“Live Casino is a key strategic tool and marketing channel”

Can you tell us a little more about the strategic thinking behind the launch of this live studio inside a casino, which is already a very well known and desirable destination?
Casinó Campione see their land-based casino and their online Live Casino as being part of a single, seamless, integrated service that will help them further strengthen the Casinó Campione d’Italia brand.

It’s a forward-thinking initiative and we are very proud to have helped them realise this first step in achieving their vision. Their land-based casino is a world-class venue that now has a world-class multi-channel Live Casino service.

Live Casino is a key strategic tool and marketing channel with which Casinó Campione can now attract new demographics to their core business, which is, of course, the land-based venue.
The initiative will give Casinó Campione a major incremental revenue stream and also a significant competitive edge. Most importantly, the in-venue live studio opens up exciting cross-promotional opportunities. The casino can cross-sell online services to land-based players and, critically, attract more visitors to what is a fantastic casino and entertainment complex.

Existing customers have extended opportunity to play live games at their favourite casino from virtually anywhere in the world. Potential new customers, meanwhile, can enjoy more than just the online Virtual Tour of Casinó Campione. Now they can actually play the live tables and enjoy the unique Casinó Campione d’Italia experience on desktop, tablet or smartphone.

An important factor in promoting to both audiences is the local nature and the high visibility of the live studio on Casinó Campione’s slots floor, where the online service is delivered by the venue’s own staff dressed in branded attire. For all players, this maximises trust in the online service and gives them confidence to play online.

This is important in encouraging existing players at the land-based venue to extend their playing time online on occasions when they are unable to visit the casino in person. And it’s equally important when promoting Casinó Campione to new customers – the in-venue live studio adds a unique authenticity to the casino’s online service.

Evolution became the first online Live Casino provider to be approved by AAMS (Amministrazione Autonoma Monopoli di Stato) and to launch in the then 'new' Italian market back in 2011. How important was this in securing the Casinó Campione live studio project?
We have a proven track record in achieving first-to-market advantage in a number of markets. The fact that we were very familiar with the Italian casino market obviously helped. Equally, we offer very strong localised Live Casino solutions for many other markets including Spain, Denmark, Belgium… localisation of Live Casino is a key specialism for Evolution.

Our aim is always to help our licensees to gain maximum advantage and secure a strong foothold in their marketplace by giving them the best and most flexible customisation options.


What is your opinion of Europe’s regulatory frameworks generally, and what are your next steps in Europe?
Each jurisdiction has different regulatory requirements, so that can make the launch of Live Casino services more time consuming. The regulations also impose higher barriers to market entry, but that’s good in that it protects all involved including players.

We are well practised in working closely with regulatory bodies and this has resulted in us regularly achieving first-to-market advantage for our licensees in newly re-regulated markets.
In terms of next steps, Europe remains a key focus for Evolution as a number of markets are changing. We will have news on new territories shortly.


In your opinion, which European countries have the most advanced and mature regulatory frameworks?
In recent times Italy has been seen as a frontrunner but other territories such as Denmark (where Evolution launched a Live Casino service for state-owned Dansk Licens Spil) have also been successful in terms of deployment and timings. Other markets that are undergoing re-regulation often look to Italy and Denmark when coming up with their own blueprints for change.


What about North America? How relevant is the recently launched in-venue live studio at Casinó Campione to that market?
It’s very relevant – it’s a major showpiece deployment at Europe’s largest land-based casino, and many large US operators have been following this project with great interest.

In New Jersey, where we are currently the only Live Casino provider to have received Preliminary Waiver approval to operate, there is particular interest in Live Casino intra-resort solutions.
An intra-resort solution is very much like the Casinó Campione in-venue live studio deployment, but with a slightly different twist. With intra-resort the primary aim is to extend the gaming floor and the live gaming opportunities to customers within the venue.

With an intra-resort Live Casino solution, customers can use tablets and smartphones to play live games taking place on the casino gaming floor while they are in other areas of the resort (by the pool, in a bar, or in their hotel room for example).

An intra-resort solution extends the gaming floor, playing time and revenue opportunity across the whole resort, and it also adds opportunities to cross-sell other resort attractions and promotions.

Intra-resort is more applicable to the larger casinos but, again, whether it is permitted or not will be dependent on the jurisdiction.

And finally, what about Latin America?  How do you view that market and how is Evolution placed to help operators maximise emerging opportunities in that region?
Latin America is a very exciting market. It is home to the world’s fastest growing internet population and seems set to go through a similar process of online gaming regulation to Europe. As I mentioned above, the European market overall has seen much re-regulation of markets, with different jurisdictions taking different approaches. It’s likely that we will see a similar situation in Latin America, so Latin American operators could certainly benefit from working with an experienced partner who has achieved first-to-market advantage elsewhere. We have delivered that advantage repeatedly in Europe for both leading international brands and smaller localised brands and concessionaires.

As with other markets, we are monitoring developments in Latin America. We will focus on key opportunities and assess their chances of success. We will not look to diversify too quickly. Our mission is to focus on regulated markets and offer operators and players alike the very best online experience.

What is certain is that our experience in delivering world-class Live Casino – whether from our central studios in Latvia and Malta, or from in-venue studios such as those we have deployed in Spain and more recently at Casinó Campione – is an invaluable resource for any operator looking to launch in any regulated market. There is so much potential to tailor an Evolution online Live Casino service to suit the needs of any commercial or state-run operator.