With the new edition of ICE London 2023 taking place in early February (7 – 9, at ExCel London), the gambling industry will be reunited once again for what promises to be the biggest edition on record of the major event, set to gather the main stakeholders of the sector under one roof. Greentube, NOVOMATIC‘s interactive gaming division, is among them, ready to showcase its latest iGaming solutions.
Ahead of the event, Michael Bauer, Greentube’s Chief Games Officer and Chief Financial Officer, spoke in an exclusive interview with Yogonet about what to expect from the event, what the company will showcase at its stand, and its plans for the year ahead.
Not long until ICE 2023! 🇬🇧
We caught our Sales and Key Account Management team going through some final checks and preparations at Greentube HQ to ensure this is the best ICE yet. We can’t wait to see you all at Booth #S7-130!
#GreentubeOfficial #ICE #Event #London #iGaming pic.twitter.com/deksaghyMP— Greentube GmbH (@_Greentube) January 31, 2023
What will attendees approaching Greentube’s booth find this time around?
Content is always key for Greentube at ICE London, and this year’s show is no different in that regard. In fact, we are looking forward to showcasing our ramped-up capabilities when it comes to product development.
We recently acquired US-based studio Present Creative – now known as Greentube US – which has a history of creating content for both the iGaming and iLottery sectors, with a range of innovative titles approved for release by the Michigan State Lottery. This deal has allowed us to build a local team on the ground that can focus on game development, graphic design work, and sales in the US.
We have also established a joint venture with Flamingocatz, which will see us work together to create new and exciting content for North American markets, leveraging the studio’s local knowledge and production capacity.
In terms of games that we will be presenting on Stand S7-150, these include Diamond Link: Almighty Wolf, the first new Diamond Link game released this year. Another key launch we will focus on is Diamond Tales: The Little Mermaid, which will hit the market soon. Based on the Hans Christian Andersen story, players collect Pearl Hearts on the Special Reel to either take with them into the Snap Drop or Diamond Tales Features or to progress the story and reach the Ocean Feature.
Furthermore, Cash Connection is another slot family that continues to grow: we are adding another stunning title to the wonderful series in the form of Cash Connection – Candelas de los Muertos – Señorita Suerte! This will also be showcased land-based, not only as an online casino slot. This slot has everything players expect from Cash Connection slots.
Finally, the purely magical release, Manic Potions, was just launched end of January. Players looking to unlock the mystery behind this 5-reel, 1024-ways-to-win slot will discover many fantastic features, including a respin bonus, a Lock & Spin bonus with a Wincreasing mechanic, and a medley of mystic modifiers.
Given ICE London’s status as one of the major global events in the industry, what are your expectations and objectives for the expo?
ICE London is always one of the most important dates in the event calendar, and we look forward to meeting our old and new partners face-to-face. Recent years have been difficult for the organizers, but I believe the 2023 event will see it return to its best.
This is a conference we have spent many months planning for, and we can’t wait to be part of it. We certainly expect to meet delegates from all over the world during the event. The immersive experience and opportunity these days provide to present and discuss key milestones of our business strategy with them are very valuable.
How would you describe the industry’s and your clients’ current demands at the time? What markets will you focus on at the expo?
North America is a strong focus for us and a region with a real appetite for our products. We now have supplier licenses in Michigan, New Jersey, and Connecticut, launching with BetMGM in both territories, adding to an agreement already in place with Golden Nugget in the Garden State.
In addition, Rush Street Interactive launched our titles on its PlaySugarHouse brand in New Jersey, including our popular hits Diamond Cash: Mighty Elephant, Diamond Cash: Mighty Sevens, and Diamond Link: Mighty Santa.
Of course, Canada is also an incredibly important region for us, where we have an Ontario license from the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO). This market implemented online regulation for the first time last year, and our entry there follows other countries’ launches, including British Columbia, Manitoba, and Quebec.
We’re delighted to start 2023 with great news from Latin America: we’ve agreed to a deal with LatamWin! This partnership will supply a selection of new and classic Greentube games to LatamWin’s customers in Chile, and soon Mexico. Read the full news here: https://t.co/LVLoGErY3x pic.twitter.com/KVIoGJMvh1
— Greentube GmbH (@_Greentube) January 5, 2023
In the last month, we have also seen Greentube expand its presence in other regions, including Latin America. Most recently, the company inked a deal with Latamwin to supply its games in Chile and Mexico. What progress, updates, and initial learnings have you seen since these launches?
We have long held that the Latin American market has strong growth potential. We have already gained traction through a series of major deals in regulated markets. For example, our products have proven very popular with operators and players in Colombia and Peru.
Both those countries have a strong land-based casino tradition, which naturally leads to our games performing strongly. Latamwin is a very strong partner in Chile, and we expect the same to be true of Mexico, too. No conversation about this area of the world is complete without a mention of Brazil, where the biggest opportunity of all lies. We continue to watch regulatory developments there with great interest.
In January, the company signed a patent-cross licensing agreement with IGT. What doors and potential do you expect the latest deal to open for the company?
The cross-licensing agreement includes valuable patents related to RGS technologies for providing games over a network. It means that IGT can now offer the global gaming industry a patent license to the combined RGS portfolios of IGT and Greentube.
From our perspective, this is a significant intellectual property agreement with IGT as we strive to expand our range of gaming products and solutions. In combination, the RGS portfolios of Greentube and IGT are state-of-the-art and represent industry prowess and leadership that will carry both parties forward.
What other industry events does the company plan to attend this year?
With North America being such an important region, we will attend SBC Summit North America in Spring. It is an event growing in size and importance as online gaming rolls out across the region. Given our successes already, we believe we have an important role to play in the market’s evolution.
We look forward to meeting and listening to industry leaders exchanging ideas about the best ways to capitalize on emerging opportunities. We will, of course, be present at other key trade shows which are regular on our calendar, like iGB Amsterdam, CasinoBeats Summit, or G2E, to name a few.
