5 QUESTIONS
Andrew Burke
Chief Executive Officer , Bluberi
Since Andrew Burke took the reins as CEO of slot manufacturer Bluberi in January 2020 , the supplier has grown from what had been a Canada-based Class II supplier into a significant player in the Class III slot sector , winning two awards in this year ’ s Eilers & Krejcik Slot Awards . Burke has augmented a strong team based in Drummondville , Quebec , Canada with many veterans of the Class III market , including IGT veteran Michael Brennan , now Bluberi ’ s chief product officer . Burke spoke with GGB Editor Frank Legato from Bluberi ’ s Las Vegas offices in April . To see and hear a full version of this podcast , visit GGBMagazine . com .
1
GGB : Tell us what went into forging a new team at Bluberi that has so quickly expanded into the Class III market .
Burke : Bluberi ’ s sort of an overnight success story that was about 30 years in the making , going back to the founding of the company on a rich legacy of high-quality graphics , entertainment-based games , and a really sound technology . We had this amazing core group of folks in Drummondville , Quebec , who have been working on this business for a really long time with a tremendous amount of talent . When we paired that with some of our newer key additions , Bluberi ’ s become a superpower for us . So , it does feel quick , but it ’ s been a long time in the making .
2
What are you doing differently than past operations ?
I think there are quite a few things that we ’ ve been doing differently , but our culture lies in having the Canadian team and the U . S . team really finding a tremendous amount of common ground and working together . It ’ s blended together to create one culture ... Everyone is really working together and is in sync .
3
How have investments in research and development , and other areas , helped ?
We ’ re making a ton of investments in R & D , but I think for a company our size , you ’ d be shocked by the investments we ’ ve made in product management , gaming , operations , analytics — tools to tie all of our data together and to make better decisions . We really pride ourselves for being a small company in over-indexing in all of those areas of the business , which are extremely important to take a little company and make it big , and to get where you want to go faster .
4
To that point , you are now poised to grow . What is the plan for expansion in North
America , and what ’ s next for Bluberi ? We want to keep expanding . I think we will have access to roughly a third of total jurisdictions in the U . S . By the end of 2026 , we ’ d like to be in every market in North America . We actually just started the process here in Nevada , so that ’ s about a 15-month timeline . So , our goal is to really keep pushing . We actually doubled the business year-over-year last year , and we ’ re on track to more than double the business this year . It ’ s surprised some people maybe , but we don ’ t view ourselves as underdogs anymore . We view ourselves as coming out of that emerging tier of suppliers and moving our way up into the next tier . And that ’ s really our goal — to build this into a long-lasting , really big business that competes in all segments of the market .
5
With your higher profile , your products are getting more notice . Is there any concern you ’ re becoming more of a target for copy by other suppliers ? We know it ’ s happening . We saw our first iteration of Devil ’ s Lock ( award-winner for Top-Performing Game from an Emerging Supplier at the EKG Awards ) at the Indian Gaming trade show , and people are taking notice of what we ’ re doing , and want to swim in that same lane that we we ’ re carving out and creating . We ’ re not going to lose too much sleep about it ; we know it ’ s going to happen . We ’ re trying to be diverse in our approach , and we welcome folks to make ( other ) versions , as everybody in this industry does , and we ’ re excited about all the next things we ’ ve got .
“ They Said It ”
“ Atlantic City receives 20 percent to 30-plus percent of its revenue from upstate New Jersey and downstate New York , and there ’ s no doubt it is going to have an impact on this particular market .”
— Jim Allen , chairman of Hard Rock International , on the potential impact of downstate New York casinos on the Atlantic City market
CALENDAR
June 13-15 : Canadian Gaming Summit , Metro Toronto Convention Centre , Toronto , Ontario , Canada . Produced by the Canadian Gaming Association and SBC . For more information , visit Canadiangamingsummit . com .
June 17-18 : Bet Expo , Transamérica Expo Center , São Paulo , Brazil . Produced by Bet Expo . For more information , visit betexpo . com .
June 20-23 : International Gaming Summit , Culloden Estate and Spa , Belfast , Northern Ireland . Produced by the International Association of Gaming Advisors . For more information , visit TheIAGA . org .
June 26-28 : World Gaming Executive Summit , W Hotel , Barcelona , Spain . Produced by Terrapinn . For more information , visit terrapinn . com .
July 11-14 : iGB Live ! 2023 , Amsterdam RAI , Amsterdam , Netherlands . Produced by iGB Live ! For more information , visit igblive . com .
July 18-19 : Casino Marketing & Technology Conference 2023 , Grand Sierra Resort and Casino , Reno , Nevada . Produced by Casino Marketing and Technology Conference . For more information , visit casinomarketingtech . com .
July 19-22 : SiGMA Asia , SMX Convention Center , Manila , Philippines . Produced by SiGMA Group . For more information , visit sigma . world .
August 8-10 : OIGA Conference & Tradeshow , Cox Business Convention Center , Tulsa , Oklahoma . Produced by the Oklahoma Indian Gaming Association . For more information , visit oiga . org / tradeshow .
September 19-21 : SBC Summit Barcelona , Fira Barcelona Montjuïc , Barcelona , Spain . Produced by SBC . For more information , visit SBCEvents . com .
8 Global Gaming Business JUNE 2023