Once widely regarded as an online slot developer, Pragmatic Play have recently made several strategic advancements, aimed at developing the company into a multi-product one as well.
This began with last year’s purchase of Extreme Live Gaming from Novomatic, enabling the Malta-based online gaming company to announce the launch of live casino products last
month.
In late January, Pragmatic followed this up with the acquisition of virtual sports supplier
VSoftCo, about which the company’s chief business development officer Yossi Barzely stated: “This broadens our multi-product strategy and underlines our position as one of the igaming industry’s premier and most forward-thinking providers”.
Addressing strategy, which has become of integral importance to the company, Barzely
explained: “The industry has perceived us as a slot provider, and this is the first show (ICE
London) where we have actually put that multi-product message out there.
“Thus, we have acquired Extreme Live Gaming, and we’ve developed our UK studio and built a new one, so we had to upgrade to new state of the art technology dealers. Now we added bingo and we have just acquired VSoftCo, a virtual sports developer.
“Why did we do this? First, to add variety and diversification for the operators and for the
players. The slots have been popular with them for years, and our USP there is that we
provide everything by a single API. So now that they already have the slots up and running, it’s easy to add live casino, just a switch and nothing else is needed.”
“We feel we get a competitive edge, now that we are live in 15 regulated markets”
Further strategic moves have seen Pragmatic embark on expansion across Europe,
including Sweden’s re-regulated entry, which began on the first day of this year.
Regarding operations within European jurisdictions, there’s an ever-increasing emphasis
placed upon regulations. Barzely stated: “I think it’s great that the more regulated [the
industry becomes], the more I enjoy my life, because, for us, regulation is very important. It has to do with player protection and responsible gambling.
“Moreover, it comes with a price, it’s not cheap to work with the developers and the test labs, and not all providers have either the available resources to comply, or the vision of how important it is to do so. And for us, we feel we get a competitive edge, now that we are live in 15 regulated markets.”
Despite the expansion into a new verticals, slots still remain a key part of Pragmatic Play’s
portfolio, with Barzely sharing insights into what 2019 could hold for the market: “I think in
general, every day you see a new provider come to market, which is fine. It’s about consistency, you need to provide a good product and great service, and then you are going to be OK,” he said.
“If it comes with poor service, then the product fails to bring value”
“It doesn’t matter what everybody else is doing. It’s nice to look at your competition, you can get inspired by it. But at the end of the day, it’s not just about the other providers, but also about our clients. The operators listen to their feedback and learn how to improve their
products and services. This is the key, not what everybody else is doing.”
Adding: “It’s not just about having the product. I mean the product is the core, for sure, but it doesn’t matter if you have the best product in the world, if it comes with poor service, then the product fails to bring value.”
To conclude, Barzely stressed that this is just the beginning for Pragmatic Play, and that the
company could well be one to watch during the upcoming twelve months: “2019 is going to
be a very interesting year for us, because we have gained a lot of knowledge and expertise
over the years. I think it’s going to be very interesting to see how this year will unfold. This is definitely a truly exciting time.”
