Interviews
Peter & Sons- Maths and Mechanics
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!
David Natroshvili, Founder of SPRIBE, talks about company culture and why office working is the key to communication for any organisation
Home working, office working or hybrid working. What’s best when it comes to fostering a successful company culture?
SPRIBE started off as a hybrid working company with our employees having a lot of flexibility over where they worked from and the schedules they worked to. This served us well during the pandemic when companies were forced to send staff home during the height of lockdowns. But since then, and given the rapid growth we have experienced, we have opted to gradually switch to a full-time office set-up for our employees. Why? Because there are so many benefits to having employees working from the office, for both the organisation and those working for it. We’ve tried to make the transition as seamless as possible by creating comfortable and inspiring workspaces, offering regular team-building activities and ensuring we run plenty of social events each month, including poker tournaments and Happy Friday which brings together all team members to round off the week.
Can you talk through some of the benefits of office-based working?
The biggest benefit is the connection that forms between team members and the different teams that make up the organisation. Communication is key to a business – and individuals – achieving objectives and reaching its/their full potential, and communication is so much easier when everyone is under the same roof and can speak face to face. It allows for deeper collaboration, faster problem-solving and more cohesive processes. I think there are serious mental health benefits, too – by working from an office, people feel part of a community and don’t become isolated from their team and the wider organisation. Without its people, company culture is little more than a document of ideas and processes but when you bring the people that make up the organisation under the same roof, it comes to life.
What does SPRIBE’s company culture look like?
We have always focused on helping our employees strike a good work/life balance, and we go to great lengths to support their well-being and mental health. This includes fun activities like our weekly Happy Friday and regular social events but also ensuring that each team member feels valued and that they are supported and encouraged by senior management and team leaders. Personal development is a big part of employee well-being, so we offer plenty of opportunities for personal and professional development. This, combined with providing the right environment for our employees to work in, ensures each member of the team can thrive, develop and grow, which in turn makes them feel like they have a long future with SPRIBE and that their position within the company is valued and secure.
How will you ensure your company culture evolves alongside changing employee expectations and wider working trends?
The way I see it, talented people want to contribute to a successful business so long as their involvement is valued and rewarded. This has always been the case and won’t change anytime soon. At SPRIBE, we want to attract the best talent in the business and so long as we ensure this talent feels valued and is given the environment and opportunities to reach its full potential, while striking the right work/life balance, we will remain a highly attractive organisation to join regardless of the latest company culture trends and employee expectations.
When you founded SPRIBE, did you expect it to become the success that it is today?
Yes and no. I knew that we had an incredibly strong founding team and that when we came up with the concept for Aviator, the original iGaming crash game, that we’d come up with something big. But no, I couldn’t have seen it becoming the phenomenon that it has – Aviator is now live with more than 4,500 online casinos and has 42 million active players a month. This has allowed us to continue to innovate and be pioneers, especially when it comes to our marketing deals with the UFC and A.C. Milan. It’s this that ultimately makes SPRIBE such a great place to work – we are doing things that other companies could only ever dream of.
Can you tell us about how Lickd helps content creators in the games space?
Lickd has the world’s biggest catalogue of music for content creators. With over 1.4 million tracks: including songs by Dua Lipa, Coldplay, Justin Bieber and more. We believe gaming creators have the right to access the same high quality mainstream music that all other creative industries have, and that’s why we’ve been campaigning for 8 years.We won’t stop until content creators have access to every mainstream track that TV, Advertising and Movie producers have.
Lickd works with a a lot of gaming creators already, like MARCUSK (who used seven tracks through Lickd in one video), as well as Smallish Beans, Wifies and Parker. We are proud to have helped these content creators take their content to the next level.
We also work with brands like EPIC Games, specifically on their Support a Creator Program – where Lickd helps to protect YouTube creators from any copyright claims that may arise content that includes music from the game. We are a long-term partner of theirs and love their approach to investing in their creator community.
How does licensed music help gaming creators grow their audience?
It is a huge obstacle for creators, especially those at the start of their career, to find tracks that fit their audience and the tone of their videos. The wrong track could mean your video leaves a small dent or doesn’t land at all.
For creators who use Lickd both in the gaming space and beyond, licensed tracks can help capture the essence of what the video is aiming to achieve in a simple manner, recognisable music helps put it in front of viewers and grabs their attention.
Recently, gaming content creators Chris and Mat from TwoSync had this to say about our service:
‘Lickd is the only platform that’s convinced music labels to allow creators like us to use chart music. There’s over 500K tracks to choose from(actually there are 1.4 Million, but who scrolls that far), that’s more than all of the stock websites combined, that is insane! Our AdSense actually improved with chart music.’
Can you tell us about your recent gaming video analysis data, and what it means for the wider industry?
We analysed 5,000 of the best performing games related videos that used mainstream music to see which tracks stood out.
The results showed that there isn’t necessarily a recency bias to what gamers listen to with Coldplay’s 2008 track Viva La Vida, coming 2nd and John Newman’s 2013 hit Love Me Again at number 7. Most surprising perhaps was the appearance of Howard Shore’s iconic Lord of The Rings score with At the Sign of the Prancing Pony in third place, showing gamers taste is more wide-ranging than just current pop artists.
The data underlines the breadth of what is capable with licensed music and the variety on display showcases how important licensed music is to gaming creators.
What can we expect from Lickd in 2025?
Our mission in 2025 is the same as it was in 2024 to give content creators of any shape and size access to the same mainstream hits that other creative industries have.
We are always looking for ways to innovate with games studios in the way we have with EPIC. For example, we have a product that allows us to stream rights cleared music into virtual spaces (kind of like in store radio, but for virtual spaces).
We would also love to work with a few more brands and studios on helping them use mainstream music in their social content and have built our Brand Tool for just that purpose.
Can you imagine being able to cut your social game trailers with recognisable mainstream music and make them awesome again? Well, talk to us and you won’t have to imagine it any longer.
The post Exclusive Q&A w/ Mark Cantwell, Marketing and Partnerships Director at Lickd appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
Conferences in Europe
The Power of Data in Esports Betting: An Exclusive with DATA.BET’s Head of Sales Otto Bonning
The European Gaming Congress 2024 concluded with resounding success, attracting nearly 200 participants who benefitted from premier learning and networking opportunities. In this exclusive Q&A, we’re proud to feature Otto Bonning, Head of Sales at DATA.BET, our Badge, Bracelet & Networking Break Sponsor, discussing the power of data and how DATA.BET leverages it to create innovative esports tools.
Otto, thank you for sitting with us for this interview! Could you start by sharing a bit about yourself and your experience at the European Gaming Congress 2024 from moderating the panel on “The Future of Esports: Opportunities and Challenges”?
The European Gaming Congress 2024 left a lasting impression on me, standing out for its particular format and engaging atmosphere. The event’s structure seamlessly blended educational panels packed with industry insights and an open, relaxed environment that encouraged meaningful interactions with both leaders and potential partners.
During the panel discussions, Lasha Kupatadze, CPO at Atlaslive, a leading B2B software provider, focused on key aspects such as personalization and the evolution of sportsbook tools to meet user demands. I appreciated Lasha’s emphasis on adapting products for operators, as these are critical discussions that align with the challenges the industry is actively navigating
SavageTech CEO and Founder Tom Jang Lemke, a former semi-pro esports player, recalled starting out by managing trading manually for his sportsbook while analyzing streams. He delivered a compelling B2C perspective on esports opportunities and overcoming challenges. What I particularly appreciated was how the panel’s topic was explored from different viewpoints, creating more value for all congress participants and sparking meaningful discussions.
DATA.BET places a strong emphasis on leveraging official data for developing new tools. Could you explain how official data contributes to enhancing user experience and driving revenue growth for your clients?
Official data is fundamental to DATA.BET’s approach in esports, where precision and reliability are paramount.
Firstly, official data from trusted sources like Bayes Esports and GRID, who work directly with tournament organizers, ensures the highest accuracy in betting, reducing errors and enhancing the overall user experience. Combining all that with our own trading and models makes for an industry leading esports product.
Also, official data has allowed us to expand our content offerings significantly. For example, the number of CS markets has increased by 33%, and betting lines now remain open twice as long compared to platforms without official data, providing players with a broader range of options.
Moreover, official data minimizes risks by providing precise and consistent information, allowing operators to build assurance and offer a transparent betting experience. When used effectively, official data enhances platform reliability, expands market opportunities, and improves user retention – ultimately driving higher revenue and profitability for operators.
DATA.BET’s Data Feed combines Odds Feed, Live Score Feed, and in-house Risk Management. How do these elements work together to create a seamless experience for operators and their users?
DATA.BET’s premium Odds Feed, Live Score Feed, and in-house Risk Management are all powered by official data from our partners. With a low latency of 50-200 milliseconds and official data sources, our feed delivers unmatched speed and reliability.
Operators benefit from extensive coverage of 30+ disciplines and dynamic markets, including Player Props and in-game events, while integrated Risk Management ensures balanced exposure and maximized profitability.
Our official data allows us to keep an open betting line twice as long as competitors. Also, the synergy between our highly qualified traders, who possess deep expertise in their disciplines, and the advanced mathematical models developed and regularly updated by our Data Science team enables us to deliver exceptional value to operators, enhancing their performance and profitability. For example, over the past year, our clients have experienced up to 90% GGR.
Your risk management system is an integral part of your product offering. What sets DATA.BET’s Risk Management apart from other solutions on the market?
DATA.BET’s Risk Management system distinguishes itself by combining the expertise of our dedicated in-house team with advanced automated tools, providing operators with risk mitigation and platform security.
Our team of experts thoroughly analyzes betting patterns, particularly those of potentially fraudulent players. With a deep understanding of behavioral tendencies and statistical insights, our specialists identify reliable and unreliable players, proactively anticipate possible issues, and vigilantly monitor for fraud. This data-driven approach enables them to define user profiles based on in-game actions, creating a nuanced view of player behavior that enhances risk assessment.
They also work closely with the Trading team, providing them with a broader, more detailed perspective on user activity. This collaboration is precious when suspicious actions are detected, as our team’s in-depth analysis helps evaluate groups of players, assess risks, and make informed decisions on appropriate next steps.
Given the rapid growth in the esports industry, what future trends do you foresee in how data-driven solutions will impact the betting market?
Firstly, as modern UI takes central stage in sportsbooks, platforms must offer advanced personalization options, letting operators adapt seamlessly to their branding and customer preferences. Our new Single Page Application (SPA) is designed to meet these evolving needs, with features that prioritize flexibility, speed, and a seamless user experience.
Secondly, we expect to see more features from traditional sports adapted and enhanced for the esports environment. This trend will bring proven engagement tactics into esports, tailored to its audiences’ specific dynamics and preferences. For instance, Bet Builder enables users to combine multiple markets into a single bet, offering a tailored and interactive experience that appeals to savvy bettors. Operators benefit through increased stake sizes, broader market utilization, and valuable data insights for tailored marketing efforts.
Furthermore, as there is still demand for casual, fast-bet options, betting solutions will incorporate features inspired by casino gaming, adapting them to esports’ individual tempo and appeal.
Lastly, what advice would you give operators looking to stay competitive by incorporating Esports data feeds and risk management systems?
Operators aiming to stay competitive should choose providers with a full range of offerings, including official data, strong trading teams, reliable data feeds, and versatile tools like Bet Builder, ensuring optimal profitability and player engagement.
Official data from trusted sources will be vital as it ensures accuracy, minimizes risks, and builds user confidence, which is crucial in the fast-paced, highly competitive esports market. Beyond speeding up processes, it enables operators to maximize profitability by offering more reliable options, keeping betting lines open longer, and reducing errors that can lead to financial losses.
Lastly, to succeed in esports, it’s essential to understand your audience’s behavior and stay informed about industry trends. Keep track of tournaments and invest in learning how to promote effectively. While implementing progressive features can enhance your platform, generating significant revenue from esports without a solid marketing strategy is challenging. Numerous examples exist where operators leverage marketing activities to promote major esports tournaments in their projects. It provides an additional boost to the events and drives substantial revenue.
Special thanks to Otto Bonning for expertly moderating the insightful panel “The Future of Esports: Opportunities and Challenges”.
The post The Power of Data in Esports Betting: An Exclusive with DATA.BET’s Head of Sales Otto Bonning appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
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