Interviews
Exclusive Q&A with Iustin Cojocaru owner of Eyenovation (Gunnar representative for Romania and Hungary)
Tell us about the history and current status of Gunnars Glasses.
Iustin: The idea for the glasses was born out of one woman’s frustration with her husband’s digitally induced migraines and worry about the eyes of her child who was fascinated by technology. Jenny Michelsen’s husband, Matt, was suffering from headaches after hours sitting in front of six computer screens. The headaches were a symptom of Computer Vision Syndrome, a collection of minor ailments that build up over time.
As the Rancho Santa Fe woman urged her husband to see a doctor, she wondered whether her 3-year-old son, Gunnar, was getting a jump-start on similar problems. If she and her husband believed the computers were getting to their eyes – and they didn’t start using electronics until they were in their 20s – what would happen to Gunnar’s generation? Matt and Jenny Michelsen reached out to their close friend, Joe Croft, a former Oakley engineer, about the issues surrounding CVS. They wanted to learn more about the effects of focusing on a digital image projected on a screen just inches from one’s face for hours at a time and years on end. The Crofts and the Michelsens began their five-year road to launch by talking to medical experts. One of those experts was Dr. Jeffrey Anschel, a Carlsbad, California, optometrist who has become an expert in Computer Vision Syndrome and Visual Ergonomics. He noticed the problem about 17 years ago when employees of a nearby computer company began complaining about dry and tired eyes and difficulty focusing.
They were problems that people generally didn’t experience until they were in their 40s, but these patients were in their early 30s. It didn’t take him long to make the connection between their work and the required time spent in front of a computer screen. “You can work, shop, communicate and do just about everything from your computer now, and people just don’t realize how much time they’re spending looking at the screen. The digital images that computers project are one factor contributing to Computer Vision Syndrome. The eye focuses on the hard edge of an image, but digital images don’t have a clean edge. As a result, the focus drifts forward and back, causing eye fatigue.” Anschel also noted, “that when people spend long periods focusing on something close to their face, eye muscles tend to lock into a singular position, which is tiring and can push the eye down the path to becoming farsighted. Meanwhile, the eye has to deal with light from conflicting sources, such as sunlight, that are much brighter than the computer screen. There’s also glare from the light shining into the eyes. And the angle of view for the computer screen, which is straight ahead, isn’t desirable. People tend to focus better at objects when looking down, such as reading a book.”
Croft and Michelsen set out to create a product that addresses the issues associated with digital eye-strain. They completed their first prototype in 2006. In early 2007, they founded the company and in October of 2008 they launched their first product. Investors included Carl Zeiss Vision, 50 Cent, Peter Thiel and Monster, Inc. Retail customers include Amazon, Best Buy, Fry’s, GameStop and Staples. Corporate customers include Facebook, Google, Microsoft.
Gunnar is present in Romania since 2015, when I began experiencing Computer Vision Syndrome symptoms after spending hours in front of two screens as a Poker player and began to look for a solution. This is how I’ve learned about Gunnar glasses being the no.1 brand among computer glasses brands and the next step was to become Gunnar representative in Romania and now also in Hungary.
Let us talk about the gaming glasses now. Do we really need customized special glasses for gaming?
Iustin: Yes, if we tend to be passionate gamers, we end up spending extended hours in front of our screens and we experience blurred vision, eye strain, and headaches – symptoms of Digital Eye Strain and Computer Vision Syndrome. Some compensate for their blurred vision by leaning forward, or by tipping their head to look through the bottom portion of their glasses. Both actions can result in a sore neck, sore shoulders and a sore back. GUNNAR gaming eyewear can help because is engineered to reduce digital eye strain while increasing contrast, comfort, and focus. And what is different for the gaming styles, compared to the computer styles produced by Gunnar is the shape of the temples that comfortably accommodates headsets.
What about gaming developers and others who work in gaming companies. How will they benefit from the gaming glasses?
Iustin: They can benefit too, because Gunnar glasses are made for anyone who works and plays on a digital screen for extended periods of time. Gunnar also makes glasses without the yellow tint – with CLEAR lenses, for those who work in “true colour”, such as gaming developers, graphic designers, digital artists.
What make gaming glasses special? What are the differences, for example, these glasses have with normal common-use glasses?
Iustin: Gaming glasses and computer glasses developed by Gunnar, with their amber-tinted lenses, make images appear clearer and sharper by adding contrast and, very important, filter out blue light. The lenses have an anti-glare filter that allows light from the computer in but keeps out distracting reflected light from other sources. The lenses are also designed to be fitted close to the face, creating a “micro-climate” that keeps away the dry air currents and prevents dryness of the eyes. GUNNAR GAMING glasses, compared to GUNNAR COMPUTER glasses, have a more ergonomic shape and thin temples that are compatible with wearing headsets.
How do you ensure lower weighing frames for these glasses? Does the lower weight affect the durability of the glasses?
Iustin: GUNNAR has many styles to choose from. Some frames are lighter than others. GAMING frames are usually lighter and therefore more comfortable during long gaming sessions. These light frames are good quality ad durable frames – such as RAZER FPS, RAZER RPG, Torpedo, Trooper, Vayper, Heroes of the Storm.
I have seen some articles about using wide-angled lenses for gaming glasses. Could you elaborate on this point?
Iustin: Yes, especially for gaming, a wide-angled lens provides a panoramic view, as the frame does not interfere with the viewing field of the gamer “caught in action”.
Now on to the business front. How has been the business going during this period of lock down. Some reports suggest that an increasing number of people playing games online. Does it reflect on your business?
Iustin: Yes, this has been a quite good period for our business and as our business is mainly online, we are running at full speed right now as work from home extended the hours we work in front of a digital screen and gamers play more while staying home. People became more conscious of spending long hours in front of digital screens and reached out to us to protect their eyes.
What are the best ways to buy the gaming glasses of Gunnars Glasses during the lock down?
Iustin: The best way to buy Gunnar glasses is definitely online. For Romania and Hungary our online shop is www.gunnars.ro. We are offering online advice on our chat and we implemented the “virtual try-on” feature on our site that enables anyone to try-on most of our styles.
Finally, what are the new innovations and offers that you have in store for post-COVID-19 situation? The gaming community is eager to hear any such announcements.
Iustin: Gunnar releases new frames each year and this year is no exception. At the beginning there was only the Amber lens that has a 65 BLUE LIGHT PROTECTION FACTOR – BLPF (filters out 65% of the blue light). Then Gunnar added the Clear lens with a 35 BLPF, the Sun lens that has a 90 BLPF and also Amber Max lens with a 98 BLPF, designed to be used before going to sleep or for extremely sensitive eyes. In July, Gunnar will be launching CRUZ for kids from 4 to 8 Year Olds and for kids from 8 to 12 Year Olds, as this was a concern from the beginning: children spend more and more time in front of screens and the parents want to protect their kids as much as they can. Right now, in May a new style was launched: Pendleton. Four new exciting gaming styles will be launched this summer – Lightning Bolt 360, Lightning Bolt 360 RAZER Edition, Assassin’s Creed Valhalla and a new design in partnership with Razer: MOBA. For those who are more on the hip and “vintage look” side, there will be a new style called Berkely, in September.
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Match Hype has just won two industry competitions. Talk us through your product.
Match Hype brings engagement from social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram into the sportsbook. Our technology automatically turns raw sports data into short videos full of sports and betting insights. We have the capacity to create up to a million videos daily in more than 30 languages. We also provide hosting and streaming of the videos, and we track everything in the video thanks to our own player. The high level of video experience and the scale make us unique in the market, and we believe that this innovation is extremely needed in the industry—and the judges in the competitions probably agree with us.
What technologies are you leveraging to deliver such a cutting-edge tool/product?
We have more than six years’ experience in developing dynamic video solutions for clients like Microsoft, HBO, and SAP, and a decade in high-end video production for similarly well-known clients. Match Hype is the essence of this. We have developed our own robust cloud infrastructure that enables us to work on a huge scale. We can also leverage the integration of third-party solutions that help us make the video content rich and engaging. The AI boom came at the right time to help us make the experience for the viewer even better.
Who is Match Hype aimed at?
We focus mostly on sportsbook operators, where we think we can bring the biggest value. But we also have clients on the affiliate and media side. Our “competition” at the moment are creative professionals who are able to create one video at a time. To cover hundreds or thousands of events daily, you need huge manpower. With Match Hype, you don’t need that—it’s all automated. Anybody who appreciates this level of efficiency will benefit.
The end users are any sports fans who enjoy engaging videos. So basically everybody.
Has this industry been slow to embrace video content and unlock the potential it offers? If so, why?
It’s hard for us to talk about the whole industry, as we haven’t been part of it for that long. But iGaming feels like a conservative industry where only truly meaningful innovations make it. Fingers crossed for Match Hype being one of them. We are confident because of our track record in other industries, and mostly thanks to the results of our dynamic videos that are already used by significant igaming industry players.
What makes video content so effective at customer acquisition? How can Match Hype be used in this regard?
People just love video content. In the last review, TikTok said that the average user spends around 90 minutes a day on their platform. Platforms like Spotify used to be music and podcasts only; now they are full of videos. You just can’t ignore that. Video killed the radio star, and a static sportsbook is next to die.
And what about retention? How can it be used to keep players engaged and coming back for more?
Imagine that a 30-second video gives you the exact insights to help you make a betting decision without spending dozens of minutes on different resources to gather all the information. People don’t want to read anymore. This is probably an even bigger strength of Match Hype than user acquisition.
What can we expect from Match Hype in the coming months?
We will establish Match Hype as an industry standard for dynamic video content. We’ll bring many more sports like tennis, basketball horse racing and. We are preparing real-time video use cases—for example, half-time updates in football—and new distribution channels like integration directly into streams. The potential is huge. Stay tuned.
Any final thoughts?
For the last year, we have talked with literally hundreds of iGaming experts, investors, and executives. Almost every one of them sees fan engagement as a huge topic in the upcoming months and years. And video will definitely play a key part in it.
Video says more than a thousand words. Give it a go—watch one of our 30-second videos and see for yourself.
The post Exclusive Q&A w/ Radek Pšurný, CEO at Match Hype appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
For those that might not know, can you give us a brief overview of Pick’Em Player Props?
In simple terms, the new Pick’Em Player Props product from WA.Technology is almost like a hybrid between fantasy sports and sports betting. In the same vein as traditional player props products that you see in traditional sports, players can select markets on individual players – we have just taken that model and elevated it.
During the game, players can make between two and six bet selections. For example, will Erling Haaland score more or less than 2.5 shots? The number of bet selections the player makes then determines their multiplier. By allowing bettors to unleash their sporting knowledge and provide engaging games for them to play, we are helping our operator partners to not only engage with a wider player base but also to fuel long-term retention. It really is a one-of-a-kind product and one we’re incredibly excited about. It’s already proving to be a top performer in LatAm.
Why has now been the right time to unveil Pick’Em Player Props?
Over the last few years, we’ve seen significant growth in the number of player proposition products. There are several reasons for that. Sports fans have shown a growing affinity for individual players rather than a team. They follow players on social media and engage with content featuring that player.
This reflects the wider trend we’re seeing: the new generation of fans is more in love with the players than the team itself. A great example of this is both Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. Bettors worldwide would wager on either of those players and engage with their content regardless of which team they played for or what club they supported.
The appetite for player-driven betting is increasing dramatically, resulting in a greater demand for products specifically tailored to individual athletes.
With more traditional sportsbooks, however, we’ve found that there isn’t as much depth of product regarding player propositions – aside from goal scorer markets. We wanted to change that – we wanted to deliver a fun, engaging product that helps build a sense of community among players.
Since Pick’Em Player Props is also a hybrid of fantasy and sports, it can act as an attractive tool to facilitate new market entries, as fantasy sports are not regulated like sportsbooks or iGaming. Take the US for example. In most states, operators do not need a licence to offer a fantasy sports product. This is the case for many markets around the world, too. I believe this will be an attractive proposition for operators looking to expand their international footprint, and as a truly global provider, we’re here to make that happen.
In your view, what differentiates WA.Technology’s Pick’Em Player Props from other player props products on the market?
Currently, we are the only B2B provider to offer a player propositions product that combines sports and fantasy. A handful of companies in the US offer something similar, but they are all B2C companies – we are bringing something totally unique to the B2B space.
Fantasy Sports have always been popular in the US. But over the last 18 months, we’ve seen a meteoric rise in the demand for player proposition markets; we wanted to develop a product that caters to that growth in demand and delivers something unique for our partners.
For other player props products on the market, something that is worth noting is that the design and UX are doing little to engage Millennial/Gen Z bettors. This audience demands a streamlined UX that is easy to use. Our Pick’Em version has been specifically designed with this demographic in mind, although we have been careful not to disenfranchise other age groups. We have kept the design sleek, streamlined and easy to use to deliver that. It’s extremely well-designed compared to what you might see in a more traditional sportsbook.
The game is straightforward to understand because we have fixed multipliers. This decision differentiates us from more traditional products, where the multipliers vary depending on how many bets you place. It also makes the product much more accessible for players who might otherwise not be familiar with fantasy or player props.
Another major defining factor is that we have ensured players can add multiple bets from different markets together. On most sports betting sites out there, you cannot combine player props markets. You couldn’t, for example, have a bet slip combining Erling Haaland’s Over/Under Shots and Kevin De Bruyne’s Shots on Target. We know this is frustrating for many bettors. We wanted to eliminate that barrier and elevate sports fans’ experience.
How does the level of data granularity influence the design and effectiveness of player proposition betting products, particularly in terms of player engagement and personalised betting options?
We are very fortunate that the data feed we use for our player props markets is the best. We have a wide range of insights and data analytics available, giving us an edge over other companies within the space – this is a serious differentiator.
The enhanced data range means we can deliver many more bespoke, personalised betting options to players while also getting more granular with the markets we can offer.
Our Managed Services Team, which oversees all things trading, also closely monitors the markets that are most popular with players. For example, if we see an influx in bets on ‘shots on target’, we know how to create more promotions around this particular market. We can tailor the CMS to engage better with players and create a more personalised experience.
Players can also ‘favourite’ particular players and clubs. Any market featuring that player will automatically appear when the Pick’Em Player Props application loads up.
Are there any markets where you believe Pick’Em Player Props will prove to be particularly popular? If so, why?
In all honesty, I can’t think of a market where this won’t be popular! Regions such as LatAm present an enormous opportunity for the growth of player proposition markets. I believe we can really plug a gap in the products currently offered to bettors.
Across the continent, we’ve seen players show a real passion for player-focused markets, and we’re here to capitalise on that. In Brazil, for example, if we were to create markets on Neymar, I’d anticipate this would gain much traction!
The real selling point for Pick’Em Player Props here is that we offer an extensive range of sports and markets that cater to a broad audience – but within that, we can personalise sports and bet selections not to overwhelm the player. I’d expect that markets on football will perform exceptionally well across Africa and LatAm, while countries such as South Africa may have a stronger preference for Rugby or Cricket.
Ultimately, it’s about understanding the unique preferences of players within each jurisdiction our partners operate in and tailoring the product accordingly. With teams based in various markets worldwide, we can get to grips with the local knowledge and fully understand what resonates with bettors.
In your view, what are some of the factors behind the growth of player props products in the last 12 months?
Most definitely shows how sports media companies are incorporating more player-specific content into their roster. This already has a huge impact, and I can’t see it changing anytime soon.
Whether it’s interviews with specific players, post-match analytics on performance or even the inherent growth of social media, the balance is undoubtedly tipping more towards the player rather than the team.
Personalisation will also have a considerable knock-on effect on the growth of player propositions. Bettors want more bespoke offers, specific bet suggestions and more instant content tailored to their unique playing habits. With a product like Pick’Em Player Props, you can personalise that betting experience to your heart’s content.
It also becomes much easier for sportsbooks to align with a specific user’s interests when we deliver unmatched data analytics and levels of personalisation that are available via WA.Technology’s product suite.
In short, Pick’Em Player Props gives operators the tools they need to create wide-ranging engagement opportunities without sticking to the rigid sporting calendar, where sometimes you might have to wait several days between a game. By incorporating fantasy sports, we can deliver round-the-clock content much faster, therefore meeting the demands of players. If you want to find out more – make sure to stop by Stand 1095 at SiGMA!
Behind every stellar online slot is an equally stellar maths model. These are becoming more experimental as the industry flirts with an increasing array of innovative new mechanics. We spoke to Pablo Martinez, Math/Design Lead and Founder at maverick game studio Peter & Sons to find out more.
Do you have to be a maths genius to build a slot machine?
Nah, you don’t need to be a maths genius. It’s more about having the right mix of skills and loving what you do. You need to play a lot of games, see what’s working out there, and understand what makes them fun. Knowing maths helps, sure, but it’s more about creating something players want to keep coming back to.
Peter & Sons is known for making games that dare to be different, visually and thematically. Is the underlying math equally experimental?
Definitely! We love pushing boundaries, both in how our games look and how they play. Sure, it’s a bit of a gamble to have a bunch of games with unique mechanics, but we’re all about trying new things. Games like Peter Hunter and our upcoming Muddy Waters are great examples — they bring fresh gameplay and new experiences to the table. Each year, we try to put out at least one or two experimental titles, keeping things interesting while mixing them with more familiar styles.
Do you come up with the maths model first and then build the game around that? Take us through the process of building the game from start to finish.
We usually start with an idea for the mechanics first. We make a quick prototype to see if the concept can work with the maths. Then we bring in the art team to brainstorm themes that will fit well. Once we have a basic prototype, we go through a bunch of tweaks and changes until the art, mechanics, and maths all feel right together. It’s a back-and-forth process where we’re constantly finetuning everything to get the best balance.
Why do you think a mechanic like Megaways was so successful?
Megaways took off because it’s a fun, exciting mechanic that gave players something fresh, but smart brand marketing really helped it catch on.
Is there pressure as a slots developer to come up with the ‘next’ Megaways?
Not really. Coming up with new mechanics is always fun, but it’s not the only way to make a hit. Plenty of top games are just clever twists on classic mechanics. It’s more about creating a great experience that keeps players coming back, whether it’s something brand new or just a fresh spin on something more familiar.
Which slots are more popular, high or low volatility, and why do you think that is?
It depends on the market, but in some unregulated markets — and especially with some operators — high-volatility slots are really popular. A big reason for this is streamers. High-volatility games make for exciting content, so they get a lot of attention and hype online. That thrill factor really draws players in.
Which is your favorite Peter & Sons mechanic and why?
Right now, I’d say the fishing mechanic in our upcoming game Muddy Waters. It’s a new twist on the fishing genre that really brings something fresh to the gameplay. It’s exciting to take a familiar theme and make it feel totally different.
Tell us about the mechanics in your latest release, Barbarossa Revenge.
Barbarossa Revenge is a pirate-themed, high-volatility game with 243 ways to win. It’s a DoubleMax game, meaning the multiplier doubles with each cascade. You’ve also got Multiplier Jumps and a Cashout feature that guarantees wins. During Free Spins, the multipliers don’t reset and can keep growing unlimited. With a max win potential of 30,000x the bet, this game is a real thrill!
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