Online Casino is Soft2Bet’s core vertical and across the IGaming industry, it plays a key role in driving substantial growth for operators and providers. To find out more about how Soft2Bet addresses its most important product segment, we spoke with George Wadsworth, our Head of Casino, about his work, the trends that affect his daily activities and how he deals with the range of partners and providers at both B2B and B2C levels. 

Both the consumer and B2B sides of the sector are crucial to Soft2Bet since as a company it operates at major scale on both sides of the business. 

Beneficial across the board 

With regard to this dual activity, George says: “B2B partners come back to us with really positive feedback on how we can improve aspects of our work. So that's really welcome to hear, on how we can improve daily operations on a group level, which not only benefits how they operate with their marketing but gives us some insight into how the trends are changing on a player level. 

“Running our own B2C brands and having the insight on how they run allows us to treat our B2B partners exactly how we would treat one of our own brands. We want them to be successful in their white label efforts because it makes sense for both parties to prosper.”  

The other obvious benefit for Soft2Bet’s B2B partners growing is that, combined with the scale of our B2C operations, “it helps drive up total volumes, which allows us to negotiate with our providers on a grouped aggregation level. In the long term this helps deliver bottom line value to the business and help Soft2Bet negotiate good rates with our suppliers”. 

George adds that “it's a mutually beneficial agreement” as growth generates a virtuous circle. “When our B2B partners succeed it benefits us as a group because they increase their marketing budgets, which in turn generates FTD’s, player activity and revenues.”  

Daily tasks   

Beyond these big themes, what does George’s daily to-do list look like? How much does it have to do with regulations or interacting with suppliers’ commercial directors and what are the issues he has to deal with?  

“One of my main focuses over the past 18 months has been to optimise the revenue share agreements we have with our suppliers and we've managed to do that in a considerable manner, as this produces significant savings for the group at the end of every month. We have more than 140 game providers, all with their own commercial models, each provider works on different models too, such as tiers, collapsing, aggregating and flat rate; and each deal is anaylsed and calculated to ensure we are getting the best bang for our buck.”

“The format goes on with all our providers, whether they are aggregation platforms, slot studios or live casino providers. Dealing directly with commercial directors means, when possible, I can negotiate the best deal in relation to the volume we bring and what they will offer us in return,” he explains.

While he looks for the best possible deals, George adds that it’s important to be realistic during these interactions. “In negotiations you have to actually align with what you can realistically produce, while keeping in mind industry standards and effective revenue share agreements. By entering these discussions on the assumption you're there to ‘beat the other guy’ is never going to be favorable. You are there to align expected revenues with realistic outcomes, this will always provide a beneficial relationship that in the long term will pay dividends to the savings we make.”

What makes a good casino game? 

For the non-specialist, casino games can blur into one shiny and bright mixture of flashing lights and ringing sounds, so what makes a good casino game? Why are there some games popular for many years while others quickly fade away?   

“The visuals and graphics are key in creating an engaging perspective,” says George, “and it’s important that the players have a good time and there is a strong entertainment factor. A simple concept to think about is that it's like going to the cinema. You wouldn't want to spend €20 for a 15-minute film, but you would for a quality 90-minute feature film.”

“And in online casinos that translates to quality design with strong features that lead to high engagement and user retention and player enjoyment,” he adds. “What is considered a top tier game in Sweden for example will not have the same effect in Denmark or Romania, I have been fortunate enough in having the autonomy to hire a team around me with genuine interest in their work and our industry which keeps us ahead of the curve on growing trends”

Regulatory developments 

Regulation is a key aspect that impacts the industry and Soft2Bet’s core focus is driving sustainable growth with its flagship brands such as ‘Betinia’ in these regions.

“Soft2Bet’s focus has always been improving its position in regulated markets; we handle regulations seamlessly whenever the group launches in a new market,” George says. A recent example of this policy was Romania. 

“Simply engaging with providers and agreeing commercial contracts can take some time, but equally, launching with around 40 game providers and 2,064 games in a regulated market, as we have with Don.ro in Romania, has given us a competitive advantage and has been worth the effort, the team really dives head first in delivering the biggest and most viable content offering to players,” he explains.  

“Adding regulated markets is an additional stress, but regulation is key for the sector and the responsible gambling systems that are in place at Soft2Bet enable us to monitor and, when necessary, address player behaviors. Most importantly, it allows for safer gameplay and regulation allows for sustainable, long-term business growth.”

Pressure points 

Casino is Soft2Bet’s focus and with the company growing so strongly this past year, it has taken on numerous new staff and partners. How does George deal with the pressure of managing the vertical and a team of 22 dedicated team members? Does he enjoy it and thrive under it or does he sometimes wish he worked in a lower profile field? 

“I do enjoy it,” he says with a smile. “From a corporate perspective, we are growing at such a rapid rate and the casino team has helped double revenues this year. As a result, our work has evolved and I deal with more managerial issues nowadays. I spend more time planning and mapping out incremental business plans to ensure the company can keep growing sustainably. But I wouldnt change the day-to-day, that is what keeps me ticking.” 

Concluding the interview, George says: “My team works incredibly well under pressure and delivers a huge workload in terms of business operations and on a daily basis there is a lot that goes on behind the scenes to keep everything running smoothly, I can't take nearly half the credit that these guys deserve.”

As Soft2Bet continues to grow and develop both its commercial and regulatory footprints, George says the work keeps him extremely busy and “that is what is so great about working at Soft2Bet. It’s super busy at times and there is pressure, but it’s positive because it's a fun, engaging environment and every day is a new challenge. Thanks to this, I couldn't ever see myself changing industries.”