Shimon Akad

Playtech is one of the most important suppliers in the global gaming industry. Starting as a smaller European online gaming supplier, Playtech grew rapidly internationally and entered the U.S. market more than five years ago.

Shimon Akad joined Playtech in 2011 and has risen to become chief operating officer. He spoke with GGB Editor-at-Large Roger Gros at the Global Gaming Expo in October. To view or hear a full version of this GGB Podcast, visit GGBMagazine.com.

GGB: Playtech has been an important company in iGaming for many years. But you only entered the U.S. five or six years ago. What was the plan at that time?

Akad: Obviously when we go to new markets, we like to plan them properly. As you remember, the U.S. industry a few years ago was a lot about investing and a lot about losses. We wanted to make sure we did it the right way.

We have a lot of experience in regulated markets, and as Playtech, our strategy is to be the leading supplier for regulated markets. We’re very happy with the progress we’ve made. We went to New Jersey, we’ve gone to all the big three gaming states, we’ve expanded recently into West Virginia. We’re absolutely serious about the U.S., which is evident by the business we have today.

How difficult was the licensing process to get into the U.S.? Obviously, every state has licensing hurdles to overcome.

People talk about the U.S. as the biggest market. Actually, the U.S. is built from many, many states, and each has its own process. I wouldn’t say it’s a difficult process, but it’s a demanding process compared to other jurisdictions worldwide. Once you’re accustomed to working in regulated markets and you’re professional and serious about it, you just go through the moves. It may take a little bit longer, but it happens.

Tell us about your PAM+ system. How is that implemented across all these platforms?

I think that’s probably our best advantage in the market. The whole industry knows it as the IMS (Information Management Solution). It’s something Playtech developed, grew and evolved—something that started probably 15 years ago. Since then, it materially evolved both in terms of features and in terms of technology. We believe—and our customers believe—that it’s the most advanced platform.

Working with operators is a basic thing for us to do. As markets become much more mature, much more demanding and much smarter, operators need a better platform to make sure they stay competitive in the market. We see ourselves as hopefully a major contributor within a very advanced and very smart system to help operators have that additional edge they need to win in the marketplace.

Playtech is also noted for its content. How many studios do you have to develop slot games? And how do you develop specific games from those studios?

We have about seven to eight in-house studios. We look all the time for more and more studios to acquire through M&A or open ourselves. Then we have this kind of strategic look to see which are the best studios, what makes sense, and how it makes sense.

Some of our studios are very old and have been with us for more than a decade. The whole concept of having different studios is that you can appeal to different markets and different tastes, both of players and operators. People who play games in Eastern Europe would not necessarily like the same content that might work in the U.S. or South America. Some of the better content actually works well everywhere, but often content needs to be localized.

Playtech recently signed a deal with MGM Resorts and BetMGM to put live dealer studios in Las Vegas. How important was it to make that deal?

With MGM Resorts and BetMGM, we found two partners that were genuinely looking to create something that’s innovative in the market. This is all about making sure the customers stay engaged. How do you ensure that they see something that they haven’t seen everywhere else? How do you make sure they love the things they see? We wanted to bring the live experience that’s so unique to the industry. And there’s no place like Vegas, right? It’s the capital of the gaming world. We wanted to bring, for the first time ever, that land-based Vegas experience right into your home, wherever you live.

We put dual cameras on the floor of the MGM Grand and Bellagio. So you can be sitting now at home playing tables and actually seeing other players. We love the results.

Obviously, an important aspect of gambling is responsible gambling. Playtech has developed a system called BetBuddy. Tell us why you started that and how it’s been received.

We are 100 percent serious about responsible gaming. We see that as a material part of our business. BetBuddy is a smart system that utilizes the data collected to protect customers that need protection. It’s not a big percentage, but it’s a very important part of our industry.

The smarter your system is, the more you can identify these people and make sure they’re handled properly, in a very sensitive and respectful manner, while allowing the operator to continue running its business for the rest of the 90-something percent who simply enjoy online gaming.