FEATURE NEW ORDER
BOOMPLAYER
W W W. B O O M P L AY E R . C O M WHAT IS IT: SOCIAL PLUG-IN FOR SHARING POKER HANDS WHO IS BEHIND IT: POKERSTARS WHAT MAKES IT STAND OUT: The instantaneous ability to share hands on several social networks is something not seen elsewhere as of yet, and its integration with other promotions is a sign of PokerStars
looking to prove that it is not just a one-time novelty. The operator has already shown the cross-promotional ability of the handsharing tool, with October’s PokerStars Caribbean Adventure promotion allowing it to incorporate BOOMPlayer, its fast-fold Zoom product and its live tour. All of this also improved engagement with PokerStars’ social media feeds, with Twitter and Facebook interaction increasing during the period. CHANCES OF SUCCESS: Its attachment to the largest online poker room gives it an obvious advantage, and it has a better chance of attracting interest than if a smaller operator was to go down the same route. However, one
must wonder whether there is a limit to what PokerStars can achieve with it.
W W W.O D O B O.C O M WHAT IS IT: HTML DEVELOPER PLATFORM AND PROGRAMME WHO IS BEHIND IT: ASHLEY LANG AND PRIVATE INVESTORS WHAT MAKES IT STAND OUT: While HTML5 is currently being touted as a potentially lucrative development language, which could help operators and developers attract a much wider audience due to the platform-neutral nature of the games, creating a browserbased offering may create problems with discoverability, with games liable to be lost without heavy promotion. However, the launch of Odobo, a games development
programme and platform, may allow companies to bypass this problem. Similar to Betable in that companies can integrate their products onto a real-money platform using its Gibraltar egaming licence, the solution also allows operators to browse the titles available, selecting the ones they want to integrate into their sites. This could help open up the egaming sector to new development studios, with Odobo chief executive Ashley Lang revealing that his ?rm was already in “advanced discussions” with a number of Gibraltar-based operators to sign up to the service. Austrian developer Rabcat, which has worked on titles for Rockstar Games and Disney Interactive, has already joined the Game Developer Platform.
CHANCES OF SUCCESS: In a sector where Betable remains its only real competitor, there is enough room for Odobo to succeed. However, it would do well to follow up its launch with some high-pro?le operators signing up for the service, which would help attract more developers to the platform.
SLINGO ADVANCE
W W W. S L I N G O.C O M WHAT IS IT: SLINGO’S FIRST REAL MONEY GAMES WHO IS BEHIND IT: SLINGO CEO RICH ROBERTS WHAT MAKES IT STAND OUT: Many complain that innovation in the online gambling sector is sti?ed by games mechanics, which have barely changed since they were ?rst devised. However, Slingo’s combination of slots and bingo shows that it is possible to come up with something
completely different. While the New Jerseybased operator has seen an abrupt decline in its Zynga Slingo game on Facebook – it lost 15m monthly active users in October – Slingo has translated effectively into land-based gambling, where its slot machines perform at around 50% higher than the house average and around 20% of Slingo players are predisposed to gambling, according to CEO Rich Roberts. If it can do the same kind of business online, its move into egaming in partnership with Betable could prove to be very lucrative. CHANCES OF SUCCESS: The ?gures don’t lie – Slingo has a strong track record in attracting gamblers with a truly innovative product. Yet these ?gures come from the US market
where Slingo is a widely known game, and a marketing push will be crucial in creating the same awareness of the brand in the UK.
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