Vermantia’s Tony Plaskow explains what his firm has in store for ICE Totally Gaming and London Baby!
What has your company and its services and operations learned from 2014?
2014 was a transformative year for Vermantia with significant corporate development, new content development and several new Tier 1 operators signed up to promote our content. Alongside the heavy investment into the company’s products, Vermantia has also brought in a selection of very experienced and proven executives to bolster the management team. I think it is fair to say the company very much ‘grew up’ in 2014, maturing in the way it operates, building a solid foundation for growth with a global focus.
What new products will you company be delivering in 2015?
Vermantia’s core offering is our Virtual Sports content which we deliver to both retail and interactive operators. We are developing a range of new Sports for release in 2015 with a focus on increasing the 3D graphics which so greatly enhance the players’ experience when watching a playout of their chosen sport and bet. We’ve recently completed the design and development of Badminton, Table Tennis, Cycling and Archery in partnership with the China Sports Lottery and believe these represent the highest quality graphics in the industry to date. They are as close to ‘real life’ as possible. You can check them out on our Vimeo channel below . On top that we are launching a range of innovative lottery-focused Instant Games and later in 2015 a suite of slots. It’s a busy year ahead!
What key topics and discussion do you feel will dominate industry in agenda in 2015?
It would be churlish to think we can get away from the key issues which started to take hold last year and will remain and develop in 2015. Everyone is intensely focused on increasing regulation and the tax that, inevitably, goes alongside that.
With New Jersey struggling and many operators declaring lower profits and revenue figures from their key markets, I fear 2015 will be dominated by cost-cutting and a focus on strengthening higher margin business as peripheral and/or non-core products fall out of sight.
On a more positive note I think there will be a lot more effort put into providing player-focused services and offerings. After many empty years of promise it looks like technology is finally available to truly customise gaming offerings.
Which new technology, service or consumer trend will have the biggest impact on the igaming industry in 2015?
I think we will start to see a lot of operators launch products which include some of the better ‘social’ elements that can genuinely enhance a real-money gaming experience. Rather than ‘community’ feel functionality (which works for social but not RMG) I am talking more about a ‘journey’ feel to content allowing the player to feel like they have ‘achieved progress but without that becoming essential to the gameplay or the core playability.
On the product front, multi-channel content is a ‘given’ but I think we will start to see more focus on operators providing services that enhance players’ gaming experience and allow them more flexibility to design services in tune with their own personal preferences.
Why have you chosen to begin 2015 by sponsoring London Baby 2015?
London Baby is always a great event for networking and, for Vermantia this year, it seemed a perfect platform for building our brand presence and establishing more recognition for the coming year. After a lot of development work and investment in 2014, we see 2015 as a break-out year for Vermantia and there’s no better place to hard code that statement than at London Baby.
Finally can you give SBC readers one industry prediction for 2015?
That London Baby is going to be the party of the year! Come visit us for a glass of bubbly.
London Baby! is being held on Tuesday 3 February at the swanky Cafe De Paris in Central London. The free networking evening is made possible thanks to the generosity of our sponsors. Sign up here to make sure you have a ticket.