NEW ORDER FEATURE
W W W. B E D E G A M I N G .C O M WHAT IS IT: UK CASINO, BINGO AND KENO SOFTWARE COMPANY, DEVELOPING HTML5 GAMES WHO IS BEHIND IT: MICHAEL BRADY (EX-CASHCADE), CROWN BINGO FOUNDER DAN SMYTH AND SPORTS GAMING CEO JOE SAUMAREZ SMITH WHAT MAKES IT STAND OUT: One of a minority of developers to operate purely within the HTML5 space (so far), Bede Gaming ensures it is not constrained by the bureaucracy of the app stores associated with various mobile devices. Also, rather than looking primarily towards the egaming industry, the technological reins have been largely handed to those moving into egaming from the ?nancial services industry, thus bringing strong technical capabilities, which Bede’s
W W W.V S J A C K . C O M W W W. B U D DY B E T.C O M WHAT IS IT: MULTI-PLAYER PEER-TO-PEER BLACKJACK WHO IS BEHIND IT: VETERANS OF VARIOUS OPERATORS INCLUDING BWIN AND BODOG WHAT MAKES IT STAND OUT: A blackjack game designed by poker players, it attempts to meld the best characteristics of both. The playeron-player element is itself unique, and ought to increase customer involvement both by introducing a greater skill element and making beginners’ money theoretically last longer by giving them the pros and cons of the dealer seat on a regular basis. It is also betatesting tournament blackjack, adding a new dimension to the game in a way which ?ts with its general playerfriendly image, while the multi-table functionality theoretically should help with engagement for those unaccustomed to the speed of this particular variant of the game. CHANCES OF SUCCESS: It will be interesting to see whether it can win over seasoned blackjack players as much as it manages to introduce new players to the game. Unlike traditional blackjack, it needs a reasonable amount of player liquidity to ?ourish. WHAT IS IT: SOCIAL SPORTS BETTING OPERATOR WHO IS BEHIND IT: JARROD EPPS, AN EXPAT AMERICAN BASED IN PRAGUE WHAT MAKES IT STAND OUT: Having been devised by individuals with minimal experience in the egaming industry, BuddyBet aims to be more player-friendly while also seeming more experimental in the weeks since its soft-launch. The real-money and play-for-fun dichotomy is common to a number of other similar social sports start-ups. However, the playing for pride aspect is what sets BuddyBet apart by introducing the opportunity for players to set forfeits for the loser. Furthermore, the marketing strategy of the company – targeting lesserwatched matches within popular sports, such as lower-league English football – could prove both cost-effective for BuddyBet itself as well as providing a nuance which makes it appeal to a demographic worried about being ignored. A number of other social betting businesses are also beginning to emerge, such as French-licensed SoFun, whose Betkup product allows friends and colleagues to bet against one another in prediction leagues for realmoney. Another new arrival, BragBet, puts a twist on this by bringing people together to bet as teams, with one member of the team having the ?nal say on which bets are placed each week. CHANCES OF SUCCESS: With other not too dissimilar competitors out there, the concern for BuddyBet will be whether its own differences will be sufficient to elevate it above the pack in an increasingly competitive space.
W W W. G O L D E N B OY S B E T.C O M WHAT IS IT: FINANCIAL BETTING OPERATOR WHO IS BEHIND IT: FORMER CITY TRADERS; HEADED UP BY FORMER CALLKEY INTERNATIONAL CEO MARTIN LINHAM
WHAT MAKES IT STAND OUT: It is essentially the only operator out there to offer its range of ?nancial markets-based egaming products, the invention of which shows plenty of imagination. The operator’s ?agship game is ‘Millionaires’, whereby players can win £1m by correctly predicting the ?nal digit of eight different ?nancial markets, and the Isle of Man licensee’s other products follow a similar theme of applying a loose ?nancial element to more traditional games. For example, ‘Scratch Tickers’ is an online scratchcard where players win by matching three stocks, while
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