Casino tech startup attraction has been rising as the industry matures and more entrepreneurs look for ways to create new revenue streams. This can be seen across Europe where the appeal of gaming is still growing.
The rise of mobile gaming and gambling has certainly played a big part in this, with smartphone ownership rising across many nations. Furthermore, the “grey market” has turned into a multi-billion dollar industry that continues to grow steadily year on year. This means that it’s now easier than ever before to gamble online without legal consequences.
Casino tech startups are also benefiting from advancements in technology which have seen blockchain become one of the most talked about technologies of 2018 so far. There are numerous projects using blockchain within gaming, most notably Malta-based tech firm Socios.com which is currently working with football legend Roberto Carlos on a blockchain-based fan token for his former club Real Madrid.
Despite the potential of blockchain, this article will focus specifically on tech startups that are not using it in their product offering, though many of them do plan to implement the technology in future.
Alongside Denmark and Sweden, Norway has become one of the most popular locations for new online casino operators looking to get started within the Scandinavian market. There are several factors at play here but tax certainly plays a big part, with companies spending less than they would in some other European countries thanks to low rates of VAT and corporate income tax (although some firms have still received negative press regarding their operation there). Whether or not the Scandinavian countries are actually more lenient on gambling regulation is another matter, but it certainly doesn’t seem to have harmed online casino operators which continue to flock there in their droves.
The majority of these companies are start-ups but there are also a handful of larger firms looking to make an impact either by way of acquisition or building up a new offering within the region. The latter category includes Play’n GO, Evolution Gaming and Ninja Online Casino which all entered the Scandinavian market last year. Other notable companies that have entered Scandinavia in recent years include OneTouch Games, Yggdrasil Gaming and Blue Lava Studios .
Besides well-established brands entering the market, this influx has seen plenty of smaller operations join up with new firms, with several operators having launched new brands in the past twelve months. The most interesting of these is probably Expekt which recently announced a deal to acquire WiCasino, a company that was previously backed by Spil Games . This means that Expekt will have full ownership over a brand it has been working closely with for some time and can use its expertise to offer a fully-fledged product in the Norwegian market.
Other recent deals have seen Casumo Group pick up Sloty from Sweden’s Genesis Global Limited while Kindred Group went one step further by acquiring Zitro from fellow gambling giant Betsson Group . Meanwhile, Kindred also acquired three brands from Casino Cosmopol – Trada, ZamZam and Vinnare. The latter has since been rebranded as Bingo Cosmopol and continues to focus on this region while the other two brands have also continued their work in Sweden.
Lastly, it should be noted that betting exchange Smarkets has announced plans to launch a casino product in Scandinavia during Q4, but no further details are currently available about this offering. It seems likely that the company will partner up with an existing operator for this service but at present there is nothing concrete to go on. With that being said, many of the companies mentioned in this article could likely play host to Smarkets if they think it would benefit them to do so.
Casino tech start-ups within Scandinavia are investing heavily into new products in order to make the most of the potential within the market, which was recently valued at over €1bn in gross gaming revenue (GGR). While there are plenty of larger firms that have already begun work in this space, smaller operators are also looking to get involved with some interesting concepts.
One such concept involves sports betting augmented reality (AR) technology, which has already been used to some degree by Betsson Group who partnered up with the Swedish Football Association (SvFF) earlier this year. During a game between Sweden and Bulgaria, viewers were able to see the exact positioning of players on the pitch using AR technology as well as take part in virtual reality (VR) contests during stoppages in play.
Elsewhere, gaming events company Gamingzone Entertainment has used virtual reality to offer a unique viewing experience for esports fans. The firm streamed the ESL One Hamburg Dota 2 tournament earlier this year and also provided VR services at the Copenhagen Games 2018 , which was won by Swedish team Bad Monkey Gaming. While these AR and VR projects may still be in their infancy when compared to traditional casino products, they show that there is certainly scope for interesting concepts in this part of the world.
Casino tech start-ups within Scandinavia are investing heavily into new products in order to make the most of the potential within the market.
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