CasinoBeats caught up with Melissa Summerfield, chief commercial officer at Pragmatic Play, to discuss recent deals, product innovation and perpetual growth across multiple verticals.
CasinoBeats: As the gambling industry adjusts to an unprecedented situation, how have suppliers such as Pragmatic Play reached out to new customers?
Melissa Summerfield: Our goal at Pragmatic Play is to help our customers grow and become successful. Amidst the complex and changeable nature of the current climate, the core foundation of our business model remains unaltered: diversity.
We currently span three verticals, enabling us to deliver a market-leading portfolio, catering to a vast array of players via a simple integration, completed through a single API. As operators look to cross-sell their products, the current situation has only emphasised the importance of a broad betting solution and the need for preparedness and diversity.
With an offering encompassing high-quality live casino products within a mobile-first, proven online portfolio, Pragmatic Play’s solution is there as a valuable acquisition and retention tool designed to navigate every commercial landscape.
CB: Pragmatic Play has recently announced some exciting deals with major operator groups. Has the multi-product approach allowed you to sign deals quicker than in the past?
MS: We have hit the ground running in the first quarter of the year. We have signed new commercial deals with the likes of Paddy Power Betfair, William Hill, Sky Vegas, 888, Mansion and leading regional casino SuperBet.
We have also enhanced the scope of our existing agreements to include a new vertical, with a number of tier one operators such as SkillOnNet, BetVictor, Mr Green, LeoVegas and Tipico. It has been a very exciting time for us and has been possible in no small part due to our wide-ranging portfolio of high-quality products.
We have built up a considerable reputation as a slot provider, which has benefited our growth in other verticals. This standing allows us to keep that trust in our products while also elevating the reputation of these newer offerings due to their quality.
Operator partners know they are guaranteed a great Pragmatic Play product, so cross-selling becomes easier as they are equally excited about our live casino or bingo products. A number of existing Pragmatic Play customers have already launched our full live casino offering.
CB: Pragmatic Play’s bingo and live casino products continue to go from strength to strength. What innovations have been particularly standout?
MS: The rapid development and growth of our live casino product has been very exciting. We’ve put our own twist on classic table games to evolve the user experience, such as our Speed Roulette. We’ve also broadened our localised roulette offering to give more players than ever a fantastic Pragmatic Play gaming experience.
Our bingo offering has swiftly emerged as one of the most exciting in the industry. We’ve replicated the social experience found in traditional brick and mortar bingo halls and combined it with a modern mobile first gameplay. Our bingo product adds innovation to an inherently conventional game through our new product, Bingo Blast.
The game is designed to take players through a bingo session swiftly, quickly ‘blasting’ balls until players are at the two or even one ‘ball to go’ phases, taking them straight to the climax of the game.
CB: Almost two and half years into your role at Pragmatic Play and the results continue to be impressive. What is coming up in the pipeline?
MS: There is lots going on at Pragmatic Play, as usual! We continue to produce four slot games a month alongside our live casino titles and bingo offering, while we are always looking to expand further. Commercially, 2020 should be a bumper year for us having already signed a number of landmark deals, with plenty more to come.
We will be launching a new product vertical as well, virtual sports, as we continue to grow the breadth of our offering, one which is very well adjusted to the current demands of the igaming industry. It is a very interesting time for us here at Pragmatic Play as we continue to aim to become the pre-eminent multi-product provider in the industry.