Pragmatic Play has vowed that it will continue to build upon the “huge strides” made to-date within Latin America, as the supplier also aims to maintain its vertical-wide build-out throughout 2022.
These comments come after the group was named Casino/Slots Developer of the Year at the SBC Awards 2021 ceremony that was held at Evolution London, hosted by Kirsty Gallacher and World Cup winner Marcel Desailly.
Among the 34 companies to celebrate victories at the eighth edition, the event brought together an audience of betting and gaming industry professionals to recognise the achievements of the top-performing operators, affiliates and suppliers
Commenting on how it felt to win the award, Julian Jarvis, chief executive officer at Pragmatic Play, said: “Everyone in the company was absolutely delighted! There were plenty of celebratory messages in our company group chats around midnight when we found out that we had won.
“We have a culture of hard work and dedication at Pragmatic Play and are driven by our internal goals, but with that being said, we still appreciate receiving such esteemed industry recognition.”
Giving his thoughts on the company’s achievement, Jarvis revealed that he believes that the strength of Pragmatic’s overall portfolio “played a role” in this award.
“We have the highest rate of slot production amongst any provider, and this facilitates the creation of a wide number of games that cater to various player types.
“The challenge of achieving both quality and quantity in product delivery is a constant challenge for slot producers, and I think the judges appreciated that we are doing this like no-one else in the industry.”
He also highlighted the “success” of the developer’s 2021 releases including titles such as Gates of Olympus, YumYum Powerways and Fruit Party 2, adding: ”New titles have shown the ability to perform as well as successes like Wolf Gold and Sweet Bonanza.
“I think the judges noticed not only the range of our portfolio but also that we are continuing to create new games with true long term performance potential.”
Reflecting on the company’s highlights of the past year, Jarvis described the company’s overall commercial success as having been “incredible,” revealing the company’s particular delight with its growth in emerging regions.
“We have made huge strides in LatAm especially, securing deals with tier one operators such as Betplay, Juego en Linea and Rushbet to name just a few,” he remarked.
“To be at the forefront of such an exciting region is a testament to the execution of our strategy by our entire team.”
Furthermore, he highlighted the “huge deals” the company has made in other expanding markets with Hollywood Bets in South Africa alongside European deals with Optibet, TopSport and SuperSport in Latvia, Lithuania and Croatia respectively.
“While we pride ourselves on the strength of our portfolio overall, it’s always great to see a few titles stand out from the pack and become such huge successes,” he added.
Turning his attention to the obstacles the company overcame, he noted that there is “obviously” an increased pressure to navigate and comply with “ever-increasing” regulatory requirements and opportunities.
He explained: “In terms of requirements, the ability to adapt to regulation at the game level where required, as well as obtaining and maintaining an increasing number of certifications, approvals and licences of different types has been crucial.
“Thankfully, we have significant experience in our team spanning many years which has helped us to be among the fastest and most responsive to new regulations so that we can remain compliant and support our clients in multiple territories.”
Drawing a close with what we can expect to see from Pragmatic Play in the coming year, Jarvis revealed: “To sum it up, you’ll see ‘more of the same’ but at a bigger and better level of course. We will continue to expand our already huge distribution into more new markets and deliver even more value to our clients.
“From a game perspective, of course, we will continue to be the leading slot provider in the industry, producing games at a rate that is unmatched, with a focus on quality, innovation and game differentiation to cater to a wide range of players.”
He concluded: “Our live casino offering and capacity will continue to grow, and with the full integration of our Chroma Solutions Technology, we will provide operators with the chance for fully bespoke digital branding on their live casino tables.
“Our bingo and virtual sports offerings will continue to develop in an agile and disruptive manner, as we deliver to more and more clients in these verticals.”
