Sweepstake casino operator VGW has moved to significantly strengthen its live casino offering through the signing of Graciella Anthony from Entain.
Having confirmed the move on Linkedin, Anthony brings a wealth of experience as the Head of Casino at VGW, having previously been the Global Head of Live and Table Games at Entain.
In her previous role at Entain, during a panel at last year’s SBC Summit in Barcelona, Anthony sought to address the gaps in the market and how player desires have evolved over a period of time.
She stated: “The gap I see at the moment is that you’ve got customers who just want digital snacking, where they’re in for seven seconds, and we don’t have products in the live space where players can come in waiting for the bus and they just want to be able to dip in and out.”
“I think it’d be something nice for the live space, and I’d be interested to see how suppliers get over this. For the short attention span that the next generation has, what kind of product would be popping up?”
She also emphasised the important role of game shows, adding: “With game shows, we see them as a kind of gateway into live casino. We see more recreational players playing these types of games and we see a lot of slot players coming to experience these kinds of games.”
VGW operates a myriad of social and sweep casinos, namely Luckyland Casino, Chumba Casino and Global Poker. The sector has been subject to a recent trajectory of growth.
Laurence Escalante, the owner of the group, recently rejected criticism from the AGA that took issue with the regulatory framework around sweepstake casinos.
According to the AGA, sweepstakes avoid regulations and licensing through a dual-currency system, however, they do still “look and play like an online casino”. It warned that the “opaque nature” could also significantly elevate the risk of bad actors having an opportunity for illegal activity.
However, Escalante cited the importance of the firm’s financial crime controls as being vital when it comes to the sector, as he described them as “the best in class”.
