Thousands of gambling industry professionals from around the world returned to the ExCeL today for more of ICE London, a packed expo floor featuring endless new products, promotions and several famous faces.
All-in Global entertained delegates with an “Ali G” impersonator, back by popular demand from his appearance at ICE four years ago. Novomatic invited the fun-loving David Hasselhoff to their stand, a spectacle drawing an enormous crowd of fans with their smartphones, waiting to catch that coveted selfie.
In celebration their recent collaboration, Ganapati hosted the world’s fastest man, Usain Bolt, at ICE London, both at their booth and at ICE VOX as a keynote speaker.
“Going forward for 2020, its all about Ganapati moving away from the Asian focus and really about being a global company. And so of course, who better to work together with than Usain”, Ganapati CEO Juliet Adelstein told CalvinAyre.com.
“We had him here, we were very lucky, I spoke a bit about us being a B2B company but having a B2C mentality which of course Usain is all about and then we were lucky enough to have him on stage and we talked about how he’s growing himself as a brand because that’s so important to us as well and now we can now work together”, she said.
While Bolt was not available for pictures or autograph signing, he did treat his fans to a quick DJ set back at the Ganapati booth after his behind-closed-door press conferences.
In addition to rubbing shoulders with the rich and famous, delegates enjoyed a selection of new products on display throughout the expo, such as Golden Rock Studio’s fresh outlook on game creation.
James Curwin, the company’s CEO, elaborated on his 30-year background in land-based casino and how he has used this deep experience to provide operators with the products and CS they require. He has hired a team of experts in their field, a rarity in today’s market, in order to provide the most innovative games to the market.
“Roulette X2 is our game that comes out in about three weeks time, it’s a twist on traditional roulette, its really slick”, he told CalvinAyre.com.
“Its got fast play chips so you can bet faster than any other roulette and the other added bonus is every single spin the customer can get double payouts, so unlike any other game you can get double payouts on this roulette for free. So we don’t believe a roulette player will play anything else”, Curwin added.
Age estimation and verification technology is of upmost important to gambling operators, especially as regulations get tighter and tighter. Yoti’s Co-Founder and CEO Robin Tombs, also the Co-Founder of Gamesys, was here today to explain how his multi-industry solution can help gambling operators specifically.
“We can age estimate people, so if you’re 30, 40, 50, you don’t have to do anything more than just look into the camera and we then age estimate you and then we delete the image, but it allows you to quickly get into your gaming terminal because you are over 18”, he said.
“So we have a threshold, like a challenge 25 threshold and if you’re close to that threshold, if you’re 18-24, then it may fail you- it should fail you- and then basically you can use the Yoti app”, Tombs explained.
“The Yoti app is a digital identity. Just once in life you download the app, you use your face, your passport or your driving license or national ID, we match your face to your face in your national ID or passport and then we know what your date of birth is”, he added.
“And then you can share, through a QR code on the machine, that you’re over 18- no other information”, Tombs said.
Live dealer betting games supplier BetGames.tv showcased their latest games at their “quirky” booth, as described by the company’s CCO Richard Hogg. Hogg emphasized the company’s global reach and appeal in an interview with CalvinAyre.com, also pointing out the innovation behind the games and new features that have been added.
“At present today, we have 10 games, two of which are brand new”, Hogg shared.
“So we’ve got a game called Speedy 7 which is quick, fun and interactive. You’re basically betting on the outcome of the next color of the card. So they’ll deal seven cards, very straight-forward, very simple. The players love it”, he revealed.
“Another one is Poker 6, which is a twist on a poker game of which we already have, so players get the opportunity to bet fixed odds outcomes on a range of our games – lottery balls games, card games, dice games and the odd quirky game like a spinning wheel”, he added.
We’ve had an amazing time at ICE London and tomorrow we look forward to the opening of iGB Affiliate London, a two-day event also taking place in the ExCeL. Check back with us for highlights from the show and if you have something to add, pitch it to us!
