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Exclusive Q&A with Phillip Runyan, Founder & CEO of Hold Gaming
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Let’s begin with a few words about yourself. It’s always great to hear confident, top-class professionals say something about themselves.
I refer to myself as the Chief Executive Risk Taker – not just at the helm of Hold Gaming, but in my day-to-day life. I’m fairly certain my wife has another name for it. If it’s unorthodox, off the beaten path, or considered ‘mad’ then I’m likely to be drawn to it. I think that internal need to try things in a different way is what has helped me find success in work and my personal life.
You talk about Hold Gaming’s “deep roots in the Midwest, an area long overlooked for talent and great ideas” and the resultant “underdog mentality”. Could you elaborate on that?
I grew up in Toledo, OH and recently returned, as many do, to be closer to family. I would not say that we have an abundance of tech in my hometown but what we lack in volume we make up in chutzpah. Like many others, I left when I was younger to pursue a life I didn’t think the region could support. That has all changed. I live in a state where you can pay for your taxes in bitcoin and that’s leading the way in autonomous driving. When I’m asked where Hold Gaming is located and I reply with “Ohio,” I typically get, “oh… ok that’s great” and I can hear the inflection in their voice battle with the words they are saying. Ohio has this stigma of being rural and certainly not where a gaming company would setup shop.
You started your corporate career as the Marketing head at DoubleDown Interactive where you were in charge of bringing in customers through social media, online branding and CRM initiatives and had spectacular success. What would be your main advice to online marketers, especially in the gaming and gambling industry, regarding customer acquisition and retention?
I’d say I started my career in gaming at DoubleDown Interactive. My core skillset of the last (gasp!) 18 years has been in Online Marketing and many of the tools and processes I incorporated at DoubleDown stemmed from selling a lot of product via the internet.
I would say my best advice is to stay flexible and never hesitate to pull the plug on things that don’t work. All too often we want a product, platform, channel, creative, or a cohort to work so badly that we will throw good money after bad. Cut your losses, learn from your mistakes, and get back to the drawing board. Dare I say, fail fast but fail forward.
You founded Hold Gaming about a year back. How was the going so far? Any significant milestones?
The first year is always terrifying and exciting, simultaneously. We’ve accomplished a lot with a skeleton crew and minimal resources considering we are a startup trying to disrupt a multi-billion dollar industry here in the US. As for milestones, I’d say being the first competitive casino game for cash prizes on Apple’s App Store is massive.
Could you tell us more about Blackjack Fire, the game that you launched recently? Our readers would be curious to understand how the game is skill based rather than chance based, especially it is the first skill-based Blackjack game.
Blackjack Fire is our first release and is live in the App Store in both the US and Australia. The game allows two or more competitors to sit at their own table, with the same starting balance, the same amount of time to play their decks of cards, and the same min/max wager amount. As players win hands wagered, the won amounts convert to points on a leaderboard. Once both players have completed their timed challenge, the points are tallied and the winner of the challenge receives the prize. This can be either of virtual currency (which we call Fire Chips) or actual cash, which ranges in prize amounts from $1.00 to $100.00 USD. On top of that we have leagues where competitors can earn more cash or Fire Chip prizes at the end of the month.
Gaming industry is fast becoming a crowded sector, with a lot of new initiatives and innovations coming up a rapid pace. How do you plan to stand out in the crowd?
It feels like the industry is hyper focused on sportsbook or casino floor gaming. While I love the innovation coming out of our competitors, I still believe that the best way to stand out and grab some serious market share is to reach people on their time: at work, at home, waiting to pick up their child from school… at their convenience. We want to consume those time slots and with our burst gaming model, we’re finding that’s exactly what is happening.
Everybody talks about social gaming and incorporating blockchain technology. What are the possibilities of developing a sustainable, feasible and profitable business model that blends social media and blockchain technology into the gaming sector? Is it going to happen in the near future? Or has it already happened?
Honestly, I don’t know how blockchain fits in with social. The idea of doling out transaction fees for free-to-play games sounds expensive, especially when 95% of those (social casino) gamers aren’t payers. We look at blockchain as an opportunity to ease concerns over fairness and to allow each player to see what the other did during their challenge. It’s not at the top of our to-do list, but it’s definitely on there.
The gaming industry has undergone a change in the USA over the last one year or so since the US Supreme Court lifted the blanket ban on sports betting. Do you see the country now emerging as the global hub of sports betting and gaming?
I’ve been so heads-down on the US market, I could only fancy a guess. I don’t know if we’ll dethrone APAC, but we should be comfortable at the #2 spot.
Source: Latest News on European Gaming Media Network
This is a Syndicated News piece. Photo credits or photo sources can be found on the source article: Exclusive Q&A with Phillip Runyan, Founder & CEO of Hold Gaming
MAGGI, through its MAGGI FUSIAN line, has renewed its sponsorship with GIANTX for 2025. The brand will again be featured on the sleeve of GIANTX’s team jersey in the Superliga of League of Legends, Spain’s leading esports competition.
The renewal of this partnership strengthens both parties’ commitment to offering content tailored to current trends and connecting with the gaming and digital entertainment audiences. MAGGI FUSIAN, together with GIANTX, will continue creating activations to engage both traditional fans and new audiences. The brand will also maintain its presence on social media, live streams, and other digital and physical channels.
Since 2021, MAGGI FUSIAN has been one of GIANTX’s main sponsors, contributing to the brand’s consolidation in the esports scene in Spain. GIANTX, in turn, continues its path at the top of European esports, with a presence in both League of Legends and Valorant.
José Díaz, CEO of GIANTX, highlighted the importance of this partnership, stating that MAGGI is one of the longest-standing brands in the esports ecosystem and has been a key supporter from the start.
Sílvia Morales, Brand Manager of MAGGI in Spain, expressed her satisfaction with the renewal, emphasizing the connection with the gaming community and the importance of supporting content creation relevant to the digital audience.
The post MAGGI renews its sponsorship with GIANTX for the fifth consecutive year appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
Shoot first, ask questions never! Nolimit City rides straight into the lawless frontier in Dead, Dead or Deader, a no-nonsense, bullet-riddled slot where the only rule is: shoot ‘til it stops moving… then shoot again! This slot keeps the familiarity of Nolimit City’s catalogue but changes things up with its art style and humoristic quirks. Following the latest releases like xWays Hoarder 2, Tombstone Slaughter and Duck Hunters, this slot is looking to shoot up the charts.
Dead, Dead or Deader as the name implies is filled with some bloody good xMechanics that make the west deadlier than it already is with the likes of xNudge®, xBet®, and xGod™:
xNudge®: Always nudge to the top or bottom, boosting the multiplier by +1 with every nudge. After nudging to full visibility, the stacked xNudge® Wild gets hanged which awards a respin where the xNudge® Wild remains on the reels for one spin. When the respin is over the xNudge® Wild can get a neck snap which doubles the multiplier value and makes it stick for another spin. This can happen until the xNudge® multiplier reaches 999x or the dreaded Dropout, where the guy falls down and no more respins are awarded.
xBet®: Guaranteed a Scatter Symbol on the second reel
1 Spin 1 xNudge® Wild xBet®: Guaranteed 1 xNudge® Wild on any of the middle 3 reels
1 Spin 3 xNudge® Wilds xBet®: Guaranteed 3 xNudge® Wilds on any of the middle 3 reels
It wouldn’t be the west without the Wild Symbols. If a Wild lands on the reels it will have a 1x multiplier but if more Wilds drop to the right, they will have a multiplier of 2x and so on until a maximum of 5x
When landing 2 Scatter Symbols in the base game, they transform into wilds with multipliers. Landing 3 Scatter Symbols in the base game, will trigger 12 Dead Spins where xNudge® Wilds always stick for at least one additional spin and the xNudge® multiplier gets doubled immediately before the next spins starts. Landing a Scatter on reel 5 will upgrade Dead Spins to Deader Spins and award +2 Spins
Landing 4 Bonus Symbols in the base game, will trigger 12 Deader Spins with the same features as Dead Spins, however the xNudge® Wild multiplier gets tripled instead of doubled.
xGod® is back! Landing a stacked Casket Symbol on any reel will trigger a maximum payout of 19,349x the base bet. Duck Hunters is rated as “Extremely Volatile” delivering the thrilling high-stakes gameplay that Nolimit City fans know and love.
Per Lindheimer, Head of Product at Nolimit City, said: “Aaaaand we’re back in the West! This gritty rendition – where being dead just isn’t enough – showcases xNudge® in all its glory. The Deadlock feature is one of those mechanics you either love or hate, but when it hits… it hits big. Another wild ride we can’t wait for players to experience.”
‘Dead, Dead Or Deader’ will be available to all Nolimit City partners on February 25th, 2025.
The post Nolimit City stops the talking and shoots instead in Dead, Dead or Deader appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
Inspired Entertainment, Inc., a leading provider of B2B gaming content, systems, and solutions, is pleased to announce the launch of Big Big Horsey Fortune™, an equine-themed slot game, focused on players online and in retail settings ahead of the highly anticipated horse-racing season.
An evolution of Big Horsey Fortune™, this latest release joins Inspired’s growing omni-channel portfolio, blending the excitement of Inspired’s much-loved Big Big gameplay mechanics with new features for enhanced player engagement. At the heart of the game is the dynamic Match 3 Bonus entry system, where players unlock unlimited free spins by matching three Bonus Symbols. The Big Winner mechanic raises the stakes with an initial prize of up to 100x the stake, while the game’s innovative Punter’s Hand feature can descend at random, lifting a reel to reveal a hidden bonus symbol for added thrills and greater winning potential. A new bonus trail mechanic further enhances gameplay, allowing players to collect upgrade symbols that boost all Big Winner values on the screen and unlock progressively higher multipliers.
For a customisable experience, Big Big Horsey Fortune™ includes additional gameplay features designed to heighten anticipation and maximise payout potential. Online and retail versions both feature Fortune Spins for a streamlined high-win format featuring only the highest paying symbols and a Gamble option, where players can risk their base game wins for cash prizes or direct entry into the bonus round.
The online version also includes Fortune Bet, providing an increased chance of triggering the bonus round, and where regulation permits, Bonus Buy, which allows players instant access to the bonus game. With colourful horse-racing graphics, fast-paced action, and medium volatility, Big Big Horsey Fortune delivers an electrifying experience designed to appeal to casual casino players and horse-racing enthusiasts alike.
Richard Terry, UK Market Product Director, said, “We are proud and excited to be launching Big Big Horsey Fortune to our B3 retail estates. As part of our commitment to delivering market leading seasonal games, we have combined our player-favourite ‘Big Big Fishing Fortune’ title with a classic ‘Day at the Races’ theme – just in time for the biggest events in the UK horse racing calendar, Cheltenham Festival and the Aintree Grand National, setting our customers and players up for an exciting Spring experience.”
Claire Osborne, VP of Interactive at Inspired, said, “With its fun gameplay, crisp horse-racing graphics, and availability across both digital and retail platforms, Big Big Horsey Fortune is set to be a standout hit. It has been designed to maximise engagement during the peak horse-racing season and deliver a thrilling ride that operators won’t want to miss.”
Big Big Horsey Fortune™ is the latest addition to Inspired’s growing portfolio of high-performing seasonal slots content, reaffirming its reputation as a leading provider of innovative and engaging gaming experiences across multiple platforms.
The post Inspired Launches Big Big Horsey Fortune Across Online & Retail appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
MAGGI renews its sponsorship with GIANTX for the fifth consecutive year
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Inspired Launches Big Big Horsey Fortune Across Online & Retail
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