Takara Gaming Group’s COO, Albert Yu, explains the concept behind the company’s innovative open platform which creates new opportunities for land-based operators to bring fresh content to the casino floor.
ICE 2018 saw Hong Kong-based Takara Gaming Group present its open platform, which aims to create new partnership and content opportunities for content providers and casinos.
“We work with a range of content, including but not limited to social gaming, online and mobile gaming that you don’t see on a normal slot machine,” said TGG’s COO, Albert Yu.
“All of the contents on casino floors these days are quite similar thematically and that’s a status quo that we’re looking to challenge.”
Founded in 2014, the company utilises an open platform to connect land-based casinos with established online content providers, and vice versa.
“We’ve recently signed with a listed company in China,” Yu explained.
“They have a user database of over 10 million, so it’s clear that people in China are playing their games.
“They were eager to bring their content to the land-based sector but previously they didn’t have a distribution channel and their options were limited, given that casino gambling is illegal in China, other than Macau.
“We’ve partnered with them, they’ll be putting their content on our open platform, and through our sales channel we can deliver their games to casinos worldwide.
“We’re working very hard to get regulatory approval in as many jurisdictions as possible, and we’re aiming to enter Macau this year, while we already have GLI accreditation in a range of countries, from Peru to the Philippines.”
Yu suggests that the concept behind TGG will be attractive for casinos, as it will allow them to access a new player database.
“Most of the customer base who play these games are not your typical casino slot players, most are mobile players, but we will work with both the casino and the content provider to incentivise these players to attend the casino, maybe we can also bring casino players to the mobile platform. It’s a win-win situation for both sides,” he continued.
For TGG, content is key, with the company harnessing its platform technology to bring fresh creativity and innovation to the casino floor.
“What the land-based market currently offers in terms of content is like a set menu, but TGG invites operators to a buffet, where they can select content based on specific themes and math models to suit their customers’ preferences,” Yu added.
“We support our clients throughout that process and we can even help match them with a specific game studio that provides what they’re looking for.
“We’re innovating by bringing in fresh content from outside the industry, for example, we’ve partnered with several game developers in Japan, working in the pachinko and pachinslot industries, and its intriguing to be able to bring that concept to a slot machine.
“With Japan legalising integrated resorts and the first casino in the country coming online in five or six years, that market could offer some real opportunities and we already have content in place that will appeal to players.
“As our tagline – Expand the Horizons – proclaims, anything is possible, whether we’re bringing online content to offline or offline to online, our aim is create a whole new gaming entertainment experience where the sky is the limit,” he concluded.
