Looking back on 2015, it was not a big year for innovation within the larger iGaming operators and suppliers, but we saw a great deal of innovation coming from start-up companies.
ICE Totally Gaming, GiGse, EiG, iGaming Entrepreneurs and incubators such as William Hill’s “WH Labs” provided spotlights for such start-ups, creating a buzz within the online gambling industry. CalvinAyre.com even launched a ventures program to connect solid ideas with investors, another sign creativity and innovation has been thriving in start-ups.
While there are only five start-ups listed below, we’d like to salute all the entrepreneurs for innovating and pushing forward new ideas in our industry throughout 2015 and encourage the same momentum, if not more, for 2016.
5) Lottoland
Lottoland powers a “betting on lottery” product where geographical borders are irrelevant and customers are able to bet on the outcome of 28 lottery offerings. In late 2015 Lottoland unveiled their B2B arm and the platform is now available for iGaming operators who are looking to tap into a new market and expand their player base. Lottoland’s customer winnings are also underwritten by their own ILS, the first ever EU-regulated ILS for a lottery betting company.
4) Casino VR
Casino VR was crowned the winner of the 2015 EiG Launch Pad and captured the attention of the industry after such exposure. Virtual Reality is a big topic in iGaming and Casino VR has developed a virtual reality poker product whereby players can watch other players’ movements around the poker table, truly mimicking an actual experience at a casino.
3) Satoshi Pay
2015 EiG Pitch winner Satoshi Pay is a company enabling nanopayments using Bitcoin with a plan to add more traditional payment methods in the future. Satoshi Pay’s service comes in handy when consumers are in need of paying for an article, paragraph or graphic from an online publisher, especially now that publishers need to find new revenue streams due to ad blocking issues.
2) Fracpot
In the fall, Colossus Bets launched a partial cash-out slot, the Colossus Fracpot game, built by CORE Gaming and now available for play on Sky Vegas. Fracpot allows players to cash-out a part of their win and continue to gamble with the rest of the bet at the slot, a similar concept to Colossus Bet’s pool betting partial cash-out technology.
1) SlotsMillion
SlotsMillion is the first 3D Virtual Reality Casino and has been developed with the sharpest of technology. As discussed above, Virtual Reality is an area of potential for the online gambling industry and SlotsMillion is paving the way with their product. With or without Oculus Rift goggles, players can become immersed in a virtual world, walking through the casino, playing games and interacting with other players.
