The live casino vertical has experienced a boom in popularity in recent times as players seek the community of the casino floor from the comfort of their own homes.
As player preferences shift towards live casino products, there has inevitably been a drive for innovation in the space as developers and studios aim to appeal to the rising demand.
One such studio that is aiming to cater to live casino players is Imagine Live. Part of the Digitain Group, Imagine Live has expanded across multiple European markets in the last 12 months and has released several popular titles along the way.
Ahead of its appearance at ICE London 2024, Imagine Live Chief Product Officer Mikayel Aznauryan speaks to CasinoBeats about the rise of the studio and expansion, including its new premises in Romania.
Aznauryan also discusses what types of live casino products appeals to players as well as how a new studio like Imagine Live approaches product development in order to create what he calls
CasinoBeats: Imagine Live has opened a new studio in Romania; what will the new set-up and the additional capacity it brings mean for the company?
Mikayel Aznauryan: We are delighted to expand our Imagine Live studios to serve growing demand across continental Europe and Asia.
Capacity-wise, this shall allow us to have more than 50 additional tables and provide further expansion for themed studio live game experiences such as the recently launched American Roulette and Dragon Tiger.
CB: With a lot of competition in the market, there is some pressure on live casino providers to continually release innovative new games. How do you balance that requirement with the need to keep the games simple and intuitive for players?
MA: Live casino releases aren’t as fast as RNG or branded-based slots release cycles, in which players can quickly become bored with the game and wish to move on to the next one.
Given that we have a studio set-up, dealer training, and a particular game theme, live games take longer to come to market. Therefore, research, player preferences, and market conditions need to be factored in when coming up with a game theme for the studio.
So yes, it is a balance of market demand and forecasting how engaging the theme shall be in capturing a live casino player’s attention and recurrent attention.
Our portfolio, we believe, is intuitive and affords a deeper level of game engagement and participation. This is borne out by our attention to every little detail and the training of our live dealers, who bring the story alive to the end player.
CB: A growing area for the live casino vertical is game shows. Why do you think they are proving popular with players, and how do you expect them to develop over the next 12 months?
MA: Game shows offer an intersection between something familiar in terms of the show format. Perhaps the same way branded slots and game franchises work.
Every consumer likes a degree of familiarity or something they can relate to when considering buying goods or services. Casino players are the same, if they can relate, or can easily become familiar with a pre-existing concept, then participation levels are bound to be higher as versus a new unknown format.
Game shows, by their nature, are highly visual and entertaining for the player, which then heightens the actual experience. In terms of forward development, you are likely to see more game shows getting a reboot and coming to market, with perhaps more social interaction embedded at the game level.
CB: Which geographic markets have seen the strongest growth for live casinos, and where do you expect to see the vertical take-off in 2024?
MA: Asia is one of the largest live dealer markets as culturally casino participation has been driven by physical land-based activity. Likewise, casino players on the live dealer like the human interaction, as perhaps playing against an RNG version, as humans provide a level of trust and transparency.
Continental Europe is another growing market, which is one of the reasons we opened our studio in Bucharest. We are also seeing robust interest and pipeline growth across Latin America, which is set to become one of the largest markets over the next five years.
CB: What can people who visit the Imagine Live booth at ICE look forward to seeing?
MA: Visitors to our stand N5-410 at ICE London shall be able to see a wide range of live casino games, including our classics like Blackjack, Roulette, Baccarat, Dragon Tiger, and Sic Bo 102, as well as innovative theme variations to cater to different player preferences in Europe, Asia and globally.
We showcase Pirates Plunder, where casino players attempt to navigate uncharted waters, embrace the spirit of adventure, and unleash their inner pirate to win prizes.
Dynamite Roulette is a multiplier game sensation of explosive proportions that takes your players back to the 1800s, where 1 and 10 numbers will explode into a multiplier between x50 x1000.
American Roulette is an amazing roulette experience for players set in the opulent charm of Gatsby’s era, where every spin is a story.
Dragon Tiger is our Asian themed and fast-paced live casino game. Often referred to as the “two-card version” of baccarat, the Dragon Tiger game is known for its simplicity, yet it offers an exhilarating gaming experience that keeps players on the edge of their seats.
We’ll also showcase our new adventurous card game show, ‘Robin The Fair,’ where players will participate in a card game of choice with unique multipliers. Also, another Game show, upcoming ‘Roulette Rouge,’ that highlights the iconic ca the iconic cabarets and game that the players have never seen before.
Visit Imagine Live at our stand N5-410 at ICE London.
