A LOOK FORWARD Wazdan Andrzej Hyla, Chief Commercial Offi cer T P


he next year is likely to highlight the need to double down on player engagement in online slots. The market has become so saturated that only those that can stand out from the crowd will succeed. We are already long past the point where a traditional offering can hope to stand out from the noise, and this will become blatantly obvious over the next few months. Adding to the engagement-boosting features we developed in 2022, like Collect to Infinity, Cash Infinity, and Sticky to Infinity, Wazdan will explore new in-game features and promo tools, which hold a great deal of promise in the player engagement landscape. Wazdan made a consolidated effort to


release more innovative slots than ever before during 2022, which we believe will put us in good stead to stay ahead of the game in 2023. In the coming year, we’ll release more games that exemplify this philosophy, including Power of Sun: Svarog, Hot Slot: 777 Stars, Hot Slot: 777 Rubies, Hot Slot: Great Book of Magic, Mystery Kingdom: Mystery Bells, Hot Slot: 777 Cash Out, and Hot Slot: 777 Coins. These games are all optimised to appeal to the US market, which grew impressively this year. However, as various states begin to appreciate how much tax revenue can be created through the common-sense regulation of iGaming, this will expand exponentially in the next 12 months. With


that in mind, Wazdan has put the wheels in motion to roll out in Pennsylvania and Connecticut in the next year.


Champion Sports Simon Noble, Head of Champion Sports


latform and product development will be a key focus for Champion Sports. This will be done via Project One Stop, which will see us extend all of our sportsbook platforms across all popular native apps. As a platform provider, it’s important that we cover every product channel and offer a seamless player experience across all touchpoints. In short, this will allow us to close the gaps that remain and to truly deliver a 360-degree player experience.


With our platform upgrade complete, we have the foundation in place for long-term success. We can also reallocate the resource used for the upgrades into other areas such as product innovation and development as well as allow us to work more closely with our operator partners. We don’t really have a


single goal, we see the next phase of our growth as a journey rather than a destination and with our new platform, we have a slicker internal process where teams across product,


Blue Guru Games Kristian Hassall, Commercial Manager


T


his year feels like a rehearsal for 2023 and we’re excited about the games we have planned. 2023 is all about deeper gameplay and mechanics for us. We’ll also be live in the US in 2023, it’s such an interesting market and it’s rapidly changing in terms of content tastes, so we’re excited about that journey.


In 2023, I think we’ll see more distinct


content. There will always be a stream of fruits and sevens and joker games, and they have their place but we’re seeing game studios thrive when they take a clear content stance, as NLC have for example. There are some exciting things happening among our peers, and we’re seeing fresh ideas and innovation on the horizon from new studios like Octoplay.


GIO JANUARY 2023 9


project, development, etc are now fully aligned. We have always been proud of our short turnaround times, but with our new platform and streamlined processes, we are more agile and efficient than ever before. I think we are going to see more of the same in 2023. There will be further consolidation at the top of the industry, especially in the US where major entertainment brands such as ESPN are now seriously considering their approach to the sports betting opportunity. There will be further room for growth in live betting as the worlds of wagering, sports and entertainment continue to come together and converge. It goes without saying that the markets that have dominated the headlines in 2022 – the US, Canada and Latin America – will hold the industry’s attention for the next 12 months


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