IGT-UK recently acquired Manchester-based mobile gaming company Million-2-1 to mark its foray into the mobile gaming market.
Post this transaction, Chris Sheffield, CEO, Million-2-1, has been chosen for the new role with IGT-UK as Director and General Manager of the company's remote gaming business, reporting to Robert White, IGT-UK Managing Director.
In this role, Sheffield will retain responsibility for Million-2-1 as well as managing the interests of IGT-UK in interactive digital television, mobile gaming and Internet gaming markets.
For its part, Million-2-1, a provider of interactive competition, lottery and SMS games on the mobile phone, had recently commenced development of Java-based mobile versions of a number of Barcrest Group's industry-renowned slot machine games.
In order to know more about company's plans, Bulletbusiness.com's Ritesh Gupta spoke to Sheffield. Excerpts from an interview:
Bulletbusiness.com: Considering that Million-2-1 has taken on the management of a new gaming portal, Kerching.com (which has a suite of Barcrest branded java games for mobile phones), what are your future plans?
Chris Sheffield: Million-2-1 is the developer of the mobile java games hosted at www.kerching.com and our plan is to continue to develop, market and operate a large portfolio of IGT-UK brands and content onto mobile phone.
We will be launching a new mobile gaming title every few weeks for the foreseeable future based on famous slot and gaming brands, which the public already know and love.
Bulletbusiness.com: What according to you are the major challenges in mobile gambling arena (in terms of expanding your operations)? And how are you gearing up for them?
Chris Sheffield: Million-2-1 has invested £5 million and five years in developing technology, people and know how for the development and operation of mobile games. The key challenge for any supplier in the mobile space is to ensure quality and compliance of products.
The deal with IGT-UK provides Million-2-1 with access to some of the world's best gaming content and brands and Million-2-1 provides IGT-UK the skills and experience to bring such games to market.
The key challenge to other entrants into this space are firstly to build platforms which can handle the nuances of the mobile world, secondly ensure their games are legal and compliant and finally to ensure that the games are actually playable and have longevity and many current offerings lack this.
Bulletbusiness.com: Do you think operators' understanding of gambling is limited and at the same time they also aren't open to gambling services?
Chris Sheffield: The operators have been confused around the area of gaming and the premium rate scandals etc. last year have not helped this area. However, the operators do now see a major opportunity in this space and I think this is helped by the entry of respected operators such as IGT-UK into the marketplace.
Bulletbusiness.com: Earlier this year, the industry witnessed Ladbrokes' first branded mobile game that also happened to be a play-for-cash mobile game. In your opinion, where is cash or prize-based mobile gambling headed?
Chris Sheffield: Small stake gaming for both cash and prizes is ideally suited to mobile phones and it is clear that over the next five years the mobile will become the favoured device for lottery ticket sales an area which offers huge potential both for State regulated and commercial lottery operators.
Bulletbusiness.com: What according to you is the key when it comes to enticing consumers with cash or prizes in the arena of mobile gambling? Is it conversion of popular formats such as Endemol's Deal Or No Deal, the amount of cash etc?
Chris Sheffield: The quality of the game and brands is very important and the long-term winners in this space will be those operators offering the best brands and playable games on mobile. Too many of the current products in this space lack quality and clearly have not been developed by gaming experts.
Bulletbusiness.com: What's your viewpoint about customer's preferences when it comes to mobile gambling in Europe? Could you provide an insight into demographics, their propensity to play or choice of games?
Chris Sheffield: Slot machine and lottery style games are most suitable to the mobile phone as they are simple to use and do not require further education for the customer. The typical mobile gambler is clearly going to be younger and more technically savvy than land-based punters and it is my view that the mobile customer has less time to spend on a game per session (snacking).
Bulletbusiness.com: What according to you is most critical when it comes to maximising mobile revenue from a mass-market customer base? Do you foresee both mass and niche mobile revenue for a company like yours in the time to come?
Chris Sheffield: The key to success in this area is clearly to get the distribution right via marketing spend and affiliate type relationships – building long-term distribution partners requires great products, good account management and a lot of trust. And this is where long-established operators such as IGT-UK have massive strength and credibility.
Bulletbusiness.com: Considering your company's expertise in reverse auction concept, what kind of progress has made on soft-gaming mobile products? How have preferences of your key target groups evolved in this arena?
Chris Sheffield: Million-2-1 invented the reverse auction concept and now holds patents for this invention around the world. It is a great example of a totally new invention for gaming specifically conceived for mobile phone.
We have operated this game for five years and have over two million customers in the UK alone and developed enviable knowledge of soft mobile gaming, the CRM platforms behind this and what makes a great mobile game and not.
All of this expertise and experience is now being used to develop new games and content utilising the IGT-UK brands, content and gaming expertise, which we believe, is an unbeatable combination.
