New rules with an old-school approach – Letsbet’s Michael Pedersen

Michael Pedersen, CEO of recently launched operator Letsbet.com, talks about the importance of standing out, big wins and old-school values

NEW online casinos are being launched every week, it seems. For many, it is an investment opportunity that will offer ‘x’ return over ‘y’ period.

The big numbers, however, are reserved for those that understand the market implicitly and who dare to be different. Letsbet.com went live earlier this summer with a vision to “stand out” and, within its first quarter of operation, paid out a €6m-plus win to a player.

Letsbet has been established with a vision to stand out – so what’s different about the Letsbet offer?

“It’s been essential for us to bring a new concept to market and to dare trying something new and not play it safe. That’s just who we are. Our mission is ‘To remove the feeling of isolation from the online casino experience’.

“We believe human beings are inherently social creatures and like being around other people, as long as they can control the level of interaction. For us, it’s about creating a social atmosphere online in a casino environment. We do that primarily through our in-house and top-notch live streaming studio, where our hosts entertain players with a range of casino content i.e. game reviews as well as daily news, gossip and quizzes where players can win extra goodies. We call it a ‘casino late-night talkshow’.

“We are live every evening. We are the first online casino in the world to offer a casino talkshow to players. In addition, players can communicate with our live hosts and other players through our proprietary ‘social messenger’, which is a central feature.”

Letsbet recently paid out a multi-million-euro jackpot on NetEnt’s Mega Fortune – how important are these wins in establishing credibility?

“We are very excited to have celebrated our first multi-millionaire after just three months of operation, especially an epic €6.7m – the biggest Mega Fortune win since 2016.

“These large jackpot wins are, in my opinion, the best marketing/PR tool in the industry as it immediately puts a stamp of trust on the brand and LetsBet immediately stands out from the crowd.

“In an industry with some 20 new casinos being launched monthly, establishing trust is probably the most essential success criteria for a new brand.”

How are your affiliate relationships developing, after all they love gaming brands
that ‘sell themselves’?

“LetsBet is enjoying a lot of attention from affiliates and it’s clear our unique product – with focus on live streaming and social features – has played an important role in establishing affiliate relationships. It’s clear our product is delivering on the promise of increasing retention rates and extending session times, which results in better value for all stakeholders including affiliate partners.

“Apart from the product, we pride ourselves in building great relationships with affiliates. We respect and see them as long-term business partners. We believe in being transparent and honest with each other and proactively seek feedback from them, which seems to be appreciated.

“I am strong believer in integrity, honesty and treating each other with respect… We must keep promises, honour agreements and not try to find loopholes”

“It’s however clear that many affiliates have been burnt – there are still cowboy operators around and affiliates have learned their lesson.

“At events, one can almost sense the initial mistrust and shallow conversations, only taking place as we need one another to generate profit. It’s an unfortunate situation.

“Since the beginning of time, establishing trust is the first step in any commercial transaction and I believe we have a lot of work to do still between operators and affiliates.

“I am strong believer in integrity, honesty and treating each other with respect. Being kind, being transparent. We must keep promises and honour agreements and not try to find loopholes and take advantage in the name of profit. I might be old-fashioned, but what happened to these values; to doing the right thing? Treating others as we want to be treated? Putting people before profits or at least at the same level?

“Don’t get me wrong, there are a lot of great people with great values in this industry, but we can surely do better and – as Michael Jackson sang – it starts with the man in the mirror.”