Earlier this year you launched your online sweepstakes and social gaming platform software to clients. In simple terms, can you explain what this product is?
We have built what is essentially a white-label platform for both sweepstakes casino and pure social casino clients to operate their site(s) on. The back office includes all the player management tools you would expect, comprehensive reporting, packages and bonuses, and many settings and features that are tailored to the specific requirements for effectively managing a sweeps or social product.
There are a wide range of games from providers such as Relax Gaming, Pragmatic Play, 3 Oaks, Hacksaw, Playson and many more, which gives our clients access to well over 1,000 games. We also have integrations with third-party products that are imperative to success in this space such as KYC, Geo-IP, AMOE, payment processing, CRM, affiliate, ESP, SMS and gamification technologies. We feel all these elements provide our clients with a very effective sweeps or social casino product.
What drew you to creating sweepstakes software in the first place? Has there been increased demand for sweepstakes gaming?
Our new platform at CogniPlay came about because we were working with one of the US sweeps brands last year, with my marketing agency Mustard Digital, and we found their existing platform to be difficult to work with. So, we had a look around to see what was available and we discovered that there were very few options. As a result, I called my CTO and asked if he fancied building a new sweeps and social platform, and here we are today.
You apply a modular approach to your product. What are the pros of this and are there any cons?
Working with tens of iGaming platforms over the years I have often felt that many of them build a product with what they think is a good setup, but maybe don’t offer the flexibility to tailor it much to the customers’ exact needs. With this in mind, we have tried to have lots of options available to our clients in each key area. For example, we don’t just have one option for a CRM solution, we have four available currently for customers to pick from depending on their needs, and we are open to integrating with any system they want to use. This same premise goes for all the key areas, for payment processing we have four options to choose from again, for affiliate programme software we have three.
Ultimately, we want to give our customers the power to decide what they want the product to be, using our core foundations, which is really the key pro. I can’t think of any obvious cons to this approach, other than the extra development work required from the CogniPlay side.
When did you first hear about sweepstakes gaming and how has
the vertical evolved since then?
I have been aware of sweepstakes gaming for a couple of years now, initially with the VGW brands. The vertical has certainly evolved greatly since I have been following it with other major players such as Stake.us, Pulsz and more recently Wow Vegas showing tremendous growth.
Are sweepstakes regulated? The AGA recently called for a ‘crackdown’ on sweepstakes gaming in the States
No, sweepstakes isn’t regulated, although like most sweepstakes’ casinos and platforms in the space, CogniPlay is committed to operating our platform in an honourable way, as though we are regulated and follow best practices. This of course means we have fair terms and conditions and game rules, good KYC, Geo-IP systems and player management features in our back office. We also have responsible gambling tools such as self-exclusion, cool-off periods and deposit limit management for the players, so they are in control.
I am aware of the slightly increased pressure that sweepstakes gaming is coming under in the US from the AGA and some of the regulated brands in the market. They seem to be suggesting that sweeps casinos are somehow dodgy, don’t follow responsible gambling rules and don’t look after players, which as outlined in the previous question above is simply not true in most cases.
Who are the sort of players engaging with sweepstakes?
The demographic of players using sweepstakes casino sites is very broad, as can be seen by a recent report that indicated that $5bn was deposited on sweeps sites last year. I think this is really driven by the fact that there are still relatively few states that have regulated online casino. This gives players two options really, either play at an offshore site, which comes with its own potential risks, or play on much more reputable sweeps casino sites that offer a different experience of course, but are none the less, great gaming products.
Aside from regulation, is there anything else holding sweepstakes gaming back?
Other than regulation I don’t really see too much else holding sweepstakes gaming back. I think the sweeps vertical will continue to come under pressure by the AGA, and other parties with vested interests in seeing sweeps struggle. I think it’s exceptionally important for sweeps brands to behave as though they are regulated in terms of making sure that they follow best practices, have responsible gaming tools and policies in place, and ultimately look after their customers in an honourable manner.
Have you noted any trends or businesses in the sweepstakes vertical that you feel may have a big impact going forward?
Historically a small number of brands have dominated the vertical but with the launch of several new, exciting brands in the last couple of years, the market is swiftly becoming much more diverse. Brands such as Wow Vegas and Modo have made a significant impact in a short space of time, and I certainly think the number of brands will increase in the short to medium term.
Where do you think the sweepstakes vertical may be heading?
I think what we will see next is an explosion of innovation in the vertical. Even as recently as a year ago many sweeps brand’s websites were very simplistic in nature, and they have made huge strides in quality of product in 2024. With growth in the vertical I think that brands will increasingly use product innovation to set themselves apart from the competition and we will see huge progression in this area.
Its exceptionally important for sweeps brands to behave as though they are regulated in terms of making sure that they... look after their customers in an honourable manner
