mark the start of the VR revolution, putting the technology required to jump into virtual worlds into the hands of everyday consumers for the first time. Mass adoption is still a long way off, but the ball is now very much rolling.
What are you most excited about for the industry in 2017? Pushing the boundaries of virtual reality so that it is firing on all
cylinders. The platforms and games currently on the market are just a glimpse into what can be achieved. VR has the power to blow your mind, immersing you in a digital universe far more engaging and
exciting than the reality outside of the goggles. For us, it will mean experimenting with SlotsMillion and testing the limits; that includes things like having service agents inside the casino so that players don’t have to exit the virtual world in order to resolve any issues they may have, or managers being able to work from within the casino, allowing them to see the virtual environment through players’ eyes. The sky is the limit with what we, and the wider industry, can do.
What are you most excited about for ALEA in 2017? Building on what has already been achieved; we are pioneers in VR,
paving the way for the future. That has involved some level of risk, of course, but we are now looking forward to growing our player base and entering new markets. We have loads of exciting things in the pipeline, both within the VR
area and also on our own casino website,
SlotsMillion.com, and are looking forward to seeing how our players react to them. Just one example of the things that we have coming up in the future is an innovative in-house slots tournament programme, where players can go head-to-head to reach the top of the leaderboard and claim their prize. This should be available in January and we can’t wait to hear what our players think.
Anything else you’d like to say about the passing of 2016 and 2017’s arrival? I think 2016 has been a great year for the online gaming industry; the size of the market continues to grow off the back of new operators, products, and innovations entering the fray. The industry should ride this wave of success into the new year, and continue to build momentum. We think virtual reality will be a driving force behind the continued growth, and believe we are ahead of the curve and well placed to capitalise on this as we enter 2017.
JANUARY 2017 105
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