COMPANY FOCUS Livespins
Michael Pedersen, CCO at Livespins spoke to GIO about the importance of social engagement to players, the future of streaming in iGaming and the business’ plans for the rest of the year.
The next USP is how the Livespins experience is delivered. It sits within the online casino lobby which means that players are afforded the responsible gambling and safe gaming protocols operators must have in place under their international and local licences. This allows operators to tap into the huge popularity of slot and casino streaming, but with confi dence that players are being protected and without having to worry about the risk of non-compliance.
GIO: Can you tell us a bit about Livespins’ background? Michael Pedersen: Livespins is owned by a number of investors including
HappyHour.io, the fund and accelerator founded by industry veterans Robin Reid and Daniel Bradtke. Product development of Livespins started in 2020 and was initially intended to be a feature on the Casino Friday brand, but we quickly saw the huge potential it had as a B2B offering. By 2021, we had a senior management team in place and Livespins beta launched in April 2022. The idea behind Livespins is incredibly simple – to deliver socially charged online casino experiences that leverage the popularity of live streaming in a way that is responsible and sustainable. Today, Livespins has onboarded more than 30 game studios, has a team of 20 streamers and is live with more than 40 operators in markets globally.
GIO: What differentiates Livespins from other providers? MP: There are several things that make Livespins unique. The fi rst is our bet behind system which allows players to get directly involved in the action taking place across the reels by betting behind their favourite streamer or brand ambassador. This creates a group bet and a shared experience, but with each player able to select their own bet and number of spins. It’s worth pointing out the sub-second latency that powers this system – something that even Twitch has not been able to achieve.
8 JULY 2023 GIO
Lastly, Livespins also allows operators to onboard their own brand ambassadors, infl uencers or streamers they may already be working with, allowing the create a much more engaging fan experience with their players and increase their ROI on these larger talent investments.
GIO: Livespins focuses on the social aspect of iGaming, what is the reason for this? How important is this social engagement to players? MP: Consumers want social experiences when engaging with the different entertainment options available to them and online casino is no different. This is certainly the case when it comes to players that fi t into the Millennial and Generation Z demographics. Until Livespins, the online casino experience has been solitary, but we have changed that with our bet behind system and the ability for players to chat with the streamer and each other throughout their session. They can also drop reactions and emojis based on what’s happening during the spin. Interaction is only going to become more of a deciding factor for consumers when choosing which entertainment activity to engage with and Livespins has been developed to allow online casino operators to offer social interaction in spades.
GIO: What is the future of streaming in iGaming? MP: The future is bright. Many were concerned that when Twitch took the decision to ban certain casinos from its platform that it would be the end of slot streaming, but that’s not the case. The decision actually resulted in a surge in enquires to Livespins as operators wanted to fi nd new ways of offering streaming
experiences to their players. So long as streaming content can be delivered responsibly and compliantly, operators can leverage the huge opportunities it presents. The demand for streaming content is only going to rise and ultimately it will become a must-have for online casino brands.
GIO: How will you evolve your platform? MP: We are always developing the Livespins platform to make it better for operators, studios, streamers and of course players. Just some of the updates we’ve recently rolled out include ambassador streams, Lightning Drop Jackpots, Lightning Races (our version of tournaments), Bonus Hunts, themed streams and our very own AI chatbot, Spinny. Our development roadmap is packed with additional features and tools set to go live over the coming months, so watch this space.
GIO: Will you be attending any industry events this year? If so, what can we expect from Livespins? MP: The Livespins team will be on the ground at some of the biggest events and conferences this year including iGaming NEXT Valletta, iGB Amsterdam, SBC Barcelona, G2E Vegas and SiGMA Malta. These events provide the perfect opportunity to showcase our platform to operators, studios and streamers, and to allow them to strap themselves in for the Livespins ride for the very fi rst time. It’s also a good chance to chat with industry peers about how operators can maximise the streaming opportunity as well as discuss the latest industry trends.
GIO: Can you tell us about any other plans for the year? Partnerships or new launches? MP: We expect to have secured our Malta licence during Q3 which will allow us to deploy Livespins in more markets than ever before. We’ve also applied for a number of licences in North America and expect to have received our fi rst few early next year. In addition to that, we will continue to onboard the best slot studios in the business, grow our team of superstar streamers and partner with big-name operators that understand just how important it is to offer streaming experiences to their players.
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