SUPPLIER SPECIAL REPORT

Changing the game with Asian innovations

1XBET

1xBet has long been a leading global betting brand. However, it’s not easy to gain such widespread acclaim because each region has its own characteristics and betting culture.

According to representatives of 1xBet, the company diligently analyses all factors when seeking new areas of growth. Let’s look at how the brand is developing by using the example of how they operate in Asian countries.

1xBet always invites its players to take part in a variety of promotions with great prizes. Some promotions have a global reach, but there are also regional promotions that consistently generate the interest of players from a specific country.

That’s why the “Risk-Free Bet” campaign dedicated to J-League matches was launched especially for Japanese players.

Also, players can bet without risk in Vietnam and Myanmar. Recently, this promotion has also appeared there for top football matches. It’s a known fact that there are a large number of football fans in these countries, and similar promotions from the bookmaker are particularly popular.

Even though the vast majority of the world’s population speaks English, it’s always easier to express your thoughts in your native language. 1xBet understands this very well; that’s why the bookmaker offers a support service in 30+ languages. Recently, Japanese has also appeared in the list of available languages. This means that 1xBet players from Japan can contact and ask questions in their native language and receive a prompt response.

Players from Malaysia, Vietnam and Myanmar can also get help in their home language through an online consultant on the site.

1xBet offers its players a wide range of payment systems: from the most famous in the world to local ones that are popular in a specific region.

So, in the Philippines, the GCash payment system, which is quite popular in this country, has recently been offered. More interesting options have also appeared in Indonesia, where players can deposit and withdraw winnings through Dana, GoPay and Link Aja payments.

In addition, the brand regularly invites Asian players to participate in promotions, where a bonus is given for a deposit using a specified payment system. For example, until August 13th, Japanese users can get 10% cashback for top-ups using Jeton. This appeals to players who wish to see immediate tangible benefits from playing on 1xBet.

The previous few months have proven fruitful for 1xBet. The company continues to improve its support service while also adding more options for deposit/withdrawal of funds and making the stay of Asian players on its site as comfortable as possible.

The company is committed to players enjoying the ultimate in accessibility, quality and convenience - no matter where they are in the world.

Scaling up cashless gaming

ARISTOCRAT

Aristocrat Technologies, a subsidiary of Aristocrat Leisure, is stepping up its partnerships to integrate its Oasis 360 casino management system with digital wallets.

The company recently announced accords with Everi Holding and Sightline Payments.

Aristocrat will integrate Oasis 360 with Everi’s digital CashClub Wallet. Through this partnership, Aristocrat will offer Everi’s flexible, cost-effective, and secure cashless and contactless commerce and payment solution to operators that utilize Aristocrat’s wide array of customer experience solutions for mobile, electronic gaming devices, and table games. In addition, the integration of Aristocrat’s digital wallet services with CashClub Wallet provides guests another option to fund their play while providing a seamless gaming experience.

Oasis 360 offers an award-winning portfolio of casino management technology comprised of mobile, slot management, bonusing, digital, table management, loyalty solutions, kiosk, and a media management hub. Oasis 360 is built with an open architecture that allows for dynamic integration with third-party technologies such as CashClub Wallet.

With Sightline, the partnership extends Sightline’s Play+ integrated payment solution with Aristocrat’s Oasis 360 cashless wagering account to enable casino operators new capabilities including digital mobile payment and contactless wallet options for their guests.

Sightline and Aristocrat initially launched these new capabilities at several Boyd Gaming properties including Indiana, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Ohio with more planned through BoydPay, which enables guests to use their smartphones to seamlessly fund their gaming and pay for amenities throughout the properties.

Aristocrat and Sightline plan to work in tandem across North America to leverage these new opportunities for Sightline’s 70+ partners and the more than 400 North American casinos that utilize Aristocrat’s Oasis 360 casino management system. Additional property launches combining Sightline’s Play+ solution and Aristocrat’s Oasis 360 casino management system are in development.

“If casinos want to truly harness the transformative power of cashless gaming, they must integrate digital payments and loyalty rewards into their casino management system,” said Andrew Crowe, senior vice president, business development for Sightline Payments. “This partnership with Aristocrat will enable players across North America to seamlessly access cashless gaming on a scale that the industry has not seen before.”

Fishing, Dice and Crystal Crush add to Betconstruct line-up

BETCONSTRUCT

To build a stronger and broader library of betting games, BetConstruct has introduced three new additions to its line of RNG-based prediction games.

Fishing, Dice & Crystal Crush stand out with their rich features, such as multiplied odds, provably fairness calculator and engaging storylines. All these advantages make the games highly marketable to players and help operators attract more audiences via attractive and unique visuals. With their user-friendly and smooth UX/UI design and straightforward rules, the games perfectly target audiences who enjoy quick gameplay and fast payouts.

In Fishing, the fisherman throws a bait and catches fish with various odds that multiply the player’s initial bet. Players have 10 chances to try their luck, but they can cash out whenever they want during the round in order to save their winnings.

Dice attracts players who enjoy quick rounds of number predictions. Multiple modes are available across the game including range predictions, higher or lower predictions, etc.

Crystal Crush is an RNG hybrid game that includes multiplier gameplay, slot elements and predictions, all designed by BetConstruct to boost player activity on the websites of operators. The right guess of the many-colored crystals leads to win or opens up the bonus round where the chances of winning are higher.

Three lucrative games join a gaming portfolio of BetConstruct to acquire and delight players and better support operators’ needs. The game results are licenced by the RNG system, an important fact that guarantees a fair gameplay.

Bringing experience to the table

BMM

BMM is the longest-established and most experienced private independent gaming certification lab in the world, providing professional technical and regulatory compliance services to the gaming industry since 1981. BMM is a systems-expert company, which has provided consulting for and tested many of the largest gaming networks and systems over the last 40 years. BMM has been successfully testing and certifying the full scope of Class III, Class II, VLT, AWP, HHR, online, sports-betting, social, parimutuel and lottery products over four decades.

BMM authored the first set of independent gaming standards in 1992 and the first set of online gaming standards in 2001. BMM employs some 500 people in 13 global locations and serves over 460 gaming jurisdictions.

BMM’s world headquarters are in Las Vegas (USA) with offices in Moncton (Canada), Lima (Peru), Buenos Aires (Argentina), Barcelona (Spain), Bologna (Italy), Krakow (Poland), Bucharest (Romania), Midrand (South Africa), Melbourne and Sydney (Australia), Macau (SAR, China) and Singapore.

For more information on BMM Testlabs, please visit bmm.com

Up for a Sustainable Future

BBIN

Founded in 1999, BBIN has dedicated itself to the development and innovation of new technologies and system software. BBIN provides its professional platform integration services throughout Asia, including China, Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and more. Currently, the company has successfully provided the market with 14 types of live casino, 40 lottery games, over 100 casino games and more than 50,000 sports betting products per month.

Crossing the twenty-year milestone and moving toward the next from 2020, BBIN is demonstrating its ambition for sustainable development and growth. It actively expands itself and branches out to collaborate with world-renowned brands in different fields. This includes world champion car-racing team Theodore Racing/Prema and famous football clubs Dortmund, and Ajax.

BBIN has also become a long-term supporter of eSports since 2019, forming global partnerships with various eSports clubs including MAD Team, and NOVA ESPORTS. Moreover, BBIN foresees the importance of corporate responsibility and founded The Gaming Beat (TGB) charity brand to help raise awareness on different topics. BBIN has brought together the world’s Top 100 DJs to voice their support for charity and worked with Trees for the Future and Water.Org to promote environmental protection. Through these collaborations, BBIN connects with the world beyond Asia, hoping to give back to the society and build a better world for everyone.

BBIN welcomes collaboration from all over the world, and provides the advantages of professional resources to partners who aim to map out their business in Asia. BBIN is ready to show the world its capability of bridging the eastern and western iGaming markets. It will continue to communicate its core principle of “growing with partners” and hopes to light up a bright future with its worldwide partners.

Speed of detection adds to casino security

DALLMEIER

One question that has been asked is whether COVID-19 made security challenges more difficult or easier? Of course, fewer visitors decrease the typical violations and offences. On the other hand, the additional security measures and hygiene plans caused by COVID-19 create additional workload and increase complexity. From our perspective as a manufacturer, the situation has not changed much.

More and more customers tell us that they have a much better overview of the casino floor and the pre-context of any incident thanks to the unique overview provided by our 180° and 360° Panomera® W camera series. We have casino customers reporting to us that it now takes an average of only three minutes to find a wanted person instead of the previous twenty minutes – a huge contributor to casino safety and considerably less disruption in case of an incident. Our Casino Automation Technology (CAT) provides casino operators a powerful tool to protect their table games from fraud while maximising profits. CAT uses traditional video cameras and AI-based technologies to recognise playing cards and detect suspicious winning patterns. At the same time, CAT can detect unusual behaviour by dealers and players and can even protect closed tables. Another benefit is the ability for employees from different departments to work together, enabling them to deal with incidents and events efficiently.

One difficulty is certainly going to be the staffing situation when the gaming floors are better occupied again in the medium and long term. So “doing more with less” will be even more important. In addition, cheaters are becoming more sophisticated, taking advantage of technological developments such as spy cams and exchanging digital information in real time. This makes it increasingly difficult for casinos to stay one step ahead of the fraudsters and prevent fraudulent practices.

Team up to prevent cyber attacks

CONTINENT 8

The Philippines largest telco neutral data centre operator Beeinfotech PH, has entered into an agreement with global managed hosting, connectivity and security provider, Continent 8 Technologies, to help businesses in the Philippines and across Asia strengthen their security services.

The partnership comes at a time where cyber attacks and security risks are at an all-time high, with businesses of all sizes and across all industries requiring effective security measures to combat these threats.

Beeinfotech PH will leverage three of Continent 8’s leading cyber security solutions; its scalable DDoS protection, powerful Web Application Firewall (WAF) and market-leading Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) system.

These will be offered to major corporations, telcos and service providers in the Philippines and across Asia as three products – BProtect DDoS powered by Continent 8, BProtect WAF powered by Continent 8 and BProtect SIEM powered by Continent 8.

The DDoS solution allows organisations to protect their business critical, online environments from volumetric and persistent attacks, the WAF solution defends applications against a wide range of threats, while the SIEM solution is the foundation of a business’s cyber defence strategy, with a fully managed 24/7 SOC monitoring platform.

Reynaldo Huergas, President and CEO of Beeinfotech PH, said: “Network security is a technology and support game. Through this agreement, Beeinfotech PH takes charge of the infrastructure, local manpower and coordination while Continent 8 brings in global managed solutions and best practices.

“This is a powerful combination that will allow businesses in the Philippines and across Asia to be confident they are doing all they can to mitigate the risk of falling victim to a security attack.”

Peter Williams, Managing Director for Asia Pacific at Continent 8 Technologies, said: “Our decades of experience in protecting the world’s most valuable information has given us vast knowledge on how to best tackle the issue of network IT security.

“Our collaboration with Beeinfotech PH enables us to provide businesses with bespoke solutions with local support. With Beeinfotech PH’s telco neutrality, we are able to protect all business across all sectors.”

Expanding Italian footprint

EVOLUTION

Ezugi, a live casino specialist that is part of the Evolution Group, has expanded its reach in the Italian market after partnering with platform and content provider, Microgame.

Under the deal, Italian operators powered by Microgame will gain access to Ezugi’s full suite of live dealer content which includes more than 20 games across Roulette, Blackjack, Baccarat, Poker and Sic Bo, plus innovative formats such as 32 Cards and Lucky 7.

Ezugi’s games are streamed from a total of nine state-of-the-art studios located around the world, each providing opulent environments with highly trained dealers and modern technologies to deliver a superior live casino experience to operators and their players.

Each game has been designed to run seamlessly across desktop and mobile, delivering the most engaging and authentic experience at all times no matter where the player is playing from.

Kfir Kugler, CEO of Ezugi, said: “This partnership will strengthen and unite both parties and we are thrilled to be offering our content to operators and players in Italy via a true gaming pioneer and the leading supplier in the market.”

“We are confident our localised content will be a great addition to the Microgame portfolio and will allow its operators to stand out from their rivals and deliver a thrilling, authentic player experience via proven live dealer games.”

Marco Castaldo, CEO of Microgame, said: “The constant search for new collaborations and commercial agreements with specialised suppliers and leading international operators allows us to maintain the very high standards that characterise our offer.”

“This also allows us to distinguish the Microgame product within the market as the most complete and competitive. It is because of this approach and desire to offer the best solutions to Italian operators that we entered into this partnership with Ezugi.”

“The partnership will allow us to add its leading live dealer content to our game portfolio, further establishing ourselves as the number one platform and game provider in Italy.”

Casting the dice with Banca Francesa

FBM

FBM Digital Systems recently launched online Banca Francesa in Portugal due to popular demand from players.

Banca Francesa has a huge tradition in the Portuguese land-based casinos and FBMDS brought it to the digital universe with a customized gaming experience desired by the local players for a long time.

Banca Francesa is a thrilling table game, where the goal is to predict the outcome of three dice rolled by the dealer. This fast and rewarding table game has five bet possibilities and an attractive prize logic.

FBMDS made its pioneer Banca Francesa flexible and casino operators have the possibility to change part of the product aesthetics as well as its minimum and maximum bets.

Convego Pearl offers flexible, secure payment solutions

GIESECKE & DEVRIENT

In the past months, customer behavior when it comes to the way we pay, has changed. The main drivers behind are the pandemic with its restrictions to stay contactless, and maturity within payment technology. These two things have created a boom for digital payments in both popularity and the global usage, with many new use cases evolving, which create not only convenient but also secure digital payments.

For instance, when looking at casinos, some casinos have already implemented or are considering a digital way for using payments across their gaming floor, their hotels and F&B. For these use cases, Giesecke+Devrient (G+D), as a global leading payment technology company, provides a secure digital payment platform called Convego Pearl.

Convego Pearl is already deployed and used by many renowned retail customers in Asia, and it is extending to the casino market. Convego Pearl offers physical and virtual card issuing and life-cycle management, payment processing and robust loyalty engine.

With Convego Pearl, casinos can provide an exceptional experience to players by offering digital payments with a membership card, or with a QR code on mobile phone, to be used on the gaming floor, restaurants, hotel, and shops within a casino resort. It not only provides convenience to players but also increases the security of payment transactions by reducing the risk associated with counterfeit banknotes as well as reducing the cost of cash handling.

Furthermore, with Convego Pearl casinos are able to analyse and understand players’ preferences, and can therefore use this intel for increased player loyalty. With a reward system, points and other perks can be incorporated in this digital payment system.

Convego Pearl is very flexible and can easily be integrated with - for example - existing casino management systems, payment devices in non-gaming environments and current mobile apps of a casino. A player can choose to top up the wallet with cash at the cage or a counter, or they can top up via their bank account or credit card.

Convego Pearl delivers end to end security by following global payments standards, and by providing numerous reports for management as well as for auditing.

Content king in player retention

HABANERO

With lockdowns lifting in countries across the globe, people are enjoying the freedoms they’ve regained. For gamblers, that often means returning to a newly reopened land-based establishment of their choosing. The online casino sector must therefore think hard about how to retain the customers they acquired when such outlets were closed.

To that end, content – as always- is king. The most important factor determining your success in retaining land-based and retail players forced online by the lockdown is the quality of your offering. That’s why we’ve continued to equip partners with world-class casino games of the very highest standard.

Most recently, we’ve launched Calaveras Explosivas, an electrifying new title taking players down to the town square for an exciting adventure inspired by the popular Mexican national holiday, Dia de Muertos.

Featuring mesmerising graphics and a thematic mariachi soundtrack, the game introduces punters to colourfully decorated Calaveras, which cascade down the reels alongside Wilds, Scatters, and other multipliers.

Even though we believe that a great game is a great game no matter where you play it, the title’s Latin American roots clearly suit it to players based on that continent. And our newly-acquired accreditation from LOTBA - the regulatory board for the City of Buenos Aires – equips us to introduce the slot to even more of them.

We’ve also wowed the crowds with Marvelous Furlongs, an exhilarating new launch inspired by the wonderful world of horse racing. The title takes players through a season’s worth of races in the build up to the Marvelous Race Day, the most anticipated event in the equestrian calendar.

The 5x3 slot title boasts a range of thrilling features, including horse-inspired Wild and Scatter symbols and Free Games bringing wins of over x50,000 – an enthralling prize for fortunate bettors enjoying a fine day at the races.

Each spin brings the customer closer to the Marvelous racing spectacle, where high scores could trigger eye-popping rewards worthy of the Royal Enclosure. So, whether you prefer to enjoy vibrant Latin Street parties, or a fastpaced horse racing experience, Habanero has you covered.

Teaming up for flexible cashless solutions

IGT

International Game Technology is fueling its leadership in cashless gaming technologies via a strategic partnership with Marker Trax, makers of an advanced digital casino marker system. This partnership will give IGT ADVANTAGE casino management systems users the option to integrate Marker Trax technology into any variation of an IGT Resort Wallet deployment.

The customer experience is the most important thing in this business and IGT shares that philosophy. Working together, we are able to streamline and enhance the customer’s experience as they move across the casino floor,” said Gary Ellis, Marker Trax Founder and CEO.

“Working with IGT to expand the market penetration of Marker Trax is an honor. This agreement with IGT reaffirms our company’s commitment to offering the convenience and safety of Marker Trax to an expanded customer base,” said Charlie Skinner, Marker Trax COO.

“In giving our customers the option to add Marker Trax’s specialized technology into their IGT Resort Wallet-powered casino apps, IGT is delivering an even more versatile cashless payments ecosystem,” said Ryan Reddy, IGT Senior Vice PresidentGlobal Product Management for VLT, Systems and Payments. “With the demand for cashless gaming solutions at an all-time high, technology integrations like what we’ve agreed to with Marker Trax will help our customers offer multiple cashless technologies in an intuitive, convenient and safe manner.”

When IGT ADVANTAGE, Resort Wallet and Marker Trax are concurrently deployed, patrons have the option to create safe and secure casino markers on their personal mobile device and to fund an IGT-enabled Cashless Wagering Account. Players can apply for a Marker Trax account either online or via a mobile app; qualified players are approved in less than five minutes. This collaboration enables both IGT and Marker Trax to maximize the opportunities of the fast-growing cashless segment while enhancing player convenience, record keeping, security, casino liquidity and more.

Interblock expands Philippines footprint

INTERBLOCK

Interblock said it has received orders for 123 of its play stations in the Philippines from three casinos, including the soon to open Nustar Resort & Casino on Cebu.

The company expects to fulfil the orders, deliver and install over the next few months at each respective property for their openings.

“We are humbled and privileged to be able to receive three orders from Hann Resort Casino, Royce Hotel and Casino in the Clark area and Nustar Resort and Casino from Cebu in total of 123 play stations”, commented Michael Hu, President Asia for Interblock. “We wish the developments at each of the respective properties the best of luck and a speedy adaptation to the new normal.”

Interblock said Clark’s first integrated resort, Hann Resort Casino, previously known as Widus Hotel and Casino, is to place its Live Table Roulette, fully automated Roulette and Twin Live table Baccarat stadium to complement their live tables, slots and ETG games.

One of Central Luzon’s top entertainment destinations, Royce Hotel and Casino, is to set up a Stadium with Live Table Roulette, Live Table Sicbo and two Twin Live Table Baccarat as well as two sets of Diamond Megastar 8 with the option to run up to six virtual games during low demands.

While the new Nustar Resort & Casino, which will be a three tower hotel with a gaming floor of approximately 21,000 square meters (226,042 sq feet) is to place three sets of Diamond Megastar.

Pioneering remote gaming in the Philippines

JADE ENTERTAINMENT

Jade Entertainment and Gaming Technologies (JADE) takes sports betting to new heights. With the recent development of remote gaming here in the Philippines, JADE, will be one of the few platform service providers accredited by the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) to offer a remote gaming experience to local players.

JADE is a company established in the Philippines in 2009. A business provider and ultimate resource of gaming technologies covering mainly the Asia Pacific region, JADE produces bespoke solutions, built on a bedrock of betting and gaming knowledge, accrued over many years. This knowledge is mixed with cutting-edge technology to deliver best-in-breed products to its partners in the gaming industry. JADE is a service provider of sports betting systems accredited by PAGCOR.

JADE currently operates the Sportsbet offering at the Okada Manila casino resort in the Philippines. JADE is also launching its remote gaming technology in early August.

In a recent development on Philippine gaming, PAGCOR has allowed remote sports betting to local residents. Domestic offsite gaming operations adopt a land-based, or brick-andmortar model of operations, wherein players come and visit a gaming site to play or bet. The remote gaming platform is an added gaming facility to PAGCOR’s land-based gaming site operators/licensees wherein players now have the option of either visiting a physical betting shop or placing their bets via an online remote gaming platform.

Pursuant to the new regulation, JADE has applied to PAGCOR to be one of the few service providers to be allowed to develop and maintain such an online remote gaming platform. With the approval of PAGCOR, JADE is now in its final stages of complying with the regulation requirements and will soon launch Jade Sportsbet remote sports betting to its betting shop partners.

Driving efficiencies through smart data

JCM

The FUZION system from JCM Global (JCM) continues to evolve and now has an even greater and more positive impact on real-time peripheral management, boosting the efficiency, security, and profitability of casino operations.

FUZION is a network connection to JCM’s iVIZION bill validator and to JCM’s GEN5 printer, giving casinos real-time connection and real-time data from both devices. Its API (application program interface) allows third party applications to securely interface with FUZION technology to bring advanced analytics, marketing, and security capabilities to your gaming floor.

With FUZION, casinos can proactively manage casino floor operations with features like predictive emergency drops and printer paper fills, automated firmware upgrades, drop and count room management, AML alerts, enhanced security capabilities with transaction image captures, and real-time performance monitoring of all the peripheral devices on the casino floor.

FUZION monitors the contents of each drop box on the casino floor preventing machine downtime. This allows the drop team to pinpoint which cash boxes to collect. FUZION tracks cash box capacity note by note, eliminating wasted time dropping empty or near-empty cash boxes. This process also keeps the most popular games active during busy times and allows the slot team to focus on tasks other than executing emergency drops.

Based on direct customer feedback, most notably from the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Sacramento where JCM completed its first floor-wide installation and launch of FUZION, JCM engineers have updated FUZION with easier ways to analyze and use data to increase operational efficiencies for a variety of casino departments.

Fishing for fun with Ocean Phoenix

JUMBO

Although the gambling industry is facing enormous challenges due to the pandemic, Jumbo technology has not stopped and has just launched a new fishing game, “Ocean Phoenix”.

Fishing games have always been a favourite for all ages. Players can get started easily and enjoy the multiplayer fun thanks to the intuitive interface. Evidently, user-friendly design and entertainment are key reasons why Jumbo technology’s ARK-65 Fishing machine wins wide praise across the world.

Jumbo’s ARK-65 GLI six-seater multiplayer fishing game, Ocean Phoenix, features the fantastic four mythical creatures such as the Mighty Phoenix, the Elegant Mermaid, the Ancient Crocodile, the Flawless Octopus, and three powerful weapons. When the players successfully capture the Phoenix, players will be pampered with a dazzling visual sensation as the phoenix soars high into the universe by leveraging special effects.

The Elegant Mermaid is the ocean goddess of love. Upon successful capture, the elegant Mermaid will play the harp and bubble up all the species on the field and players have a chance to award up to 1200 times winning points.

The Ancient Crocodile lives in mysterious Egypt. The Ancient Crocodile will bite the fireball back and forth in the center of the field to earn extra points for players after a successful capture. There is the Flawless Octopus in the Caribbean Sea. A lucky wheel will appear, giving the chance to win up to 800 times points as players succeed in capturing the Flawless Octopus. On top of that, special weapons such as laser cannons, shotguns and gun drills will likely pop up during the game. Players will gain the upgraded free bullets when hit them.

The background music of Ocean Phoenix is unique in that it has adopted a “symphony” to create splendid auditory effects which differentiates it from other fishing games on the market that still use a lot of electronic music.

Jumbo technology learned that symphony is highly appreciated by players of all ages in various media based on player feedback and the symphony is also frequently seen in AAA games nowadays. Due to the richness of sound and the malleability of the emotions, the symphony can be performed in a wide range of scenes, from delicate layouts to epic scenes.

Players will experience the lively and joyful sound effects as if they are in an amusement park, as well as the epic music during the battles with mythical creatures.

“We believe Ocean Phoenix will provide the most novel game theme and the ultimate entertainment experience to players”, a Jumbo representative said.

Pandemic speeds innovation in technology

LT GAME

Paradise Entertainment, operating under the LT Game brand, strives for excellence in the gaming equipment industry using top-notch and advanced technology to develop table game automation and innovative gaming products that are primarily catered for the mass market.

“Technology and innovation, sped by the pandemic, have continued and will continue to cause a paradigm shift in the gaming industry and enhance casino operational efficiency and meet player specific needs”, said. Jay Chun, Chairman and Managing Director of Paradise Entertainment.

To illustrate, in response to the mounting awareness of health issues, the distinctive features of its innovative flagship products, the live multi game machines, performed exceptionally in giving gaming patrons a more private, spacious and, more importantly, safe environment aligning with the specific safety measures and requirements imposed by the relevant authority to maintain a safe distance between gaming tables, and between gaming machines.

The outperformance of the LMG machines has highlighted the importance to take the prevailing health issues into account when designing and developing gaming products as well as on casino management strategy, where technology can facilitate this goal.

On the other hand, Paradise Entertainment has also been investing increasingly on research and development on AI and other related products with a view to fulfilling customers’ needs with professional solutions on high-tech products in areas of education, sports and living, etc in which the importance of facilitating and promoting public health awareness is placed.

Paradise Entertainment will continue to forge ahead in areas of cutting-edge technologies and always uphold the spirit of innovation to create high-tech products which meet the requirements of the highest level of demanding technical standards, while at the same time exercising prudent control in the midst of the present business environment.

Major tournament return sees Handicap markets perform impressively

PINNACLE

Fans and bettors alike rejoiced in June with the return of some sporting normality as the delayed Euro 2020 and relocated Copa America tournaments finally kicked off. Supporters gathered at stadiums in the tens of thousands to return some of the atmosphere that makes soccer loved the world around and the leading betting pastime in this new normal we now live in. Pinnacle Solution has analysed the data over the past couple of months to see how the betting trends are evolving at these major tournaments.

Top-level, it’s clear that the Euros engaged bigger bettors more often, with the mean pre-match bet size 17 percent higher than on the top-tier domestic season, with live average bets also 14 percent higher. Match day betting dominated when it came to the timing of bet placements too, with the busiest periods coming at the business end of the group stages, with meaningful games coming thick and fast.

One major discrepancy between domestic and international tournaments appears to be around the favoured market types. It appears that customers looked to back a team or result, rather than just wishing for goal-mouth action at the Euros, with Handicap betting accounting for almost two-thirds of pre-match bet value, in comparison to just over a third across the English, Spanish, Italian, and German top leagues, while the Money Line share also more than doubled.

Some of these trends are likely to tie in with the specific nature of high stakes, partisan international competition but some may continue into the new season, and our partners can be sure that Pinnacle Solution’s impressive hold performance from both pre-match and live betting action at the Euros will continue into the new season.

Delivering on content promises

PRAGMATIC PLAY

Content is king and Pragmatic Play is pressing on with its ambition to produce up to five new slot titles a month, while also delivering Live Casino and Bingo games as part of its multi-product portfolio, available through one single API.

A recent offering embraced Scandinavian adventures with new slot title, Book of Vikings.

Featuring comic book-style visuals and a classical instrumental soundtrack, the highly volatile slot is riddled with symbols of Norse mythology, and includes a mystery Free Spins feature where landing a special expanding symbol will boost chances of big wins.

There is also a Scatter symbol that takes the shape of a Magic Book, which only needs to appear three times in a payline to trigger the Free Spins feature.

Here, a regular symbol is randomly selected to become the expanding Mystery Symbol before the player is allowed to use their 10 free spins, and every time it appears, the Mystery symbol will expand to fill the entire reel.

A huge number of winning combinations can be created with these expanding Mystery symbols, and players who wish to bypass the base game for the Free Spins feature can do so with the Bonus Buy element where available.

Book of Vikings joins Empty the Bank, 5 Lions Megaways and Lucky Lightning, which reside amongst 200+ HTML5 titles in the provider’s award-winning games portfolio.

Yossi Barzely, Chief Business Development Officer at Pragmatic Play, said: “Our previous Norse-themed release was dominated by an all-female warrior cast, but this time we see Viking royalty grace the helm of the ship.

“Book of Vikings utilizes a gorgeous aesthetic and combines it with simplified gameplay to provide a winning experience for players of all ages and demographics.”

Motivated to bring players MORE

PLAY'N GO

Let’s face it. It’s been an odd couple of years, and the need for entertainment is more important than ever. That’s where we come in. In our mission to become the best gaming entertainment supplier there is, delivering the highest quality of products and services and innovating industry-leading features are at the forefront of everything we do.

This month sees a new character added to the Play’n GO repertoire. The charismatic Yeti. Hotel Yeti-Way takes the mythical Himalayan Yeti out of his frozen environment and sees him holidaying on a tropical island – we’re a bit jealous.

This new slot game gives players more ways to win with every spin. Dynamic Payways mechanics have been around for a while now. So, what do we mean by more ways to win? With every Free Spin on Hotel Yeti-Way, one or more of the reels are selected to have a Multiplier, doubling the number of payways on those reels, and in turn, more ways to win – 262,144 to be exact – heightening the thrill further in an already action-packed game.

It can be easy to get swept up in the mechanics of the games, but the visuals are also key. Take when developing Hotel Yeti-Way, for instance, we wanted impressive visuals to complement this bold character. A bright colour palette has been used to radiate a mood-boosting summer feel. Our creative design team (we’re biased, we know) have paid attention to every detail; backgrounds change with the Yeti to match the theme of his attire, one minute he’s scuba diving, the next bungee jumping.

Pushing the gaming experience further to immerse players and keep them entertained is what we strive for, and that’s just one of the reasons we’re the best gaming entertainment supplier there is.

Developing omni-channel solutions

RGB

RGB prides itself in our successful track record in the industry, where we continually evolve to deliver innovative and high-quality gaming solutions. We recognize the fact that to meet the ever increasing demands of the gaming market, especially now in this new era of digital convergence, gaming solution providers such as us must remain agile and respond to the ever-changing situation.

With this firm belief in mind, we have collaborated with top-class digital gaming solution providers to offer best-of-breed solutions which converge land-based gaming operations with engaging digital experience, thus allowing casino operators to provide a truly omni-channel gaming experience to their patrons.

Together with our partners, we offer a fully secured, all-in-one open gaming platform with electronic games, live streaming table games and many other online gaming offerings.

This open gaming platform also provides for a simple integration with the operators’ casino management system (CMS) and the entire solution comes as a ‘Casino-as-a-Service’ total package.

We also offer a truly unique online gaming offering which allows players to play real physical EGMs remotely through the use of streamed video, thus increasing machine utilization and profitability. This is not a reproduction of landbased games but an actual real time game play on an actual machine that is equipped with a camera, played via an engaging user interface.

These collaborations expand RGB’s wellestablished, value-added solution portfolio, strengthening our focus on offering products that enhance customer experience and operational efficiencies.

Quartz standalone ups the game for the post-Covid world

SCIENTIFIC GAMES

Scientific Games explains how its latest cutting-edge table game technology, Quartz Standalone, will provide a more dynamic experience for players and enable operators to run their business more efficiently and safely in this post-COVID-19 world.

Quartz Standalone is the latest Electronic Table Game (ETG) offering from Scientific Games.It has the ability to run a single game on its own, within its own player terminal.

The product will launch with Dragon Tail Baccarat, a new baccarat game that provides a unique player experience like never before. Dragon Tail Baccarat includes exciting features such as the Free Hand feature that enables players to find “Hot Shoes” or trends, and an immediate results or “Bang Up” feature on the player touchscreen.

Something that we are very excited about with Dragon Tail Baccarat is the 3D animation of the card squeeze feature. This feature will give players an immersive, real-life baccarat gameplay experience.

Players control how they want to squeeze their cards. They can swipe from the corner, the side of the card, or by using the “rotate” or “reveal” buttons. There is also a “play” button if they want the machine to reveal the animation as they watch.

Players can further enhance their experience with the available side bets, including Super 6, Lucky 6, Fortune 7 Baccarat™ and Dragon Bonus.

Operators can configure a selectable timer option, in addition to scheduled betting, to optimize peak periods. Dragon Tail Baccarat includes game history, statistics, and trend animations that display an eye-catching dragon that changes color as the trend continues and music intensifies.

Our Quartz player terminals have been rolling out at a fast pace in other markets because they allow casinos to increase table game play in a more cost effective and safe way for players. Casinos and gaming properties can easily implement social distancing between Quartz terminals, and the smooth, flat surface of the player screen allows for easy cleaning and sanitization. Additionally, the removal of loose cash, chips, cards and other points of contact with regular gaming tables decreases areas for contamination.

Dragon Tail Baccarat on the Quartz Standalone is available at the Scientific Games Asia showroom for live viewing or virtual if you are not in Macau.

“Mother of Dragons” gives players a wild ride

SIMPLEPLAY

"Mother of Dragons” is a 5-reel slot. The game comes with 3 different scenes, each with its own reel pattern and ways to win, as well as its own Wild features. Scene 1 features a 3-4-4-4-3-reel pattern, giving 576 ways to win. Scene 2 features a 4-3-3-3-4-reel pattern, giving 432 ways to win. Scene 3 features a 3-3-4-3-3-reel pattern, giving 324 ways to win.

In this game, the princess herself is the Wild Symbol. She can rally the dragons for greater winning chances! The dragon eggs are the Scatter Symbol. 3, 4 or 5 Scatters award 8, 15 or 20 Free Spins. Different Wilds (Extra Wild, Extra Reel Wild, and Bomb Wild) are featured in different scenes.

“Mother of Dragons” contains a Free Game Feature, where the Reel Extend Feature adds an extra row above the original structures of each scene. Scene 1 becomes 4-5-5-5-4-reel, giving 2,000 ways to win. Scene 2 becomes 5-4-4-4-5-reel, giving 1,600 ways to win. Scene 3 becomes 4-4-5-4-4-reel, giving 1,280 ways to win.

In “Mother of Dragons”, different Wilds are featured in different scenes, and are available in both Base Game and Free Game. In Scene 1, the game will trigger Extra Reel Wild, where one of the reels among Reels 2 to 4 may be filled with Wild Symbols in all positions. During Free Spins, up to 2 reels will be filled. Bomb Wild is featured in Scene 2. Once triggered, Bomb Wild Symbols will appear on one of the positions on Reels 2 to 4 randomly. All surrounding positions on these 3 reels will become Wild Symbols, increasing the chance of winning. Extra Wild is triggered in Scene 3. A maximum of 7 Wild Symbols may be applied randomly on any of the positions on Reels 2 to 4.

Esports for all: Best practice for product development

ULTRAPLAY

One of the most important considerations for eSports fans is authenticity. This means operators looking to reach that fan base will need to tailor their betting products around their preferences, whether that’s data-driven content, professional players, or influencers in the sector. That’s what was mainly discussed during the ICE365 Think Tank Series dedicated to eSports, which is sponsored by UltraPlay.

UltraPlay’s CEO Mario Ovcharov took part in Esports for all: Best practice for product development Think Tank and shared his insights and opinion about the topic. Based on his years of experience in the industry and the eSports betting sector in particular, Ovcharov shared what makes a successful gambling product that targets the eSports fans base. As a sports betting provider for over 10 years, UltraPlay started offering eSports in 2014 and was among the very few that actually had it back then. Actually, the company was the first to offer live betting on eSports. Since then UltraPlay has enhanced the product and the UX a lot in order to answer the new generation of bettors’ requirements.

“It’s very important to understand the eSports itself, not only the betting side of it”, says Mario Ovcharov. Esports has to be covered as any other sport. Multiple different markets, game coverage, live streaming should be provided.

What’s one thing that many eSports product developers get wrong? “For many years the most known betting website was very basic. After that when operators tried to make something very fancy, colorful, with lots of images, it wasn’t working.”, he added. In Ovcharov’s opinion, simplicity in building an eSports product is key and everyone starting in this business needs to understand that and act upon it.

Walker Digital goes live at Resorts World Las Vegas

WDTS

Walker Digital Table System’s PJM3.0 RFID solutions power gaming chips, table games, and casino cage locations at the Las Vegas Strip’s newest resort, Genting’s Resorts World Las Vegas.

The property also features the first North American implementation for WDTS’s Perfect Pay Baccarat as well as Baccarat Insurance and Lucky 6, two popular baccarat side bets.

Walker Digital Table Systems continues its long and successful partnership with Genting as they bring the Strip’s first complete RFID smart tables to Resorts World Las Vegas. Walker Digital CEO Stephen Moore said, “We are honored to be a part of the newest resort on the Strip. Genting pioneered the most advanced casino floor in the world in Malaysia, and today they remain at the forefront of gaming innovation with the most technologically sophisticated integrated resort in North America.”

A key component of Resorts World Las Vegas’s next-generation gaming experience is the selection of PJM3.0 RFID, the industry-standard worldwide for fast, reliable and secure casino solutions. The comprehensive implementation includes WDTS-supplied components for RFID gaming chips, chip trays, bet tracking antennas, dealer antennas and casino cage readers.

Resorts World Las Vegas also features WDTS’s Perfect Pay Baccarat system, the only smart table that tracks wagers, game outcomes, payouts and perfect player ratings in real-time while delivering a live table game experience. Casinos using Perfect Pay experience a dramatic increase in game security and dealer accuracy while minimizing losses from human error, collusion and theft.

Resorts World Las Vegas is also the first to introduce two new baccarat side bets to Las Vegas that are popular today with players across Asia. The first is Baccarat Insurance, a new play option after the first four or five cards have been offered to players who are ahead at that point in the game to “insure” or hedge their advantaged hand.

This feature raises baccarat’s low house edge while increasing both the volume of wagers on the table and player excitement. The Lucky 6 side bet pays either 12 to 1 or 20 to 1 on a winning banker total of six.

“Resorts World was our first customer in Asia and so it is fitting that they are our first customer in North America.” said Neil Crossan, Chief Commercial Officer at Walker Digital.