Ramping up the entertainment factor in the eyes of players has long been considered a key ambition across the industry, and Gaming1 is certainly no different.
This forms a primary target for Chief Vision & Product Officer, Jean-Christophe Choffray, with a wave of future improvements designed to drive overall enjoyment.
However, with a product suite comprising numerous core areas, risk mitigation and responsible gaming are also set to play a prominent role throughout.
Adapt or perish
“Most online gaming products look very similar to one another,” Choffray begins when touching upon where key opportunities lie that could ensure Gaming1 continues on an upwards trajectory.
This primarily centres around the inclusion of social elements where possible, in addition to being able to quickly pivot to capitalise on the localised opportunities that lie ahead.
“At Gaming1, we focus on differentiating through several key pillars: the verticals we offer our players, gamification, the social dimension of the casino experience (including player-to-player interactions) and exclusive content,” he continues.
“We also recognise that our competitors vary from market to market, so we systematically adapt our product to match what local competitors do well, while always adding features and experiences that are unique to our platform.”
The ability to adapt is lauded as one of Gaming1’s core strengths. This, Choffray notes, is due to always operating in regulated markets, with the group’s platform having been built on a microservices architecture from the ground up.
This allows Gaming1 to rapidly adapt any individual component to meet a new regulatory requirement. Despite this though, a number of challenges persist that can make significant progress difficult to come by.
“That said, I want to be honest, while this is a strength, it also represents a significant handicap for any platform operating in regulated markets,” he continues.
“The lack of regulatory stability, frequent compliance changes, and new obligations introduced after every election in every country mean that our teams spend up to 80% of their time adapting to compliance rules.
“Meanwhile, illegal operators spend 100% of their time innovating. That is a structural challenge our industry must continue to address.”
Players crave transparency
The provision of a stellar duty of care is consistently at the forefront of Gaming1’s thoughts. However, the water becomes muddied due to a consistent rise of the illegal sector.
This fight is evident across a number of global jurisdictions, with many pondering how true competitiveness can be achieved amid a wave of regulatory clampdowns.
“Player protection has always been at the heart of what we do,” Choffray comments when quizzed on what risk mitigation techniques are deployed to encourage players towards lower risk play.
“I believe we are one of the very few online casinos that are fully transparent with players about their own behaviour, showing them their losses over the last days, weeks and months, their playing time, their wagering patterns, and so on.
“This allows us to alert players when their activity starts to exceed their usual averages, and to guide them towards setting the limits that will be most beneficial for them.”
Becoming an online leisure destination
Maintaining a steady stream of enhancements is necessary to stay ahead amid such a competitive global environment. For Gaming1, this primarily centres around increasing dwell time on site without seeing users’ spending surge.
When pressed on how the group makes sure that any changes or enhancements made across the company’s product portfolio will appeal to its user base, Choffray explains: “We need to move increasingly towards entertainment and away from being solely focused on gambling.”
“Our platform must reflect this shift through new, gaming-inspired products we are integrating, through free-to-play gamification features, and by increasing the time players spend on our platform without necessarily increasing their spending.
“Think of it like a physical casino: the goal is to be a leisure destination, not just a place to wager. That is the direction we are taking Gaming1, a platform where players come to be entertained, to connect, and to have fun, with gambling as one experience among many.”
This has led the company to launch its first collectible trading card game, with expectations high that this could eclipse one of the most popular examples the world has ever seen.
The premise is a relatively simple one. Every time an individual plays, they earn cards that can be exchanged for rewards and gifts.
“There are many exciting developments planned for this product, but already a significant number of our players have responded very positively to it,” Choffray concludes.
“And who knows, in a few years, some of those early Gaming1 cards might be just as collectible as certain Pokémon cards.”