SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
Ahead of London Baby 2016, the ultimate ICE Totally Gaming week event for networking and socialising, we caught up with Magnet Gaming’s Thomas Nielsen to gauge his thoughts on ICE and how the wider iGaming industry is looking as we make our way into 2016.
Founded in 2014 Magnet Gaming is a Danish cross platform digital slots provider for the real money gambling industry. Nielsen talks cross platform gaming and why Magnet Gaming chose to sponsor London Baby this year.
SBC: What new products/services will you have for the market in 2016?
Thomas: We entered 2015 as a new player on the market with eight great HTML5 online slots, and the reception has been fantastic.
We added another four slots to our portfolio during 2015, and we’re looking to step up and build on the success last year by releasing another eight online slots, all with the high production quality and our signature depth of gameplay.
SBC: What will be the industry buzzword for 2016 and why?
Thomas: Cross-platform, or multichannel gaming, is going to be important this year.
With the ongoing growth of mobile, the demand for content that plays well across any device is going to rise – It is not an easy undertaking to succeed in delivering across many devices, so I expect we’ll see a lot of moves in this area. Additionally I think we will be talking a lot about dot-country jurisdictions, and see a lot of news on new legislation.
SBC: Which new technology, service or consumer trend will have the biggest impact on the igaming industry in 2016?
Thomas: In the slots area, we think the WebGL technology is going to big this year. Being able to deliver high-end quality gaming experience to players will open up new kinds of experiences never seen in browsers before. It is going to attract a wide audience, if the content is right.
SBC: Why have you chosen to begin 2016 by sponsoring the London Baby Party?
Thomas: Last year was our first time sponsoring London baby, and we had a blast.
A large part of coming to ICE for us is meeting up with like-minded professionals who are great at what they do and love to party when the show closes. We’ve made a lot of friends in the late hours on February nights in London, and we aim to make a lot more this year!
SBC: Finally what must the igaming industry achieve/undertake in 2016 to ensure its continue growth?
Thomas: I believe there is huge opportunity in attracting players who do not necessarily see themselves as gamers.
Those people who do not necessarily play slot machines just to win the big prize, but who enjoy having fun playing games as a form of entertainment on par with movies and TV shows. Whoever hooks that segment and converts free-to-play gamers to real-money gamers, wins.
