Company Focus: Cross-selling the beautiful game is helping operators score

img src="img/company_focus/habanero/habanero.jpg" width="100%"> Football-themed offerings are helping casinos cash-in on World Cup fever, according to Habanero’s Head of Asia, Daniel Long.

With World Cup fever sweeping the globe and billions of people tuning into watch the action, it’s no surprise to see brands from a whole range of companies trying to cash in. The gambling industry is no different, with sportsbooks everywhere launching a range of incentives and bonuses designed to maximise acquisition and retention over the next few weeks. However, it’s not just sportsbooks who are reaping the rewards of a World Cup year- casinos are also enjoying their share of the spoils thanks to well-targeted spin-offs.

Take Habanero’s new football-themed title Knockout Football, which features aptly-themed symbols such as boots, balls and whistles, as well as a fan-tastic soundtrack, for example. By combining industry-leading graphics and an exciting maths model, it serves as the perfect cross-sell tool, resonating with any fan caught up in the thrill of the World Cup, both on desktop and mobile.

Habanero has already earned rave reviews from both operators and players, with this latest title claiming 20 per cent of the supplier’s clients’ revenue within only three days of the tournament starting. Let’s be honest, it’s been hard to get away from the World Cup and it’s always the tournament to look forward to. It’s just up to operators and suppliers to give players those choices in the same way any other consumer brand would do when it comes to their own cross-sell.

Of course, cross-selling offerings is nothing new. For years sportsbooks have tried to target players with latest slot titles or free bonus spins of the roulette wheel during sport downtimes. But this more tailored approach, designed to capitalise on the most hyped up event of the summer, means the success rate will be even higher when it matters the most.

Habanero is always looking to tailor its content and give operators the ability to put their own stamp on products and it’s for that reason we have created bespoke versions of Knockout Football. Operators can customise in-game graphics to suit, meaning they have their brand name and logo on the advertising hoardings featured in the game while players are enjoying their spins.

This has proved particularly popular in Asian markets, which have changed so much in recent years as talented industry experts and developers look to improve the offering players receive. But the ability to offer tailored products – both to operators and their players – is a universal requirement, and the advent of a truly global event like the World Cup can serve to galvanise us all in the production of more thoughtful content.